VFS

ournal stories from the village fieldwork segment

documented by PRM42 & FPRM 20

Photo by Jayesh Chavhan

 Note from the Editors

Dear Reader, lands. We are grateful to everyone for

keeping their patience with us while
The village fieldwork segment (VFS) we compiled this record of some
is a unique and transformative jour- of the best memories of PRM-42.
ney that sets all rural managers from
IRMA apart. It is a rite of passage that Yours Truly,
every IRMAn goes through before they
can go out in the real world and im- Editors
pact society for the better. It paved the Prakhar Prateek
way for the bright future we are all Shaurya Sharma
about to step into!
Sub-Editors
As the editors of the VFS journal, we Ankit Subarno
had the privilege to read and present Aashna Sharma
to you the experiences of our fellow Mohanapriya Srinivasan
batchmates that stand out and touch Pulkit Prasad
our hearts. The journal not only stands Shreyanshu Singh
to witness the journey of our batch- Shreya Jain
mates but also the beauty, diversity,
and kindness that is the embodiment
of rural India. We want to thank each
and every participant for being a part
of this journal and sharing snippets of
their seven weeks with us.

We would also like to thank the VFS

Office for making our transition from
online to offline very smooth, that too
straight from our homes to the hinter-
 Note
from the
My Dear Participants,
On this joyous occasion of the release
of the Village Field Segment (VFS)
Journal for the 42nd batch of Post
Graduate Rural Management (PRM 42)
and 20th batch of Fellow Programme
in Rural Management (FPRM 20) par-
ticipants at IRMA let me start by nar-
rating two discrete interactions I had
with two of your batch mates at diffe
ent points in time.
Immediately after your VFS, one of the
participants had greeted me an odd af-
ternoon and had shared:
“I have received my return on invest-
ment, the ‘so-called’ ROI for joining
IRMA is accomplished.”
I was puzzled.
She elaborated on how VFS showed
her how to be happy and content, and
how that’s the part of her IRMA edu-
cation she would cherish for life.
The second incident happened in this
month. During a post-lecture discus-
sion, one of the participants said:
“Now that we are in the last few weeks of
VFS Chair
our time at IRMA, when I reflect back, the
VFS was the best part of my experience.”
This did not surprise me. We wit-
ness the same emotion from IR-
MAns who come to the campus after
decades during Milaap and recol-
lect the ordinary events of VFS which
made an extraordinary impact on
their lives.
PRM 42/FPRM 20 batch for us was the
first batch after the Covid period. So,
we were back to the absolutely full-
fledged VFS tenure. At the VFS office,
while we’re coordinating and allocat-
ing the host organisations and com-
munities for VFS, we saw boundless
enthusiasm from the participants to
explore, engage, and enjoy the VFS
experience. The VFS journal captures
some of these unique experiences.
Some of you, who are expressive with
your words have written long form
articles, whereas others, who have
been both wiser and miser with their
words, have restricted themselves to
a quote or two. I am sure the readers
would find subtle messages between
the lines of these longer pieces and
the volumes of emotions submerged
in those crisp quotes. The magazine
also contains a plethora of breathtak-
ing pictures capturing the essence of
rural India. Every time we see these
pictures, it reminds us of the unique
and innovative space IRMA provides
us to express our passion and creativ-
ity.
Even though we are behind schedule
in bringing about the VFS journal, I
believe that we have pulled through
at the right time. As the saying goes,
it’s better late than never. And it is
never too late to strengthen the foun-
dation of IRMA through participants’
thoughts, ideas, and writings on the
most loved component, i.e. the VFS.
I congratulate all the contributors, the
journal committee members, the par-
ticipants who shaped the journal to its
current form, Ms Harshika from VFS
office, and the entire batch of PRM42/
FPRM20 for this beautiful gift to the
IRMA community. The VFS journal
immortalises your experiences, pro-
vides the future batches a handbook
to learn from, and the past ones an
opportunity to reminiscence their
time at IRMA.
Your physical journey at IRMA may
end soon, but the VFS experience,
some of which is encapsulated in this
journal, I believe, will be there with
you, guiding you as you embark on
long journey to distant horizons.
Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan
 01
My Journey to BAIF.
Binjan Patel
Platform no. 9 of Waghai bus station
was hustling and bustling at noon.
There was commotion all around.
Neepa, Gopalika, and I descended
from the bus just to find ourselves in
a swarm of people. It was Wednes-
day-the weekly market day of Waghai.
There were shouts of people in the
Dangi dialect selling roasted ground
nuts, khatumda (local citrus fruit),
cloth, slippers, ornaments and lo-
tions, sprouted beans and accessories
for cattle. The village was Dagadpada,
in the Dang district of Gujarat. Our
RO gave us our host family’s con-
tact information and asked us to
find a Jeep from Waghai. With a trol-
ley bag, snacks bag and a back-pack
with each of us (yes, it’s too much for
luggage), we somehow managed to
find the Jeep amidst the chaos. The
01
Dagadpada,
Gujarat
locals informed us that our village was
uphill, and the Jeep driver jam-packed
the Jeep with 20 people. Yes, all Dangi
people are short and lean, so prac-
tically, the three of us had occupied
the space of 6 passengers. The Jeep’s
engine came to life, and the driver
warned us to mind our legs inside and
steered through the busy road occu-
pied by the roadside stands. We saw
the check post of Vansda National Park,
which interested the wildlife photog-
rapher in me, and I promised myself
that I should come to this place some-
day. We surpassed a Nahri Canteen
(it means brunch in Dangi) with BAIF
(our organisation) in the backdrop.
We steered ahead, crossed the circle
and on the right, read the milestone
of Saputara hill station. We proceed-
ed in that direction and came across
boards of many villages like Amba-
pada, Barkhandya, and Dagadpada.
We crossed a bridge built across a vast
Ambika basin. The hill ascended, and
the road narrowed to a single lane.
On our right-hand side were moun-
tains, and on the left, we were still
accompanied by the Ambika river.
Eventually, the traffic disappeared,
and we saw the kutcha houses sparse-
ly distributed along the pakka houses
with humans popping up. Some were
busy beating the rice, while others
worked in the fields or were grazing
their livestock. We felt a drop in tem-
perature as we ascended, owing to
the forest’s thick canopies and green
canvas. The trees appeared taller as
we went uphill, and oops, the mobile
network vanished. However, we were
not concerned as the scenic view held
our attention. We started taking snap-
shots of the roads and mountains, and
the sun began playing peek-a-boo.
After dropping passengers at three
villages en route, we finally reached
our destination- Dagadpada. We dis-
mounted from the jeep and were per-
plexed about stowing the luggage at
the residence of Maganbhai. All we
knew was his name and that he was
the village sarpanch. With no access
to the network, we began asking the
locals. They directed us through pav-
er blocks, and then we saw a large
verandah and a wooden house in a
valley. We reached there, and a lady
welcomed us, dressed in a petticoat
and a towel wrapped over head - this
is the Dangi traditional dress. She
warmly welcomed us home and of-
fered us water. The warm welcome
relinquished all our anxieties. She
showed us our room and the wash-
rooms and asked us to freshen up
while she prepared dinner. We were
served wholeheartedly with a tradi-
tional dangi meal - rice chapati, chilli
chutney, dal, rice and sprouts sabzi.
02
The meal tasted superb, and we ex
changed peaceful looks and retired
to bed owing to the tiring travel of 10
hours.
The next day, the sweet chirping of
birds and the intermittent mooing
of cows woke us. We got out of bed
and discovered that it was a hill sta-
tion. The host told us we had crossed
Maharashtra to reach the village.
