In the Villages of Jharkhand: A tryst with reality

7 Xlers(myself, Shilpa, Prabhakar, Satheesh, Sowmya, Vartika and Soham) left for Patamda(a village block 30 KM away from Jamshedpur) on 30th June at 9 AM in a Sumo.Father Augustine and our Dean came to see us when We left. We did not know each other well but conversationstarted soon and we started planning about what we can buy on our way...AFter all village was going to be a totally new experience for us and we were expecting nothing for survival there...

After half an hour we crossed the famous Dimna Lake and stopped by to take a look at its beauty.And soon We had reached into a zone which should be called a jungle...more or less topeople who have spent their lives in megacities...

At the Patamda headquarter of the NGO called Tagore Society(a Kolkata based orgn.) wemet a committed social worker Mr. Nandlal Bakshi who left his home 15 years ago to servethe needs of poor villagers in Jharkhand...and to our surprise there were many like him.Meeting social workers and seeing how they work was a humbling experience for me.

There were lot of eyeopeners on this trip awaiting for us to come and explore them.After having our lunch(a luxurious one i must say) we left with a Field Worker(a localitevillager who was in touch with the NGO) to visit the first 2 villages which were17 KM away frm the place....The first one was Bantoria....a village which 5 years back was devoid of waterand was the victim of migration....We me villagers there and soon I discoveredthat knowing Bengali there was a boon for me...I was able to communicate well...Most of the villages were on the border with Bengal and boundaries are not therestrictions for language and culture was the message that I got there.Villagersthere were happy to meet us...They said that the canals built by Tagore Society therehelped them in agriculture and now they were able to get rid of the migration problem.

Another eye opener was this conversation with a villager there:

Me: DO u watch movies?
Villager: I have never seen cinema.
Me: Ever been to Kolkata? any city?
Villager: No.
Me: Any desire to go to the city? Are u happy here?
Villager: I am very happy here...never feel like going anywhere else..
Me: At what time in the morning do u go to the fields?
Villager: We don't know abt the time....we don't have a clock out here.

This conversation broke many of the perceptions . Reality was showing its face.

Then we visited a villager marriage....The girl tried to take our blessingsby touching our hands...Satheesh was almost dumbstruck at this...An old villagerwho was talking to me for sometime called me in a corner and offered the wine made from Mahua...I smiled and said no to him.Their hospitability struck me.

The next village was Jorsa, where we met a tribe called Santhals and they were getting new homes built by the government there....but they were shy people who liked leaving away from those...their language was out of my understanding, their only means of livelihoodwas making hats of bamboo sticks and their condition was really pathetic...They are survivin on snakes and rats at times. The village road was in bad shape. I was thinking about what these people would do with the homes if they don't have proper food to eat.the sights there were horrifying...

We returned back to the headquarter and had a reflection session on what we saw.Soon I started thinking abt the movie Swadesh and the things depicted there...It was indeed true.

After 10:30 there was no generator power and we were forced to stay awake on the terracewaiting for the power resumption till 1 o'clock....It was scary to be on the terracewith darkness to be felt as far as eyes could see...On the top of that we were being toldhorror stories by the experienced people.:-) There were arguments.....there werecard games and then we felt that it was really difficult to live without a mobile networkfor 12 hrs and we had to spend the next 2 days like that only..We knew each other well by know.....one of us was confused, other one was a scary storyteller and one is a future IAS officer...

Next day we went to the villages called Bankunchia, Dimudih and Aamjhora. We met the tribecalled Paharia who lived in hilly areas and who used to earn their livelihood by selling honey. I saw govt. contractors working there to construct homes for them but the villagerswere not interested in earning more by working for them...even though these homes were being made for them....The govt. was forced to bring labour frm outside...but theseppl did not want to change their style fo living....I met the village headman and came toknow frm the field worker that the village headman had sold a goat for 350 bucks 2 daysago and he has spent half the money on drinking....

Another interesting conversationfollowed with the village headman:

Me: Do u know how to count, add and subtract? Ever been to school.
Villager: U don't need to go to school to learn how to count money.
Me: U have spent ur money on drinking....why don't u stop drinking its bad...
Villager: Don't u ppl drink too? Whats wrong in that...

I was outwitted by his answers....We left that place and this was the place whereNaxalities are active nowadays.

We met a women Self Help Group then who used to collect money and deposit in the bankamong themselves and used to give that as a loan in times of need to the needy membersof the group....This SHG concept was a very good concept which I saw in most villagesIt is making the villagers self dependent and is leading to women-empowerment. In most of the villages schools were 5-10 KMs away with no vehicle and means of transport available..the only motivation for study to them was the MEals offered by the govt. in the schools tothe students...We met children and women asked them about various issues and quizzedthe children on current affairs....We distributed sweets, chocolates,stationery itemseverywhere...Shipa made sure to ask about the schools and their conditions in every villagewe visited...

Our driver Raju was an interesting person and he used to play the Himesh Reshamiyyasongs most of the time...he also used to pass comments on our nature,style...He was a typical bihari driver...but was highly observant....He was oblivious to all the experiences which we were having.....He was not there to feel anything it seemed.....

We met the 70 year old retired doctor who used to teach the villagers on various issueslike Animal Husbandry etc. I was amazed to see his commitment...Then there was a brush off with the corruption...Two ponds constructed side by side---one by the Govt, another by NGO-----the size of latter was thrice the former the money spent was equal..Horticulture was being practised in Dimudih..

In the evening ,We discussed with the NGO on the business plans and prospects of those areas withfull assurance of suppport from XLRI. Tagore Society's work was commendable in the area.The NGO is active in Bengal,Jharkhand and Orissa and is making the real difference...

Last morning of the trip, we visited a village Ashram at Rakhdih village, an old Kali temple was there and then in the village we were taking the photos with a Digicam when suddenly a villagerbrought a handycam to take our photos....this was the most developed village of all...but we soon realized the divide between rich and poor which the progress brings....This village was aiming to have internet soon....rest was available there..

We returned at 11 o'clock in the morning from Patamda with a variety of mindblowing experiences....stopped at Dimna on our way back......We had our share of good times. We felt the misery and poverty that exists in this world. We saw things from a close proximity. We felt the ground reality.....

I was forced to think::how about leading a life in one such village......Can I survive there? 70% of India lives like that....Can we make a difference? Can we make a better world? yes WE CAN and WE Will..!!!!!