The summer is fierce this morning. The clouds have boiled away and the sky reminds me of the pale, washed-out blue of an ageing mosaic chip in a mural. The thick, wet, air clings to my skin and turns my black hair into a mat of tangles. The front covers and first few pages of the books surrounding me peel upward from the humidity making them look like they are panting for breath. I sympathize with them.
Something about this day, puzzlingly, makes my body feel good and inherently at ease. I investigate and the answer comes quickly. This is the quiet, early-morning swelter of Bombay (yes, I still call it Bombay) in the early summer. I am subconsciously filling in the missing sounds – the distant jingle of a cow bell from the ox-carts carrying everything from vegetables to people, the raucous chirping of the morning birds, the ululation of vendors hawking everything from milk to blocks of ice under sack-cloth and fresh squeezed mausumbi juice. My body remembers days like this well.
As a child, on mornings like this, I could be found on the couch in the living room. Still in my pajamas, freshly scrubbed clean by my grandmother and curled up with a book. I would stay like that for hours, reading to the background scritch scritch of my grandmother sweeping out the courtyard and the rest of the house. Attempts to dislodge me would be met with a frown of extreme displeasure and further curling up.
For me, this is a day for being with words, for writing and reading stories and rejoicing in the gift of literacy. This is, as the inestimable Pico points out, our second blog together in Chicago and our first where we are blogging about a cause that has been as much a part of both our lives as breath and water. The organization in question, Literacy Chicago, is nothing short of amazing. We have stories and factoids and ruminations. We have the amazing energy, passion and fondness that the place inspires in anyone that steps through its doors. We have chocolate covered raisins.
It takes $500 for Literacy Chicago to teach someone to read, write and do basic math. We’re starting a hair’s-breadth away from helping 5 people to become literate and lead normal lives – please join us as we blog and help us get there and beyond. Your comments, moral support and anything you can give, no matter the size, is deeply appreciated.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.” - Mark Twain