In the morning, we went to the ve-
randah to witness the sun, basking
in its rays just after the rise beside
our home (yes, now the host fam-
ily’s home is our home). It seemed
03
like a scenery recreated from our
drawing book. We couldn’t have asked
for a better place. In the evening, we
saw the sunset from our home sta-
tioned on a peak after a valley. We
greeted the villagers with ‘Ram Ram’,
a greeting prevalent here, and they
welcomed us like family. And now
we spend all our nights in the camp-
fire, where the stars are nearer and
the talks are dearer. As Gopalika says
about this place, the roads get small-
er, but the hearts get bigger. We fell in
love with the scenery and the people
- the last village of Gujarat.
02
Stream of Consciousness.
Ankit Subarno
“Because in the end, you won’t remem-
ber the time you spent working in the
office or mowing your lawn. Climb that
goddamn mountain.”
- Jack Kerouac
The air was heavy with a strange aro-
ma - of discarded tea leaves, of die-
sel and petrol, of imitated petrichor
as vendors cleaned the dusty road, of
cheap cologne, and of empty bladders,
marking walls strewn with tuition and
coaching invitations. A seasoned Indi-
an nose wouldn’t tingle at the scene.
We’ve all grown up with it and around
Dumar,
Jharkhand
it. Having lived in the city for all your
life, meeting with scores of peo-
ple, you’d think that you can brave
the worst - not in the negative - but
different than the norm - of being
comfortable in the seemingly un-
comfortable. Or, is it the city that
makes you anxious - for it changes
so rapidly that you always run back
to the sweet embrace of nostalgia,
to a time that crept so slow that you
could savour every moment and be
satisfied by the time your head hit
the pillow?
04
We have been trapped in a rat race,
a world full of pretention, to make us
like them and them like us - people
becoming mirrors to each other just
so our coffers weigh enough to sink to
the bottom of the Dead Sea within sec-
onds. And after a tiring day as you gulp
down that old fashioned - or whatever
poison you prefer, do you think that all
this amounts to anything? The human
race is obsessed with the idea of leav-
ing a mark. But as you lay ten feet be-
low the earth, will you replay the days
when you were young or pay heed to
the mark that you think you’ve made?
“When you consider things like the stars,
our affairs don't seem to matter very
much, do they?”
- Virginia Woolf
Every once in a while the body craves
for an escape, away from the en-
vironment that thunders down on
“It’s so much darker when a
light goes out than it would have
been if it had never shone.”
- John Steinbeck
05
your senses and makes you a slave
to expensive coffee. This idea of an
escape, though variable, holds a con-
stant with peace and a slow-paced
life, one that could replay that nos-
talgia in real-time. Considering that
the past year was riddled with graphs
and numbers and examinations and
two-time meals and twelve-page
cases and network disruptions at
key moments, VFS was an escape.
You know the format of what comes
next, so let me be brief - we were lo-
cated in a village called Dumar, which
is twenty kilometers away from Haz-
aribagh, tucked away in the middle
of a forest, or between lots of trees,
I’m still not sure. How did we get-
there? Two-hour-long bus ride to
the city, switched to an electric rick-
shaw, hopped on another auto, and
within thirty minutes we were there.
Nothing exciting. Nothing unique.
We’ve all had the same experience so
far - scenic route, lots of farmlands
ripened with paddy, kids crying, kids
eating food as they have an intense
stare-off with you, farting people, lots
of them, people looking at your chats,
people offering you baadam, and the
likes. Such is the monotony of trav-
eling in a tin can full of people who
themselves are on their way to their
idea of escape - you aren’t the only
one.
Similar clothes - different brands,
similar food - different spice mix,
similar language - different dialect,
similar consumerism - lower inten-
sity. Westernisation or globalisation,
whatever you may call it, has made its
way to every element - even the pups’
names (Tommy), but with a muted ef-
fect - a slow drizzle that lets you adapt
at your own pace - away from home,
making you already feel at home.
These were our people; their life was
our life that we escaped to be a part
of the meaningless. We were back to
our roots to people with smiling faces
and no hidden intentions, folk music
without objectification, gatherings
without any reason for celebration,
and yes, terrible internet. That was
the hardest thing to adapt to - no
movies to stream and no people to
stalk (on social media). We were left
to the good ol’ days of storytelling su-
preme - folklore. Those with grey hair,
seasoned hands, wrinkled foreheads
and tattooed arms screamed that they
contained the wisdom of the village,
of its sciences and geography and his-
tory, and politics. For once, you could
leave the lens of logic behind. The bet-
ter stories, so fantastical, would never
agree with our rationale. Soak in the
flavours and stimulate your senses;
behind the veil of consumer comfort,
this is the life you have long longed for.
06
 03
An Upside Down Journey.
Yukta Doshi
“The journey of a thousand miles begins
with one step”.
-Lao Tzu
I always wondered how it felt for the
butterfly to come out of the cocoon-
was it liberating or a submissive feel-
ing? On the 29th of October, I realised
it’s a mix of both. After 21 years of
staying in a cocoon, in the comfort of
home and family, going for VFS was a
huge step. The 1000 km journey from
Hyderabad to Vadodara was not about
the distance but was the first step to
test whether I was ready to face the-
real world and fly out of the cocoon.
07
Popdipura,
Gujarat
This trip had a lot of firsts, and I was
prepared to take them head-on. I got
paired up with a stranger. I travelled
alone on a flight for the first time and
finally boarded the Munni Ashram bus
from Vadodara to Popdipura to meet
our host family. The idea of living
with an unknown family thousands of
miles away made us doubt whether we
would adjust to the new surroundings
and whether the host family would
accept us. But all these inhibitions
came to rest when we were welcomed
with open arms and a big smile. That’s
when we knew for sure that our 50
days in Popdipura would go well!
The journey was indeed transforma-
tional. From sleeping on a 12-inch
mattress to sleeping on a khatiya, I
realised that dreams and nightmares
were two sides of the same coin. From
booking an Uber with a mere touch to
sitting on tractors and chagda, I re-
alised the true essence of a journey
and understood the value of the des-
tination. From waiting at my door for
a Swiggy delivery to going to the khet,
plucking bhindi and cooking it my-
self, I realised the value of food and
also that I desperately need to work
on my cooking skills. I understood the
true meaning of purity when I drank
a glass of fresh and unadulterated
milk. From using a washing machine
to walking a kilometre to the ghat to
wash them made me realise the true
meaning of hygiene. With the transi-
tion from using a Western toilet to an
Indian one, I realised that The Indi-
an way of life has always been better.
From binge-watching Netflix and Am-
azon to watch the sunset and sunrise,
I realised the beauty of nature and the
gift of sight. From celebrating Diwali
in fancy outfits with expensive sweets
to making them with your hands and
sharing them with the entire village, it
marked the real celebration of home-
coming and happiness. From unin-
terrupted networks to no networks,
I understood the meaning of having
conversations with humans rather
than machines.
Life has taken a complete 360° turn,
and the butterfly is out of the cocoon
into the real world, trying to reach for
the skies. It’s neither easy nor com-
fortable to be out of the cocoon, but
the butterfly knows that her wings will
be liberated and admired for beauty
only when it is out of the cocoon. The
VFS journey has a long way to go, with
lots of hurdles and obstacles, but at
the end of the day, there is warmth
and love, which I will always get from
Popdipura, and that is something I
would take back to the cities.
08
 Quotes VFS
from

