Rural Immersion Report

Bagechiwadi Akluj, Maharashtra

Name: Sameer Sant

PRN No: S1142200032
Batch: TY BAJMC (School of Media & Communication SOMC)

1
Rural Immersion Programme
The basic intention behind the whole programme was to give the students
an idea about rural lifestyle. This immersion programme was a great
opportunity to interact with the villagers and understand their lifestyle.
We as students got to know several issues that the villagers face on a daily
basis. Along with that we also saw their daily working schedules and tried
to become a part of it. Living in an urban setting and living in a rural set-up
are two completely different experiences. This Rural Immersion
Programme that was planned by School of Media and Communication
helped us a lot in getting connected to the true roots of our nation.

About Bagechiwadi

Bagechiwadi is a small human settlement near Akluj, in Maharashtra. The

rural settlement comprises of scattered households across vast plainlands.
The Bagechiwadi Gram Panchayat is the main governing body and is
responsible for the civic affairs of the rural area. It is a very modern
developing village with sufficient education, health, and security facilities.
The main occupation of the locals is agriculture which includes cultivation
of crops like sugarcane and rice. Also, every household has cattle and
contribute to the local dairy product business. Bagechiwadi is a diverse
village with different types of people living in it. People from different race,
caste, religion, age, and sects reside in harmony. Cattle rearing and feeding
is the secondary source of income of most of the families. The efficient
Gram Panchayat takes care of all the daily necessities including water,
food, and sanitation supplies. It is an amazing human settlement that
everyone needs to visit for experiencing life in the vicinity of nature.

2
About The Immersion

The Immersion Programme started on the 12th September 2022. We left

the college early in the morning. Two of our batches (Third Year Bachelors
and Second Year Masters) left in two different buses. We reached the
village in the afternoon and settled in our respective accommodation. The
street play team started preparing for their play. After travelling for ten
minutes finally, we reached Bagechiwadi and saw the rural setup for the
first time. As our bus arrived, we had to get down and walk to through the
village. We started inviting the villagers for the street play that was going
to be conducted near the Hanuman Mandir. This mandir was the village
center point, thus making it accessible for most of the people. It was
almost evening when the villagers started to show up. They turned up in
huge numbers and were very excited for the spectacle that they were
about to experience. People of almost every age group showed up and
blessed us with their presence. The street play team was very excited for
their performance. The play received huge applause and great
appreciation from everyone.

3
I was the part of video documentary team. Then next day we visited the
Gram Panchayat, government school, doctors clinic, and many other
village institutions. The Shrama-daan activity was carried out, where the
college students did social work. This included becoming a part of the rural
lifestyle and working with the villagers in their daily chores We also started
addressing different issues that were being faced and tried to find
solutions. The video documentary team conducted several interviews with
the village governor, police head, post office head, head doctor,
agricultural officer, and many other villagers. The village was filmed using
proper filming equipment. We also visited community radio, sugarcane
farms, and many other such locations.

4
Students interacted with the government school children and played a few
games along with them. Activities like yoga session, game session, public
assembly were organized by college student groups. The school children
enjoyed their time engaging in these activities. It was an unusual school
day for them, where they chatted and played with us. The student teams
also visited the local community radio. There they performed a few pieces
and learnt a few things about radio journalism.
The village documentary team were given a individual vehicle to travel
interiors and hard to access parts of the village. It was a great experience
to film the remote areas, vast fields, farmlands, sugarcane farms, wells,
and village settlements.
On the last day we attended the valedictory function and saw the village
for the last time. The locals were kind enough to come and say goodbye to
each and every one of us. Later on, we visited another farm and then were
on our way back to Pune.

Conclusion:
In the end the rural immersion programme was a great success. All the
planned activities were carried out in the best possible ways and received
amazing response from the local villagers. To visit a village and to get to
know their lifestyle is a once in a lifetime experience. We were lucky
enough to be a part of such an amazing trip to Bagechiwadi village in Akluj.
I sincerely hope that in the due course of my career I get such opportunities
to visit such villages and interact with different people.

5
THANK YOU !!!

Report by
Sameer Sant
TY BAJMC
S1142200032