By Mr. Evan Pausic

At sunrise, some will head to the prayer room to start the day. At sundown, some will pray again. Early in the morning, the women leave for the field. At this time of year they are primarily weeding and making sure the soil is healthy. The weeds can also affect the terraces held in place by stone which must be maintained consistently. Obviously, early in the day, the mountain heat is much less. Some will travel across the Assi-Ganga to the other side of the valley in order to maintain their lands. They also may need to collect grass for the animals during this time which they will pile up into a basket weighing over fifty pounds. When the sun starts heading down some will head back out to finish more work in the more centrally located terraces.

Every night they will also sit down to prepare a meal. In Agora, a meal is a way of sharing in many senses of the word. People take what the mountain and jungle provides, what the hands of their mothers and daughters touch out on the terraces and inside of the house’s kitchen, the bushels the men carry to the grain house during a harvest, and the goods they have traded among family, neighbors, and nearby villages. A dinner is made up of four main components:

Chapati (or roti): unleavened wheat and water

Bhat: the whitest rice

Subzi: changes by day– a variety of vegetables grown on the terraces or found in the jungle

Dal: soup made with spices, vegetables, and various pulses simmered over time to produce its flavor

Typically, you begin by eating the chapati and subzi together, which in my opinion, has been some of the best food I have ever eaten. The vegetables are coated in oil and spices to perfection and I believe you can taste how fertile the land is through the different dishes. You are also given a sampling of the dal, made over time and melted together into its flavor. Next you eat more dal with rice, the superfood of the valley. Eating is not something you dissociate from; you must put your hands to good use, you feel the fire on your skin, and hopefully you begin to understand the value of what you have been given. And for our hosts that prepare the food, it takes skill and attention, a knowledge of the mixtures and the power of the flames. A woman will put a chapati into the oven to finish it off, stick their hand inside and pull it back out. They blow through a metal tube to enhance the heat. Oh, and also, all those sticks had to be collected from the valley. Each chef works together but also focuses on their individual tasks, deftly cutting vegetables andshaping chapati’s perfectly, gathering the ingredients for the dal and monitoring the progress of each part.

The second thing that is shared at a meal is not food but attention and presence. You sit in the kitchen and share the experience. If there is some snot running down your nose it will be noticed. If you are investigating how to make a roti as Will was, it will be called as it is, a process of “deep research”. Harrison who brought his lightheartedness to the table became the “badmash”.Brady, reliable and strong, would of course also be recognized also. Our hosts Ma and Gargi, Sheetal, Somiya, and Krishna greeted us with open arms after a day full of life. Ma, Sheetal, and Somiya had tended the terraces as I mentioned earlier and also made us every meal, and at times, the butt of extremely funny jokes. Gargi had the most work to do being a two year old and the funniest of all. Krishna took on uncle duties but if you were paying attention you would also see him helping with various projects around the village, including carrying a large beam with a group of men to aid in the construction of a new building and running the homestay’s day to day operation. I want to express my gratitude to this family that has given me some of the deepest realizations without really knowing it. If you show your respect and attention, all you have to do at a meal in Agora is just be where you are and feel the love. These people also reveal what matters in each of their actions. What matters does not have to be a philosophical debate but can be a way of living, an honoring of the food we eat, the people we love, and the actions we takeon a daily basis to nourish our body and spirit.