আমিসদের গ্রাম ঘুরে আমিও বিস্মিত হয়েছি। আকৃষ্ট হয়েছি তাদের ভিন্নধারার জীবযাত্রায়। সেই অভিজ্ঞতা থেকে একটা লেখা লিখেছিলাম। স্থানীয় একটি দৈনিকে প্রকাশের জন্য ইংরেজি ভাষাতেই লিখতে হয়েছিল। এখানে সেটাই তুলে দিচ্ছি ব্লগার বন্ধুদের জন্য।

চুপি চুপি বলে রাখি, ইংরেজি লেখা পড়তে আমিও খুব একটা পছন্দ করি না। তবে আমার বিশ্বাস এই লেখাটা পড়তে কষ্ট হবে না, কারণ বিদেশি এই ভাষাটিতে যথেষ্ট দক্ষতা নেই বলেই খুব সহজ শব্দ ব্যবহার করেছি। তাই বলছি, আমার মতো স্বল্প পরিমাণ ভাষা জ্ঞান নিয়ে লেখা এই রচনাটি যে কেউই পড়তে পারবেন। আর হ্যা, কেমন লাগলো জানাবেন কিন্তু

The Amish
By Golam Kibria

Green grasses lying like carpet, wind waves the leaves. A long black smooth road goes like a river, disappearing beyond the horizon. Very frequently horse-running buggies are seen on the road carrying passengers, some are carrying goods, some look like hackney carriages.
In the fields, men are working with horse-running ploughs. They are preparing land for agriculture, which is the main source of their revenue and living. All of them are wearing hand-made old fashioned clothes. Women are busy handling the house-hold matters and to look after the children. In the evening, they become very busy to prepare the kerosene and gas lamps because they don’t have electricity and after sunset these lamps will be the only source of light.
No, I’m not trying to sketch how America looked like hundreds of years back, neither am I talking about the shooting of a Hollywood movie; I’m sharing my own experience, what I’ve seen in October, 2007 in America! Maybe you are thinking I’m fabricating or exaggerating or I got a chance to travel with the H. G. Wales’s time machine. My humble request to you, believe me, what I’m saying is absolutely true and anybody can experience the same as me by visiting Lancaster County of Pennsylvania.
I’m sure, intelligent and experienced readers by this time have guessed what I am talking about; yes, I’m describing the life of Amish people. Before coming to the USA I didn’t have any idea about the Amish community. But within a few days living in America, someone told me about the Amish, and from that day I was counting fingers to visit Amish community. Finally I got a chance, thanks to the Humphrey authority for creating such opportunity for me. Walking through the Amish villages, I felt that somehow I managed time traveling and visiting my ancestors.
In a beautiful sunny morning of Fall, we, a group of professionals studying in the University of Maryland under the Hubert Humphrey fellowship program, which is a Fulbright scholarship program of the US government, started with a big tourist bus. Before coming to us, the bus picked up the Humphrey fellows of the American University and on the way we picked up some other students of the University of Maryland and the Humphrey fellows of Johns Hopkins University.
Our guide, Milan Bazdar, made the trip more interesting by providing exotic information about the Amish community and responded to our curious questions. He was also clarifying the common fallacies about the Amish. For example, the outside world thinks that Amish people are very tedious type, they don’t love humor, but the reality is, they are very fun loving, they like humor, jokes, and they enjoy their life. Another fallacy is, Milan said, people think that the Amish do not use mirrors, but they do. They buy mirrors from the traditional shops.
Milan said that around 25 thousand Amish people are living in Lancaster County and the total number of Amish in the USA is around two hundred thousand (2 lac). The farmlands of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country are among the most productive in the USA. But many of the farmers here are different from most Americans; different by choice. For these the Amish are also known as the "Plain People". They have been employing horse-drawn power since the days when “horsepower” had a whole different meaning! In comparison to the fast-paced society, the simpler, family-centered Amish way of life holds a special fascination. These people trace their heritage back hundreds of years, and yet, despite all the time that has passed and the many changes that have taken place in society, they still live and work much as their forefathers did. Their families and their farms are their top priorities, second only to God.
While visiting the Amish village, I was trying to understand, in the 21st Century in the most advanced and powerful country of the world, how people are living without electricity, electric light, TV, radio, telephones, cell phones, computers, the Internet, any kind of music, cars, motor cycles; even bicycles, gas supply, normal sewage system, without going to traditional school, college, or university. Musical instruments are also forbidden by the Amish community. They are living in this way not because they are deprived of all these modern facilities; they are living this prehistoric life obviously by choice.
The Amish are very cautious to keep a good distance from the rest of the world, who in their language are “English people.” ‘No matter, which part of the world you are from, what ever your language is, if you are not Amish, you are ‘English’ to the Amish people’ Milan said. The Amish community speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a dialect of German.
