Day 53 : What we think as progress vs. what they think as progress

It is not that the Konkani person is not thinking of progress. He has always thought of evolving and changing with the changing dynamics. He was always a business oriented person. Even the ones picking leaves, fruits and roots were business oriented in their own ways, but it is true that something changed. The way he weighed this progress— in content and happiness, shifted towards money. As I spoke to many people from business and entrepreneurial backgrounds, I realised one thing. There are people who have rational thought and mainly a vision, which is rooted in the fabric of Konkan.They don’t have this foreign concept of growth through refineries and massive projects which has no connection with the place, culture and nature. They have a model of growth which will save the forests, maintain the bio-diversity, encourage sustainable practices, all this while we push the wagon of progress towards a better place.

What is lacking is a support system. We lack a chain that links all these like-minded people and brings them together. We pull each other down rather than helping each other grow. That is unfortunately the Konkani mindset. We lack constant efforts which will keep this vision alive and thriving. If we can do that, I am quite sure that we can gracefully cross through the doors of change. We can mend the gates of progress to fit our needs.

In the morning, I met with someone whose company started with an idea— that the raw material from the surrounding villages should find a buyer within their proximity.

“We are growing. Now that everyone understands the importance of fruit based natural products, we have reached corporate classes. The demand is growing, but the issue is, we don’t get raw material to match the speed of this growth. Now we are forced to import material which we would get easily in the past. If we don’t do that, we go stagnant,” he said. Many women from the nearby villages had their aprons and gloves on. They were picking the top bits of chillis which would then go to the cutting table. It’s not that they were working robotically. They worked as they spoke to each other about their kids, their village issues. One lady laughed as she made a joke about her workmate. This, this is the main difference of working in Konkan— the work here is a mixture of chatting and picking on each other while keeping your hands and eyes busy. It should always be that way. Or else what’s the difference between a hamster who runs on a wheel and a man.

It is a false narrative that industries which promote local fruits and trees, can’t grow. Konkan has incredible potential in this sector. Plus these industries are environmental friendly. They don’t just create jobs, they actually promote local seasonal fruits— indirectly helping to save the flora and fauna. They buy karvand (berries), mango, cashew, kokum, black pepper, local fish— all native or introduced species that have been in use for decades. Each such industry is a chain in itself. If the people find employment in such factories, they end up living in the village, which promotes community, which directly promotes culture.

People from other parts of the country are buying kokum seeds here. They buy cashew, they buy betelnut and they buy it for cheap. We eat imported cashew from Africa which is tasteless. We have no clue that cashew skin is now used to make oil. We have forgotten the benefits of kokum butter and kokum oil although doctors recommend it. People are making clothes from betelnut fibre. There is a huge margin in aggregator business. We need to create our own supply chains. We can’t wait for anyone to help us anymore. But, why then are we being pushed towards CIDCO, chemical factories and oil refineries by the people, i.e, ministers and businessman, who want to bring their ideas of progress? Their reasons are simple.

Why is the land in Konkan being promoted as industrial sector? Because many people from Nagpur, Delhi and other parts of India, have invested heavily in buying up acres and hectares of land. It is so common that I feel tired to write about it. All this is aided by our ministers.

What’s in it for them though? You’d say.

Good question. The answer is not so complicated and the answer is in the form of a question.

Who funds their election campaigns? It is that easy. The land is bought for cheap. Money invested is then used in political campaigns. The cycle repeats.

But now these investors are getting tired. They have waited long enough to get ten-fold returns on their invested money. After all our ministers are pawns for these business people. The show is always run by people behind the scenes.

This is why these factories end up in places where these ministers have already bought out land under hundred different names. It is the easiest way to turn their black money white. Everyone knows this, but no one should speak about it.

Who is this for? If they are doing this for their kids, their kids don’t even like this place. They spend most their days abroad. So what makes them do all this? Have they created a machine that we don’t know of, which would help them live forever to enjoy this wealth?

Like I say, its not that they are doing this purpose fully. They are simply clueless. They have no vision other than making their black money white. Then be it by any means and any harmful industries. It doesn’t matter how this land has lived and developed for the past several thousand years. All that can go down the drain in the matter of a few years.

We are on the edge now. Thinking clearly, coming together and sharing our knowledge to help each other grow. That is the only way we can revive this sinking titanic. The iceberg has already hit the ship.

A quote by Chief Luther from the Native American tribe fits perfectly for how the ancestral people saw this world :

“Wherever forests have not been mowed down, wherever the animal is recessed in their quiet protection, wherever the earth is not bereft of four-footed life - that to the white man is an 'unbroken wilderness.'

But for us there was no wilderness, nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly. Our faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings; the other sought the dominance of surroundings.

For us, the world was full of beauty; for the other, it was a place to be endured until he went to another world.

But we were wise. We knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard.”

-Chief Luther