Monday 30 July 2012

The Story of a Village

I recently visited my father's family at their village - Wathar, Maharashtra - after a year. I used to visit the village when I was younger and still in my early teens. I was then of an age that granted me all the liberties of ignoring whatever the hell elders did. Then last year in July, I decided not to be that little boy to my family anymore. Nearly seven years had passed since I had visited my family, and hence found it necessary to reconnect with them. That was when my journey to the village as a grown man began.

I set out to meet my loved ones again, this July. It was during this visit that I began noticing a change, a big one at that, occurring throughout the the network of villages, but more so in ours. The vast expanse of greens, which in the past captured my sight wherever I went, were now being compromised in favour of something that "ought to" indicate "progress": development.

I saw plenty of buildings - tall, short, wide, angled, indulgent, minimalistic and so on - scattered across enormous stretches of land. New businesses were flourishing, evident in the massive numbers of people flocking to stores in search of PCs, cell phones, tablets (yes, iPads too), LCD TVs and high-end music systems. It wasn't only the electronics market that attracted great numbers; there were plenty of electrical and automobile repair and maintenance shops, mobile recharge stores and sufficiently expansive stationary and gift stores. Even more astonishing was visiting the local shop to ask for Pasta and still be seen as perfectly human.

I asked around about the cause of such startling flourish and vigour, and almost unfailingly received the same response: the building of the flyover. It is said that the building of a flyover, which leads all the vehicles travelling along NH4 over the village, in effect leaving it undisturbed to a certain extent from all the earlier traffic and commotion, helped all future development in the village. It may have been that Wathar felt more independent, and that its unforeseen ability to cope with an entire flyover project from construction to finish may have given it the much needed confidence to keep going.

A section of the national highway, NH4, extending out from and through my village towards the nearest developed town, Kolhapur, was seen littered with industries. Some of the notable companies I glimpsed were BMW, Mahindra, Toyota, Porsche, Ford, and so on. One part of the stretch, locally known as the MIDC, which is actually a corporation established under the Maharashtra Industrial Act on August 1, 1962, boasted a whole range of full-fledged industries functioning in full fervour with assistance from the Maharashtra government. I witnessed an aerospace manufacturing lab and a process plant, and tens of other small and medium-scale factories, all employing sufficient manpower from nearby villages, enabling greater production and higher economic output through increased employment.

I stood surprised, both pleasantly and otherwise, as I witnessed all this development in action in a village that I knew in the past to be just a small place washed in divine beauty; where seemingly innumerable species of birds chirped and sang merrily and where every person knew everyone else; where when it rained, the skies seemed more generous, and where the rays of the sun fell only as though meaning to make the atmosphere pleasant; and personally for me, where I could wake up at dawn in a sweater and sit sipping a half-chai, watching all the trucks of different sizes and tourist buses pass by. The copious dwellings with their trademark thatched roofs seemed only to reduce the distance between people. Now, the homes were even closer, but it didn't indicate people living closely; rather, it symbolised building of more and more houses, mostly for purposes of monetization, by eliminating some more lush green.

I must admit, however, with great joy that the transformation has enormously benefitted the lives of the people of Wathar. Medical clinics are available within the village and can be reached in a few minutes; whereas, the advanced hospitals are not further than a couple of tens of kilometres. The medical stores are within walkable distances, and so are the financial institutions; for example, the cooperative society that enables financing opportunities. The marketplace has always been thriving, and the "mini" supermarkets have now taken on a life of their own. There are two schools in the village, each with its vibrant classrooms and playground, and the presence of many committed teachers who unconditionally support and nurture their students. I had the opportunity to visit one such school where my lovely sister is a student of class seven. I witnessed an amazing joy and celebration within the school precincts, and was immediately taken in by the experience. I knew at once that these were bright times.

I leave you with the words of M. K. Gandhi,
"I would say that if the village perishes India will perish too. India will be no more India. Her own mission in the world will get lost. The revival of the village is possible only when it is no more exploited. Industrialization on a mass scale will necessarily lead to passive or active exploitation of the villagers as the problems of competition and marketing come in. Therefore we have to concentrate on the village being self-contained, manufacturing mainly for use. Provided this character of the village industry is maintained, there would be no objection to villagers using even the modern machines and tools that they can make and can afford to use. Only they should not be used as a means of exploitation of others." 
Source of Gandhi's lines: http://www.mkgandhi.org/revivalvillage/index.htm

                                                                                           









4 comments:

Barbara said...

What a fascinating and encouraging account. I learned a lot and enjoyed your lovely writing. Thank you.

r jayanthi said...

karan, jayanthi here. that was a very moving piece of writing and I tell you, it moved me to tears. where are all our villages going? Can't change happen for the good without compromising on the quality of nature??
your article is so good that it instantly paints the picture of your village, the then and the now.looking forward to more of your writings.Good luck!
jayanthi

r jayanthi said...

karan, jayanthi here. that was a very moving piece of writing and I tell you, it moved me to tears. where are all our villages going? Can't change happen for the good without compromising on the quality of nature??
your article is so good that it instantly paints the picture of your village, the then and the now.looking forward to more of your writings.Good luck!
jayanthi

Akshatha said...

Quite a change indeed. Have observed similar "development" in my father's hometown as well. Once a nondescript settlement, a national highway and the Konkan railway have made it some sort of a fisheries hub. Well we can only accept such change and dwell in nostalgia..for now. Good read. :)