Room with a view: Migrant tents.

As I write this I am sitting on a rough unkept balcony, probably just 60cm wide, that is at the end of the corridor of my hotel floor. It's in Palumpur.

I chose the hotel not for the niceness of the rooms (at $7 it's very basic) but for this view. It's of a temporary migrant camp.

The hotel manager tells me they are Rajasthani's (and I'm proud to say that I thought this as soon as I saw the decorated women), and they are here for the summer. They will work in agriculture here and return to hot Rajasthan for the winter.

It is easy to see that the camp is newly established for the season. It's on the banks of a mountain stream (oh, yes, I have a view of the Himalayas too, but it's not nearly as interesting...). Old rubbish (from last season) appears washed and caught (in trees, etc). There isn't much new rubbish yet. This is how i can see its a camp that been newly re-established.

In a country where there isn't yet much waste disposal for the wealthy, there certainly is less facility for the likes of these people. I expect that I am lucky to be seeing the view now instead of at the end of the season, when the rubbish would be more visual.

Unfortunately the dumped rubbish mostly will be washed downstream when there is rain.

The scene down below is rather active. The tents are made from heavy black plastic supported by bamboos and cut branches.

I counted and there are 110-120 tents in my view. They range from about 2 x 3 metres to about 5 x 5 metres. Some are grouped in compounds of 2 to 4 tents. Where there are 2 tents together one appears to be for sleeping and the other for cooking and other household activities; so I guess there are at least 50 families here.

I can see 2 buildings of corrugated iron. One appears to be a toilet/bathroom and I expect you would have to pay to use it. So, toilet activities are probably performed in the surrounding bushes and washing done with water from the stream. (It's snow fed and so quite clean). I can't decide on what the other corrugated iron building is for.

All and all, it all looks rather pleasant (aside from the lack of bathroom facilities). It has an air about it like going camping for leisure. I hear music. I see men chatting, children playing games, and women ... Well the women must be inside cooking dinner now as mostly they seem to have disappeared from the scene.

I'd love to go down for a closer look, but that would be too intrusive. I'm so pleased to have this view!
9 April 2013.