“ “The place where peace and tranquility is smeared in

the air, where the alleys are paved with the beautiful
stones of love, where the lush green farms whisper the
language of the gods, where the humans carry com-
passion and kindness in their soul...yes, it’s the place
engraved with everlasting bundle of memories in my
heart.”
-Ritika, Saumya, & Mansi

“Rural in books and Rural in Reality are two very dif-

ferent entities.”
-Danish, Anurag, & Hemant

“Came across various passionate locals especially

women who believe in working together for develop-
ment, just a right direction is what they need!”
“
-Shivangi, Shraddha, & Kajal

09
 Photo by
Ankit Subarno

10
 04
An Untold Story.
Parmeshwar Lal
An account of a community that has
been struggling for survival. The Pas-
toralist Community, which is a signifi-
cant part of Indian history and culture,
is agonised by the continuous ignorance
by the Indian government and the social
stigma attached to them.
“Humare liye toh sarkar ne kabhi
kuchh kiya hi nahi”, said one of the
herders during our VFS. There is
not a single scheme by the central
and state governments which spe-
cifically provides any benefits to the
pastoralist community. There is not
11
a single portal where you can find
data about the number of sheeps,
goats and their different breeds, no
insurance schemes (though there
is Aadhar for cows and buffalos but
not for sheep and goats, did they
not come in animalcategory and not
sufficient free medicine supply. The
veterinary doctor from Rajasar Bha-
tiyan village told us during an inter-
view that they have medicine sup-
ply for around 1000 sheeps only but
there are 11000 sheeps in the village.
Even after trying so hard, he did not
get any response when he demand-
ed for more medicines as per seasonal
demand from the pastoralists. Pas-
toralists have to migrate in different
parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Hary-
ana around 6-7 months during farm-
ing season in the village which leads
to non-availability of grazing land.
That migration leads to the drop-out
of their children from schools. The
occupation of being a pastoralist is
considered a very low grade in the so-
ciety and no one agrees to marry their
children with a pastoralist’s children.
This social stigma leads to the non-in-
terest of the new generation in this
occupation and the number of pasto-
ralists has been declining continuous-
ly. There is no formal guidance over
value addition in wool, selling direct
meat or sheeps in the market which
leads to continuous exploitation of
this community by the outside trad-
ers. The community doesn’t engage in
any collective activites, exposing the
lack of self-organisation.
The gaps of the system and the real
situation of the community was before
me as now I put before you but there
were not clear answers to certain
questions. Like other social workers,
I also went to them to collect data to
understand their situation better but
in the end I was left with certain un-
answered questions only. One of the
herders said to me that “Aise puchhne
ke liye bahut log aate hai par waapas koi
nahi aata” (many people come to know
about our situation but no one comes
back with a solution). After listening
to him, I was wondering if my recom-
mendations would be implemented by
Urmul or not? Am I like the other vis-
itors who could not find the solutions
for their problems like how to change
their behavior from being a passive
receiver to an active self-change
marker? With these confusions my
VFS journey ended but they still have
hope that one day someone will listen
to their Untold Story of agony.
“Behind every scar there is an
untold story of Survival”
12
 05
The Irony Of Raja Parba.
Veena Epari and Trisha Banerjee
Karanjiapada
Odisha

13
Every year in the month of June, Odi-
sha celebrates a unique festival, called
Raja Parba. The festival is a celebra-
tion of womanhood, and unmarried
girls in all households take a break
from their traditional household du-
ties, and are showered with sweets,
fruits, and flowers. A characteris-
tic of the festival is that they sit on
‘doli’ (swing), with their feet in the
air. Great care is taken to ensure that
their feet do not touch the ground.
With the first arrival of monsoon
during this time, Mother earth is said
to be menstruating and preparing
herself for future agricultural activ-
ities. The women, thus, apply ‘alta’
(red liquid) on their feet and abstain
from walking barefoot on the ground,
believing that this will lessen Moth-
er Earth’s pain of menstruation.
We witnessed the harsh reality of
the festival during our VFS stay. Year
round, women work and toil hard,
with their contribution going unrec-
ognised. While the festival celebrates
womanhood and claims menstru-
ation is a symbol of purity, the topic
still remains a taboo in the society.
Women are asked to spend the week
in a separate part of the house and are
not allowed to touch anything. Most
women have no access to sanitary
products and use old cloths for the
purpose, which are often hidden away
in shame, with a mindset that ‘what
will the men think’. They remain mute
spectators to their own pain, unable
to voice their agony.

