Day 32 - There is a slither of hope ..we just need to organise and help these villagers out
“Whatever you say, we are fed up of having uncertain future. We need money. Then, if that money comes through factories and humungous roads, we don’t care!” the head of the community had told me.
“We will still organise your session in our village, but I just want you to know my views.” he continued. The community chief was in his 50’s. He looked like a reasonable person, but years of stagnancy might have pushed him to have these views.
Everyone in the house, including Maharudra Sir, Sheetal and Sarpanch, had lost hope. My walking partners for the day, gave me a depressed signal and asked me to move ahead with my talk. Alone. I too felt some negativity run through my veins, but my unfettering belief on people being kind-hearted and the constant mantra “this too shall pass”, sailed me through those moments. I picked myself up and walked to the village temple, where everyone was about to meet me.
Some 25-30 people had gathered in an open space where I was given a seat. After a brief introduction, the floor was all mine.
Raanvi. An undisturbed village. God’s own paradise. It sits comfortably between a valley. On its North end, above the valley, a huge Gas Pipeline plant has taken over the flat kaatal land. Enron, the American company that created many political ripples in this area, stands ahead of it like a body-less corpse. All of its infrastructure now standing in ruins, catching rust. On the South end, Guhagar has seen a steady growth of Goa-like tourism. But, for some reason, Raanvi, being in the middle of these two overgrown places, sits in quiet. It’s jungles and beaches lost in time. No one has sold any land here and for some good reason, no one is even remotely thinking of selling it now. It is God’s personal pocket of love, where she enjoys the wind, the rain, the melodies of people. Maybe the villagers know this. Maybe there is some ancestral memory left in the corners of their head.
These people sitting in front of me, had been in the best possible position. Some of them had got jobs in the nearby factories, but they were about to retire—thus in search of other streams of income. Some were cattle herders and others were farmers. Many of the villagers owned enough farm land and moreover, most of them had seen “development” ruin the nearby villages.
I explained the purpose of my walk. Gave them examples of the villages that had sold off their lands— told them the disasters that had followed. Only in a few moments, I saw a shift in their attitude. Everyone was listening carefully. Maybe they were waiting to hear these words for many many months. They knew something was wrong, but couldn’t really pin-point what it was. After 15 minutes, I finally asked, “So what is the major problem here? What stunts your development?”
“Water,” a middle-aged man replied.
While walking down the valley, I had come across canals that were dug through the laterite. Some decades past, these canals would be carrying water all the way to this village.
“What about those canals?” I asked.
“Yes. You are right, son. That canal brought us water. A spring on the top of the village flowed throughout the year, but since these factories arrived, they blocked all this land. They mowed down the jungles and a once ever-flowing spring, dried up completely. Now they pull excess amounts of ground water, which leaves us with nothing to cultivate our fields,” he spoke while recollecting his memories.
Some young boys looked at each other in surprise. Maybe it was the first time they were hearing about all this.
“Have you tried lodging a case in the National Green Tribunal?” I questioned right away.
From their faces, I could tell that no one knew much about it. Getting dragged into a court case was the last thing that Indian villagers want to do.
“Let’s say that you have a lack of water, but that doesn’t stop you from progressing, does it? If you have two months of drought, you have ten months to earn through your land. Why don’t you do that?” my words created confusion. They saw their jungles and the path going to the beach made up of volcanic rock, as a wasted resource. There was nothing to earn from it.
“But how?” a person asked finally.
“You are sitting on a precious land here. It is surrounded by jungle on all sides. The path to the sea runs through these jungles. It holds incredible potential for trail walking. Foreigners go all the way to Nepal to do trail walking. Your houses, some of them are still mud houses, can host homestays. People want to see mud houses. Live in them. In fact well paid and extremely educated people come to such mud houses. They want to experience how its made. How the cowdung is mixed with mud to create the flooring. How grass is mixed with mud and water to plaster the walls. And you know what, people pay for it, because you are giving them an experience— not just a place to stay,” after this, some of them saw their houses with a different perspective.
“But why would people come here- to Raanvi in particular,” a man said.
“Because this is the only village which has kept its village life in tact. You were blessed with a job, which gave you the opportunity to stay in your village, but because you didn’t migrate to Mumbai, you didn’t bring urban ideas. Even though you use sensodyne toothpaste (an expensive toothpaste) you stay in joint families— sharing your space with your brothers. You still have pathways which cut through everyone’s backyard. You kept the jungle intact and never built a road to the sea. All this is unique. So unique that I have never seen such thriving biodiversity in any other place since I started this walk. While walking to the beach, I have heard countless birds singing sweet melodies. It is a bird-watchers paradise!” I couldn’t hide my excitement when I spoke about the things that had become mundane to them.
“If you open up even one room within your house, you will get a steady monthly income. This will help you out in living this susegaad/sustainable lifestyle. But you will have to be mindful. When one gets a piece of the pie, he should share the pie to the next person, otherwise animosity grows. No quaint village stays quaint with even a tiny bit of hatred, jealousy or animosity.” I reminded them.
“Can you help us out?” the community chief, who was so far sitting quietly on my right, spoke in a low voice. “I really like this idea. If there is such an option where our village develops while keeping its nature and cultural values in tact, why would anyone say no!”
His previous harshness had melted. His words too had softened. I have seen this time and again that people are kind in their hearts, but the surrounding society pushes them to be harsh. A few words of truth are enough to open up peoples hearts. Truth and compassion cut through the toughest of people.
“But we would need your help,” he continued, “we would say all this and then forget it within a few weeks. If possible, can you come back next month and have similar conversations?” he looked at me with hopeful eyes.
Let me say this, we have many such villages which can be saved, only if alternative sources of income are provided. Tech can play a major role in bringing a global community and education to their doorstep. The next generation, if taught about the ecological significance of this land, can grow a conscience that will transcend the trap of material growth. If they understand that they are living a good life— away from pollution, community-led, nature-driven then they too hold a chance to stay.
I left that meeting after giving this my word. I will do everything in my power to continue this discussion. If we bring more people who have successfully created such models and take you to see them, you will get hands on knowledge. That’s the way to progress. I don’t claim that you will get quick money. It is not a lottery. It is a slow-sustained growth.
In fact we can all help them by sharing our knowledge. If we help them out to create a model village which is self-sustained, we have succeeded. This walk will make sense then..
That day, the same community leader who was harsh with me, left hand in hand, smiling and thanking me for coming to their village. There is hope!!
Thank you for the help provided so far and for being a part of this walk! I now have a team assisting me and if financial support can be provided to keep them going, then please do so. here’s the link
For Indians who want to support'/contribute, here is the UPI payment number GPay or PhonePe- 8983726737
The idea of this walk is to highlight the issues, spread an ecological conscience within the people, listen to them and bring them together to see if we can bring about a change that can move towards a future that aids people rather than pushes them away from their homeland.
If you can help me by contributing for this walk, then please do, I could start a kickstarter or manage crowdfunding through some other website, but none of those options are available to me here in India. So, I will be dependant on your donations. You can contribute through paypal - here’s the link. I will send out a personalised postcard if the donations are above $30 and if it’s above $100 then whatever comes out of this walk - a book, a documentary or anything else - you will be the first ones to receive it.