The moment we hear the word Village, we envisage shabby lanes, big haunted houses, people wearing turbans and many other things pop up instantly. Everyone one of us might have their native Villages, but seldom anyone one of us visit. This vacation I spent a week in my native observing their routine.
Unlike our houses, in villages houses are smeared with mud and they have opening where well, cowshed and garden is situated. As I entered our house I could see six pair of eyes examining me. Two cows and a calf were staring me with a questioning look as if saying,” who is this now? When we only skip our two meals daily, how can we feed an extra mouth!”. I later learnt that cattle were collapsing due to hunger as a result of drought. This house was very old and strangely quiet. The house was so cool that it did not matter if there was power or not, cool breeze always flew in and out. As the night approached the electricity made its absence felt and in the pitch dark the house seemed like a haunted one. Next day as i was lazing around I saw two shining eyes in the dark corner of the house. The creature leapt aside to reveal itself , it was a brown and white stripped cat!. Gracefully it entered the kitchen and started purring loudly as if saying, “My bowl is empty! You have not poured milk in it!” My aunt in return replied , “Stop screeching young fellow!”. The cat fell silent immediately. It started screening the place and its eyes rested upon me wide in shock! It ran away as I made a movement. The cat visited the house daily and had its siesta in a secluded corner.
In the evening hours all the residents of village would peep out of their houses to have a chat with neighbours. No villager was a stranger to them , they knew everybody in the village. One morning I woke up with a start due to chirping sounds above my head. As it peered I saw hoard of sparrows fluttering above. They had their cosy nests built on our roof! The sparrows were so busy chirping that my presence went unnoticed. Has anyone seen sparrows on your window sills? Strange, that they their population has dwindled in cities.
I have a friend in my village who. But due to poverty she did not pursue her studies further. Now apart from managing her house , she also takes tuitions for kids in the evening hours. She charges only Rs20 per month for each kid and around 15 of them attend her classes. Does this ring a bell somewhere? Its difficult to digest because our monthly spending shoots high above Rs 300 !
Urban people tend to be paranoid but country folks trust each other, that’s what I noticed during my stay. In villages many elderly people live all alone in big houses without any fear. This is the real concept of freedom for which our ancestors struggled. Today villages are in grave danger as their population is decreasing. People are migrating to cities where they are forced to lead a miserable life. Every city has a slum area, the inhabitants are the same who migrate from villages. If these places are provided with good facilities, this migration will reduce. We cannot afford to lose our villages as they are the epicentre of our culture , agriculture and have huge reserves of manpower. Let us all hope that these lively places will be saved and protected in near future!