The word ‘Raja’ comes from ‘Rajaswala’,

meaning a menstruating woman

She sat there in a daze, letting the swift motion of the swing take control. The
swing’s motion often reminded her of the oscillatory motion of a pendulum she
had read about in class. But unlike all the other times, this time felt like she was
sitting on a real pendulum, with each stroke pushing time forward and bringing
closer the threat of tomorrow. For tomorrow, the last of raja would mean that she
would no longer be treated like a queen, showered with gifts and sweets. Her moth-
er would soon discover the stained cloth (that she had been able to keep hidden
for the past 2 days) hanging under her salwar on the clothesline, and she would
be confined to a discrete part of the house, her prison for the next 7 days. Her feet,
that had been in the air for 4 days now, were about to find their ground in the
harsh reality of womanhood.

14
Photo by Ankit Subarno

15
 Quotes from
VFS

“ “Narrower roads, bigger hearts.”

-Neepa, Binjan, & Gopalika

“I am one of those who firmly believe that People are

living a luxurious life in cities by sacrificing happy &
healthy life in villages.”
-Hrishabh, Sai Krishna, &Aravind

“Fruits of development can only grow when seeds are

equity in dispersal.”
-Sriram, Suresh, & Rajeev

“A journey of a lifetime that puts the important things

in persepective.”
“
-Prakhar & Pulkit

16
 06
How It All Started.
Ajay Kumar
As soon as the end-term exams got
over, the entire batch was thrilled for
the singularly unique element of our
course- the Village Field Segment
(VFS). It was going to be a whole new
experience for everyone and I was
no different from the batch in feel-
ing the same enthusiasm. I started
with the packing 3 days prior to the
journey and booked my tickets in
my favourite mode of travel i.e., by
train. The morning of my VFS trip
was a bit emotional as my family and
I were going to see-off my young-
er brother, who was going to Russia
17
Alwar,
Rajasthan
for his studies. At the same time, my
family bid me farewell as I board-
ed the train for Alwar (Rajasthan). As
soon as I reached the allotted organ-
isation, I was welcomed in a typical
guy’s fashion as six of my other group
members were already present, chill-
ing and having fun in a small room
which couldn’t really be called a room.
We spent the next three days in the
same room and in no time, that small
room began feeling like a boys hostel
family to all of us. In the meantime,
we met with the organisation staff
and they briefed us about our task.
As we were in Alwar, a city shrouded
in ancient history and surrounded by
small but beautiful mountains of Ar-
avali range, we decided to spend one
evening in the beauty of the place. Af-
ter three days, the group split for their
respective villages. I, along with my
partner, left at 8 AM for a three hour
journey to our allotted village. But
there was not a single moment where
we felt bored and that was because of
the scenic view from the bus. We were
travelling through beautiful moun-
tains and to add to this beauty, we also
passed the Sariska Tiger Reserve on
our journey. I was travelling through
a reserved forest for the first time
and to add to my excitement, our bus
was welcomed by a Tiger. This was a
strange moment for me, a mix of fear
and excitement. A sense of relief and
justice washed over me, as the tiger
was free and we, the species that have
wrecked their natural habitat, were
closed on a bus to admire the majesty
of the beast.
We reached the allotted village while
enjoying the journey. It was a small
village named Piplai. It was sur-
rounded by mountains from all sides.
In the first instance, the village looked
like any quintessential poor village
deprived of almost every basic facil-
ity. But then we met our host family
and there it dawned upon me, why
our country is famous for the line-
Atithi Devo Bhava. The host family
welcomed us as if we were members
of their own family. In no time, I felt
close to home in a completely new
place. We stayed in a woman’s home
who was no less than a hero. Despite
being uneducated, she was working
with an NGO for the empowerment of
women and was also acting like a vet-
erinary doctor for goats in the village.
On our first walk in the village, we saw
the work done by her and that was ex-
tremely inspiring for us.
I got to know the two boys from the
family. They were about my age which
18
meant great company for us for the
next one and a half month. During
the walk, we decided to climb one of
the mountains to see the village from
the top. This was my first time climb-
ing a mountain and I knew it was
going to be thrilling as well as hard.
19
But as the saying goes, the hardest
climb has the best view and this was
verified when we reached the top of
the mountain and saw the beautiful
village from the top. At this moment, I
was sure that the next 50 days were go-
ing to be no less than a dream for me.
 Forsaken Hills. 07
Yukulaans: Solitude of the
Sarthak Kothiyal
The houses in their dilapidated con-
dition still sing the stories of their for-
mer glory, which now remain as ruins
from the past. The ghughuti, a variety
of birds commonly found in the hills,
are still singing their melodies and
the Kaafal trees are still bearing fruits
for their travellers; The roads that
had once happily sent off their young
kids to the cities in search of employ-
ment are now waiting for their home-
coming. The Kshetrapal or the local
deities are still protecting the area
against evils and calamities, while
blessing the ones away in the cities.
You see, unlike popular belief, migra-
tion wasn’t the major change in the
hills of Uttarakhand. What it changed
is adding a prefix of ‘ghost’ to some
villages, though there’s nothing scary
about them except the plight of its
family.
According to a report there are
around 1564 uninhabited or ‘ghost’
villages in Uttarakhand and additional
650 villages that have less than 50 per
cent population. The locals leave their
villages in search of better employ-
ment opportunities, higher education
for their children and better medical
facilities but they never find their way
back. However, the elders who unlike
their young ones are not able to give
up on their ancestral lands & rituals,
usually finds themselves trapped in
20
an impossible choice between their
progeny and patronage.
In conversation with a 92-year-old
Aama (as we fondly refer to a grand-
motherly figure in Kumaoni) who is
left behind to stay alone at her age in
Kothera village of Pithoragarh, men-
tioned how she is dependent on oth-
ers for even food as her 5 children live
away in glamorous cities. While she
awaits death, her children find it diffi-
cult to go back home, given their hard
pressing commitments at business
21
along with poor facilities in their vil-
lages. They left the village for a bet-
ter life, the irony is that they couldn’t
bring it back to the village for their old
mother.
So yes, there is Yakulaans (or loneli-
ness) in the forsaken hills that waits
for the festivals to be celebrated in
the same way as they used to be, for
its culture & tradition to be passed on
to the next generations and for it to be
freed from the ‘ghost’ that looms in
absence of its people.
 08
Dungar Dev Pooja.
Gopalika Gupta
I had the privilege to go to Dagadpa-
da, a small village in the Dangs on the
Gujarat-Maharashtra border. I had
many new and life-enriching experi-
ences, and one among them was the
Dungar Dev Pooja. The term ‘Dungar’
means hills, and people worship na-
ture in the Pooja. It is said that Gods
descend to the village and bless the
people there. The Pooja happens only
a few times a year, and I was lucky
enough to attend one during my stay.
When the village sarpanch, our host,
told us about the Pooja, to say that
I was amazed would be an under-
Dagadpada,
Gujarat
statement. Initially, I was scepti-
caland thought it was merely some
superstition that people believed in.
Finally, the day of the Pooja came. I
was excited and a bit sceptical about
the Pooja as I did not know what to
expect. The Pooja took place in a
nearby village known as Barkhandya.
A few male members were prepar-
ing for the Pooja in the centre of an
open ground. Men and women sat
separately. The men sat close to the
centre of the Pooja while the wom-
en sat farther away. Some men were
holding sticks in their hands called
22
“Dev ki lakdi”, which is said to attract
God inside the bodies of the people
sitting with and around these sticks.
The Pooja started with singing hymns
and musical instruments. The aura
changed suddenly. A sense of divinity
