When I first started chatting with the Embrace Team I was more than excited to create a great film with them. But how?! How could we connect emotions, reality, and spread information? I love the simplicity of the idea of keeping premature babies alive with an inexpensive and appropriate technology. But more important than the idea they came up with, was for me to to understand how we could reach out to people who are not as wowed by technology, but instead inspired by a common human emotional connection that threads around the world.

It came to me in one of those mid-day daydreaming sessions (where I am thinking I should sleep, but can't because I have too much on my mind). We wanted to connect the audience with the emotions a parent feels for his or her child. But what happens when a child is born and a parent can't give their baby all of this?

Of course, the film has gone through several reincarnations and is still a work in progress. The most exciting thing was that we got the right push to get out of the studio in Bombay and decided to shoot in a village.

We decided to take the vision to Rajasthan. And Sachi worked her magic to bring us into a better reality, Rajgarh. We were blessed to meet the Gandhi Fellows who shared their community, showed us their work, and taught us how beauty lies in the simpler things in life. We found the perfect mud house, met kind and generous individuals each and every minute, and even managed to stretch our minds beyond our urban bubble (something I easily get sucked into)

There is so much to be thankful for:  the Gandhi fellows for opening their homes and lives and inspiring us with their struggles and perseverance to believe and create change;  the headmasters who made our project their mission; the excitement that unfolded when we shared the Embrace baby warmer which kept us going even in the heat of the day; and most of all, the children whose commitment to creating a better life through education made us realize that there is indeed a bright future ahead of us all.

A few things I learned:

Alcohol abuse is one of the most disturbing problems across India.  The mud hut we selected to shoot in is home to a man who is a alcoholic. He could beat his wife if he's in a bad mood, and in turn his wife, Sunita, has to live day to day in that, well, she never knows what to expect. Her daughter does not go to school. She does not want to. And meanwhile, Sunita is busy collecting water, making food and generally, trying to survive. Why does alcohol become an escape from the real world? How come this drug gives a temporary high only to give a low to so many other people? A low that is contagious and pervasive. It is not fair. But, it is fair to examine why the economic and cultural situations allow it to fester and breed violence, neglect, abuse and promote poverty.

Water is a serious problem. I have never experienced heat like I have in Rajasthan, and to complement that with a serious lack of water is to really get at the depth of the problem. Women wake up and spend the first few hours of the day collecting water. They  have reached the bottom of the wells, there is an actual shortage. They rest in the heat of the day and are back at it by evening. None of the water is purified, filtered, or boiled. I can't believe I actually drank it. The wealthier families hire a tanker. Water that has sloshed from major city to town to village. Wonder where that water came from in the first place? Water distribution is the biggest scam going on around the world. I didn't wash my hair for 10 days (I just couldn't justify it).

It's not the first time I have spent significant time in village where there is minimal water. I remember spending the night in Palghar district, in a village outside Bombay where I took a bath with two glasses of water. That was crazy. I've tried balancing water on my head as well, many many years ago. I made a mess of it as I tried to carry the water pots a few hundred feet. Imagine a few kilometers! In Maharashtra, there is hope and confidence it will eventually rain. Yet in Rajasthan, the landscape is like a camel, holding on to what it has and cautiously using its energy and resources, unsure of when the next monsoon will hit.

Government schools need teachers who are inspired to teach. There is nothing as pathetic as seeing a classroom of kids sitting idle waiting for their midday meal so they can go home. I hear about it, read about it, know about it; but when I see a classroom of pre-schoolers staring at the ceiling in boredom it's like the life has been sucked out of them and it makes me think just how far we have to go.

I'm not a fan of rural sob stories and I am equally reserved when it comes to romantic depictions of life in the gaon. So I will conclude with the story of Anita, the headmistress who shows up on time, whose students show up on time, whose community respects her, who has won several accolades and is a real inspiration for me. It takes a unique woman to figuratively take off her dupatta (taking of the dupatta a phrase commonly used the Goal girls and Naz staff to show how the girls become comfortable with themselves and their bodies) and raise her voice beyond the status quo, demand change, and encourage the people around her to be different. Because of her, we were able to do all that we did in Seu. Her students are a joy, confident, curious, and will go as far as they push themselves. I only wish that there was some way to pass on her enthusiasm, commitment, and passion to the world around her. Well, perhaps that is our next film in the making ... ! Can hardly wait.