“Even they are not ready to take photographs”, provide this information, our guide said, “They believe that the taking of photographs where someone is recognizable is forbidden by the Biblical prohibition against making any 'graven image'. Please respect their desire for privacy and don’t try to take their photograph and never ask them.”
The Amish have long preferred farming as a way of life. They feel their lifestyle and their families can best be maintained in a rural environment. While they do not permit the use of tractors in their fields, these old order Amish groups do use modern farm equipment pulled by teams of horses or mules.
Their separation from the rest of society actually helps to strengthen their community. Amish children attend Amish one-room schoolhouses through the eighth grade. Amish worship services are held every other week in one of the member's homes. Socializing is an important part of Amish life. The Amish have a strong sense of community spirit, and often come to the aid of those in need. Neighbors freely give of their time and their skills to help one another.
One can easily distinguish an Amish man, woman or even a child because of their significant dress and getup. Amish women and girls wear modest dresses made from solid-colored fabric with long sleeves and a full skirt (not shorter than half-way between knee and floor). These dresses are covered with a cape and apron and are fastened with straight pins or snaps. They never cut their hair, which they wear in a bun on the back of the head. On their heads they wear a white prayer covering if they are married and a black one if they are single. Amish women do not wear jewelry.
Men and boys wear dark-colored suits, straight-cut coats without lapels, broadfall trousers, suspenders, solid-colored shirts, black socks and shoes, and black or straw broad-brimmed hats. Their shirts fasten with conventional buttons, but their suit coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. They do not have mustaches, but they grow beards after they marry. The Amish feel these distinctive clothes encourage humility and separation from the world. Their clothing is not a costume; it is an expression of their faith.
"Can an outsider join the Amish community?" Answering the question, Milan said, “Technically it is possible, but practically not. First, the Amish do not evangelize and do not seek to add outsiders to their church. Second, outsiders would need to live among the Amish and demonstrate a genuine conversion experience and faith that results in a changed lifestyle. Third, it is extremely difficult for anyone who has not been raised without electricity, automobiles, and other modern conveniences to adjust to the austere lifestyle of the Amish. And to truly be a part of the Amish community one would need to learn the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and to leave all his/her friends and family."
Our guide took us to a one-room house. It was traditional Amish “one room school”. It is called one room school because all the students from first grade to eight grades are given lesson in that single room by one teacher, generally an unmarried lady who is usually paid around $ 8000 (eight thousand US dollar) per year. Why they choose unmarried ladies for teaching profession? The answer is, after getting married, children and the family become the top priority for an Amish lady.
School for Amish is only a part of the learning necessary for preparation for the adult world. Children have formal schooling in one-room schools to 8th grade and then have a structured learning program supervised by their parents. Classes in the one-room Amish schools are conducted in English, and the children learn English when they go to school. The teachers have no more than an eighth grade education themselves.
There are not long evenings in an Amish family. When the children get home from school, there are chores that must be done. At an early age, children have responsibilities assigned to them. After the evening meal, the school homework must be tackled, and before long it is bedtime. Amish are early risers and therefore go to bed early."
During our “Amish city tour”, we stopped at different markets where Amish products were available. Amish people sell furniture, quilts (like blanket or kantha), clothes, hand-made toys, jam, pickles, bakery items and fresh vegetables grown in their fields. I bought some fresh tomatoes, cauliflower and cabbage. Amish made quilts and furniture is very famous all over the United States. People come from far away to buy hand-made super quality quilts and furniture.
When asked, the lady selling vegetables said that the main crops raised by Amish in Lancaster County are corn, hay, wheat, tobacco, soybeans, barley, potatoes, and other vegetables. Farmers also grow various grasses for grazing. Corn, grain, and hay crops usually stay on the farm for feeding livestock. Tobacco, potatoes, some grain and hay plus vegetables are raised for marketing. Farming is done with horse drawn equipment with metal wheels. They don’t use rubber tires.
On the way back, I was thinking about the Amish people, about their simple way of living, their calm and quiet lifestyle, which is like a dream for me. They are not involved in any war, neither with crime. They are not causing the global warming or environmental pollution. I was thinking, with our society's current interest in restoring 'family values', much can be learned from studying the Amish way of life. Their devotion to family and community and their strong work ethic are good examples for our larger society.