could be felt. A man who sat close to
us began to shake and shout, indicat-
ing that God had entered his body. I
was terrified but also thought that he
might be acting. But as more and more
people started dancing and shouting
out of nowhere, I realised that they
were not pretending, but divine pow-
er was at play here. It was surreal to
see people dancing, shaking, shout-
ing, crying, and getting beaten up by
others without even feeling a thing.
I was dumbstruck when small kids
were beaten up. Still, they felt nothing
and wouldn’t even remember the in-
23
cident in the morning. People were
swallowing sticks on fire and rub-
bing those sticks on their bodies. It
was difficult to believe what I saw.
They called dancers from Maharash-
tra to perform the local pawri dance.
The dancers were in complete sync
and created an intense environment.
The women worshipped God, who had
entered the men’s bodies by perform-
ing arti from a distance to express
their devotion. My experience is hard
to believe. It feels like a fictional story
that I have written. I would have felt
similarly in your place as a modern
woman. The Pooja has convinced me
of divine power, and I urge every-
one to visit and experience Dungar
Dev Pooja at least once in their life.
 09
How It All Started.
Shivani Mishra
When asked “How it all started”, it
feels like I have to re-write my own
book. It is so close to my heart that I
think twice before sharing that ex-
perience. It’s like penning down the
beauty of golden yellow fields caught
by my eyes. It’s writing about the
rhythm of threshing & rice falling
down against the floor. It is like re-liv-
ing the moment I came to know that
BAIF would be my VFS organisation.
From the Concrete Jungle, I departed
with bags of food and excitement. It
was so good to meet my colleagues in
real-time. To eat food together rather
than sneaking behind the laptop
screen on a video call was surreal.
After spending 4 days at the BAIF
main centre, we were assigned the
village Chondha, which became a CSR
hub after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam laid the
foundation stone for a higher second-
ary school in 2003. I wonder if he had
ever thought about the village again,
to come back and see how it has pro-
gressed! It has schools, dairies, rice
fairies, and water and is an organised
cluster. The ignited minds in the vil-
lage became our best friends during
24
Diwali, treating us with traditional
food and sweets. The delight of hav-
ing roti made out of rice and the raw
taste of freshly plucked vegetables and
daal cooked on chulha is unmatched.
It is altogether a different question
when did we become a part of this
family? Was it when the sarpanch
invited us to her daughter’s wed-
ding or the host asked us to make a
rangoli on Diwali? Or was it around
when we requested a glass of water
and got a little sweet along with it?
25
Right now, the three of us- SIA
(Shivani, Ishani and Anuva)- are ex-
ploring the village on foot, which is di-
ametrically spread over 5 kilometres.
We started to understand the village
when we went house to house to fill
our bottle, which we had intentionally
kept empty. This led to conversations
about water scarcity, cropping pat-
terns, dietary intake, culture, history
and much more. Now, we know the
faliyas (the localities), and before we
leave, we will know all the little roads
that connect them. So yes! This is how
it started and how it’s going.
 Mrs. Geeta Kushwaha: A woman’s
10
dedication to educate her children.
Saurabh Jaiswal
In the quiet village of Kena, the day
begins early in the house of Geeta Ji.
She gets up before the sun rises and
works and keeps busy until the end
of the day. Mrs Geeta has a gener-
al store which caters to the diverse
household needs of Kena’s villagers.
You will find the shutters of her store
open at 8 AM, and it shuts down only
after 10 PM. The store is located in her
house, so it’s easy for her to balance
household chores and serving the
community. It is a hub of diverse eco-
nomic activities. The first customer
comes just after opening the shutter,
asking for toothpaste or hair oil.
Later we can see a group of women in
the store trying bangles and playful-
ly bargaining the price. The business
goes on till late at night. Mrs Geeta
lives with her husband and 2 chil-
dren, Kapil and Saurabh, who have
been trained to do household chores
in the absence of their mother so
they can fend for themselves. Gee-
ta Ji was married early, so she could
not complete her education. When
she asked her in-laws to enrol her in
school, whose fees were Rs.3000 for
a year to complete her intermediate.
26
She was denied due to a financial
crunch and a family feud. So she is just
a high school graduate. She ensured
that the same obstacles do not impede
her children’s education. She start-
ed learning the art of stitching, and
sewed clothes for the locals to sponsor
her kids’ education. She sent her kids
to private schools for high-quality ed-
ucation, which she was deprived of.
She moved out of her in-law’s house
to spare the children from the nas-
ty family feuds. She had limited re-
sources and enrolled as an ASHA. The
community recognised her excellent
work as an ASHA. The earnings from
ASHA were not much, and just having
2 acres of land for agriculture meant
that she needed more. On a regular
day, we can see Geeta Ji working in her
store, doing household chores, work-
ing as an ASHA and also going to the
farms. We saw her harvesting ground-
nuts on the farm, and she started
telling us about her time of struggle.
It was in 2008 when she left her in-
laws’ house and moved out. She saw
that a meeting was happening under a
tree near her house. When asked about
the topic of discussion, her cousin, a
member of the group, told her that it
was a Self Help Group (SHG) meeting
where people discuss their financial
needs and get assistance, if feasible. So
in one such session, she saw the head
of that SHG giving money to other
members, and naively, she also asked
for money. It was not received well by
the other members. They mocked her
27
by saying this wasn’t Kuber’s Wealth
and not everyone could come and ask
for money. She felt insulted and later
went to her cousin, who took him to
the federation head. The head there
told her about the SHG enrollment and
membership process and also pro-
posed that she should set up her own
SHG. She headed the new SHG with 10
women, and regularly holds meetings.
She also arranges frequent training
sessions by collaborating with Devel-
opment Alternatives and Tejaswini.
As her children grew up, she was
trained in shop management and
accountancy. So she got financial
aid from the DA for Rs 10,000 to set
up her own general store, a stepping
stone to a brighter future. The de-
mand for products grew, and the shop
became profitable, so she took a Rs
35,000 loan from the DA to furnish
the store and order more products.
She also took a Rs 10,000 loan from
her SHG, which she paid off on time
due to her large customer base. She
had advertised her without any help,
and her goodwill as a hardworking
ASHA was helpful. Her customers
also spread the word about her store.
She got supplies from Jhansi, Barwa
Sagar and even from Delhi, where
she used to go for regular meetings.
She went to Noida for training and
formed her own SHG in her vil-
lage under VV Giri Rashtirya Shram
Sanstha, where everybody is trained
in different fields according to re-
quirements. She later got associ- service centre for her kids. Through-
ated with the DA and received her out the day, we saw her work in the
loans. Her inspiration was her cous- store or farm and talk and encourage
in, a member of SHG in the village. women. She returns from the farm at
7 PM and makes tea for us. Then we
The SHG is running properly under smell the aroma of her food soon after.
her care, while other SHGs were de-
funct because members saw it as an If you ever visit Kena and are in
opportunity to make money. But she need of household products, includ-
wants to empower the women and ing cosmetics and bangles, Gee-
provide them with better livelihoods. ta Ji’s store should be your choice.
Her family is very supportive towards
her, and her husband has been her
support system. Kapil and Saurabh,
her kids, are 18 and 20 years respec-
tively and are studying in BA first and
final year. Saurabh even has a com-
puter diploma. The family of 4 togeth-
er looks after the store and farm. They
support each other in everything.
With her savings, Mrs Geeta bought
land on the main highway and intends
to open a vehicle service and customer

28
 Quotes from
VFS

“ “Villages are the places where you can find both very
tasty and healthy food at the same time.”
-Gajanand, Gururaj, & Prashanth

“An eyeopening journey for city-bred, caste-blind

first-timers.”
-Mohanapriya & Pragathi

“If I help you, tomorrow someone else will help

my son when he is in need.”
-Sanket, Dhiraj, & Souradipta

“A village is a hive of glass where nothing

unobservedcan pass.”
-Rohit & Nirmalya
“
29
Photo by Ankit Subarno

30
 1
The Perils of Development.
Dharmapreet Singh
“Both my sons reside in Bengaluru. Only
my husband and I live here. We are old,
and he has health issues, so I earn by
running a small shop outside our home”.
These words were uttered by a teary-
eyed Bishan Devi of a remote village
Kathooli Badel, Tehri Garhwal District
of Uttarakhand. I was there for about
a month. The area is underdeveloped,
so the men have been migrating to cit-
ies for better livelihood, unfortunate-
ly leaving behind their old parents.
The story is about how development
can mean trouble for communities.
Humans robbed the animals’ habitat,
so they are now entering the homes
of humans. The village Kathooli has
31
India’s tallest dam, Tehri Dam, in its
periphery. Before the dam, the vil-
lagers were engaged in agriculture
and used to grow major cereal crops
to earn their livelihood, but then the
government decided to build the Teh-
ri Dam. Conventional wisdom says
dams develop regions, but the real-
ity is drastically different. The dam
displaced the animals, so wild pigs
and monkeys were forced to search
for shelter and food elsewhere. They
invaded the villages in the dam’s pe-
riphery, like Kathooli Badel. They
started attacking the agricultur-
al fields, destroying the crops and
disrupting the villagers’ livelihood.
It felt like they were taking revenge
and demanding to know, “Why have
you destroyed our homes?” This also
exemplifies how powerless common- The dam indeed fills up the govern-
ers endure the consequences of the ment coffers, but conventional eco-
powerful’s actions. The farmers were nomic development should not be at
forced to keep their land uncultivat- the cost of local livelihoods. It looks
ed. The educational facility in the area peaceful from the outside, but the
is poor, and these farmers, without inner peace of villagers is no more
their crops, had no marketable skill because of the dam. The govern-
or an avenue to skill up. So the men ment should take measures to mit-
had to migrate to distant lands, tear- igate the perils of development by
ing apart their families in the process. making provisions to rehabilitate the
displaced wild animals and restore
Bishan Devi said that earlier, her sons agriculture. The least that the gov-
lived with her, but now they were ernment could do is to provide an al-
forced to migrate. It’s ironic that, ternative resilient livelihood to keep
on the one hand, the Tehri Dam is the families together and let them
known for being the highest dam in have their “pursuit of happiness.”
the country, but on the other hand, it
has stolen the livelihood of many. But
no one considers their plight. Seeing
Bishan Devi in tears was the gloomi-
est part of my village journey. It forced
me to face my privilege of living in a
city with virtually every facility. On
the other hand, the village folk don’t
even have a livelihood and are most
vulnerable to risks. The powerful are
eating the fruits of the villagers’ sac-
rificed livelihood without having a
passing thought about the wronged.
Many tourists visit and enjoy thedam’s
beauty but don’t give second thoughts
to the externalities. They don’t see
the rotten core that would be re-
vealed on peeling the shiny surface.

This case forced me to question the

responsibility of the government. It
should have considered a backup plan
when they knew that the dam could
cause animals to enter the village.

32
 12
Urbanisation: A struggle between
modern and age-old lifestyle
Sarthak Kothiyal
George Bernard Shaw said, “Prog-
ress is impossible without change”,
which can be explained by a concept
as simple as ABC for MBA students:
opportunity cost. Whenever there
is a choice between two or more al-
ternatives, the best value alternative
comes with a price equivalent to the
value of the following best alternative.
Progress is also accompanied by an
opportunity cost with all the benefits
it promises, which means letting go of
the old ways. Sometimes it is equiva-
lent to replacing simplicity with com-
plexity and making way for unwel-
come changes. This is a struggle faced
today by rural communities adopting
new technologies to stay in the race
33
with the rest but are losing their au-
thenticity and traditional practices.
Urbanisation, accompanied by a lop-
sided development, has compelled the
villagers to seek better livelihood and
living conditions in the cities, leaving
their traditional homesteads barren.
The main drivers of migration are em-
ployment, and improper health and
education facilities, especially when it
comes to hilly areas. Apart from this,
the lack of adequate market and trans-
portation facilities also expose the
people of rural India to a deprived life.
The ones who stay back are the ones
who are incapable of leaving their
villages due to either their old age or
insufficient resources
Apart for the lack
from this, transi-
of adequate
The terrain
haveis lost
favourable
their existence
for citrusand have
tion. Theymarket
stand at
anda crossroads, one facilities
transportation fruits, yetbeen
the villagers
replaced do
by high-yield
not prefer varieties.
way leading
alsotoexpose
new technologies
the people ofto rural cultivating
In- Inthem
all, there
due toisaalack
change
of mar-
in the over-
improve dia
theirto living standards
a deprived in aones who
life. The ket to sellall
them.
landscape
With a of
shift
rural
in focus
India, fuelled
conventional
stay sense
back and
are the
the other
ones one
who are towards
in- higher
by changing
milk production
consumerand
preferenc-
is to preserve theirofage-old
capable leavingpractices.
their villages better
due yield,
es and
indigenous
a fast cattle
rate ofvariet-
development.
to either their old age or insufficient
ies have lost their existence and have
The kind resources
of lifestyle which wastransition.
for the earlier They
been replaced
The traditional
by high-yield
practices
varieties.
seem to be
prevalentstand
in rural
at aIndia was focused
crossroads, one way lead-
In all, there
losing
is a their
change
meaning,
in the over-
which influ-
on sustaining rather
ing to new than being prof-
technologies to improve
all landscape
encesofhow
rural
people
India,
interact
fuelledwith each
it-oriented. People
their livingliving in the in
standards hills
a conven-
by changing
other.consumer
The coherence
preferenc-
or feeling of
practised tional
agriculture using
sense and thenatural
other one isestoand aoneness
fast rate
thatofwas
development.
once essential to ru-
water sources, consumed
preserve their what theypractices.
age-old ral life is no longer as prominent as it
produced and stored the rest for the The traditional
was in the
practices
past. To
seem
summarise,
to be as cru-
following The
year.kind
Most of the practices
of lifestyle which was earlier
losing their
cial as
meaning,
development
whichis influ-
for rural India,
have a cultural significance,
prevalent whichwas
in rural India is focused
ences how
there
people
is ainteract
price towith
pay for
eachavailing of
also a wayontosustaining
keep the locals
ratherengaged
than being prof-
other. The
thecoherence
perks it offers.
or feeling
But with
of the new
in their day-to-day
it-oriented.activities. This in
People living is the hills
oneness that
trends
waspointing
once essential
back towards
to ru- a sus-
especiallypractised
visible in agriculture
the type of agri-
using natural
ral life is no
tainable
longerlifestyle
as prominent
with a focus
as it on ‘clos-
culture and livelihood
water sources,activities
consumed thatwhat they
was in theing
past.
theTo
loop’,
summarise,
one startsastocru-
wonder if the
are takenproduced
up by theand
villagers.
storedFor
theex-
rest for cial
the as development
old ways were
is foractually
rural India,
the right way.
ample, the hills ofyear.
following Uttarakhand are practices
Most of the there is a price to pay for availing of
famous for their
have coarse significance,
a cultural millets, es- which
theis perks it offers. But with the new
pecially kodo
also millet
a way (‘koda’)
to keep and pearl engaged
the locals trends pointing back towards a sus-
millet (‘jhangora’) are now seeing
in their day-to-day a This
activities. tainable
is lifestyle with a focus on ‘clos-
shift towards morevisible
especially widely accept-
in the type of agri-
ing the loop’, one starts to wonder if the
ed cereals such and
culture as wheat and activities
livelihood rice. that
old ways were actually the right way.
are taken up by the villagers. For ex-
ample, the hills of Uttarakhand are
famous for their coarse millets, es-
pecially kodo millet (‘koda’) and pearl
millet (‘jhangora’) are now seeing a
shift towards more widely accepted
cereals such as wheat and rice. The
terrain is favourable for citrus fruits,
yet the villagers do not prefer culti-
vating them due to a lack of market to
sell them. With a shift in focus towards
higher milk production and bet-
ter yield, indigenous cattle varieties

34
Photo by Ankit Subarno

35
 Quotes VFS
from

“ “Sadak tum ab aai ho, jab sab shehar chale gaye.”

-Sachin & Shivam

“Rural regions are frequently devastated by pro-

grammes that pay farmers not to farm. Everyone suf-
fers as a result of the cuts, from fertiliser companies to
tractor salesmen.”
-Shreya & Stuti

“Many come to know but no one care to change (quot-

ed by one of pastoralist while interview?”
-Prameshwar & Samar

“Life in remotest of the Himalayan region is not at all

easy. It is the agility of this rural community that helps
them survive in such difficult living conditions. “
“
-Shivam & Nikhil

36
 09 13
Urbanisation: A struggle between
Migration: A Boon or Bane.
modern and age-old lifestyle
Sarthak
Ajay Kumar
Kothiyal

George
M igration
Bernard
means
Shawthe
said,movement
“Progress changes.
offers a magnificient
This is a struggle
view faced
from to-
an
is impossible
of people from
without
one place
change”,
to anoth-
which day by rural
outsider’s perspective.
communities
The village
adoptingis
caneither
er, be explained
in search
by aofconcept
work orasterri-
sim- new technologies
situated in the Aravali
to stay
range
in the
of race
Ra-
ple as
ble living
ABCconditions
for MBA students:
but the oppor-
impact with the just
jasthan, rest on
butthe
areperiphery
losing their
of au-
the
tunity
of migration
cost. Whenever
is massive.
there is
Migration
a choice thenticityTiger
Sariska and Reserve.
traditional
Employment
practices.
between
forces people
two or
tomore
leave alternatives,
their homes the
for opportunities in the village come in
best value
months without
alternative
any employment
comes withse-a Urbanisation,
the form of agriculture,
accompaniedgoatbyrearing,
a lop-
price equivalent
curity. It separates
to families,
the valuechanges
of the sided development,
carpet manufacturinghas
etc.compelled
But the
following
the living and
bestworking
alternative.
conditions
Progress
and
is the villagers
village has witnessed
to seek better
the migration
livelihood
also accompanied
whatnot. In reality, by
migration
an opportunity
displac- andmore
of living
than
conditions
50% of its in
population
the cities,
in
costthe
es with
body,
all the mind
benefits
andit the
promis-
soul. leaving
the last 5-6
their
years.
traditional
This would
homesteads
come as
es, which means letting go of the old abarren.
surprise
The
if one
mainwere
drivers
to wonder
of migra-
why
ways. Sometimes
Piplai, a small village
it is equivalent
in the Al-to tion are employment,
someone would abandon
and their
improper
na-
replacing
war district
simplicity
of Rajasthan
with complex-
with a health
tive place
andineducation
search of opportunities
facilities, es-
ity andpopulation
total making way
of for
around
unwelcome
4000, pecially
that might
when
notiteven
comes
be out
to hilly
thereareas.
and

37
step out in the from
Apart worldthis,
of uncertainty.
the lack of adequate
with theirhave
entire
lostfamily,
their engaging
existenceinand have
The mindmarket
keeps wandering endlessly facilities
and transportation labour and
been
earning
replaced
enough
by high-yield
to meet varieties.
around this
alsothought,
expose and an answer
the people of rural their
In- daily
In all,
needs.
thereOn
is athe
change
positive
in the over-
can be searched
dia to a only if one
deprived life.spends
The ones who
side, the whole
all landscape
family in of
a single
rural place
India, fuelled
a significant
stay amount
back areofthetime
oneshere.
who are gave
in- a sense
by of
changing
security to
consumer
each fami-
preferenc-
The response was
capable of quite
leavingoptimistic
their villages ly
duemember.
es However,
and a fast
on rate
the negative
of development.
when enquired
to eitherabout the age
their old village’s
or insufficient
side, their children’s future is un-
situation resources
10 years earlier.
for theBack then,
transition. They
certain and
Theunthought.
traditionalThey
practices
neither
seem to be
most menstand
and women worked either
at a crossroads, one way lead-
have access
losing
to any
their
formal
meaning,
education
which influ-
in the village
ing toornew
on technologies
its boundaries.
to improve
through schooling
ences how nor
people
do interact
they ex-with each
Groundwater
their was a rich
living and abun-
standards in a conven-
perience other.
any kind
Theof coherence
social learning.
or feeling of
dant source of irrigation
tional sense and as
theagricul-
other one is to oneness that was once essential to ru-
ture was preserve
the villagers’ primary
their live-practices.
age-old An NGO named
ral life IBTADA
is no longer
is running
as prominent
its as it
lihood. Also, plenty of marble mines social operations
was in the
inpast.
the To
village.
summarise,
They as cru-
in the neighbouring
The kind ofvillage generated
lifestyle which was earlier
work primarily
cial as development
on issues of is
women
for rural India,
employment for a in
prevalent substantial
rural Indiamale
was focused
empowerment
there is
anda price
girl child
to pay
educa-
for availing of
population.
on But with time,
sustaining thethan
rather mar-
being prof-
tion. They
thehave
perks
enabled
it offers.
theBut
forma-
with the new
ble minesit-oriented.
were shut People
down, increas-
living in the hills
tion of SHGs
trends
in the
pointing
village,back
facilitating
towards a sus-
ing the village’s
practisedunemployment. To natural
agriculture using women in
tainable
starting
lifestyle
new with
enterprises
a focus on ‘clos-
worsen the situation,
water sources, groundwater
consumed what they
by takinging
loans
the at
loop’,
low-interest
one starts to
rates.
wonder if the
sources inproduced
the village were
and exhausted
stored the rest for This
the further
old ways
allowswere
women
actually
to regu-
the right way.
in the subsequent two years,
following year. Most ofmak-
the practices
larly save money for emergency sit-
ing agriculture an uncertain
have a cultural occu- which
significance, uations.
is With the NGOs’ assistance,
pation because farmers
also a way to keepwere now engaged
the locals some women have opened Kirana
totally dependent on rain foractivities.
in their day-to-day crops. Thisshops
is in the village, while others have
especially visible in the type of agri-
engaged in carpet manufacturing.
culturewas
When a survey andconducted
livelihoodinactivities
the that
The NGO provided each women SHG
village, it are
wastaken
foundup by many
that the villagers.
males For member
ex- with 3 goats to encourage
ample,
had migrated the hills
to other statesofinUttarakhand
search goat
are rearing, and this intervention has
of better famous for their
employment coarse millets, been
opportunities. es- a success in the village. How-
pecially
It has been kodo
observed millet
that (‘koda’)
in most cas-and pearl
ever, only a limited number of wom-
es, peoplemillet (‘jhangora’)
migrate in search are now seeing
of better en aare members of these SHGs, and
shiftopportunities;
employment towards morehowever,
widely acceptedthe number of members is continu-
cereals
the income such
earned as wheat andis rice. The
post-migration ously decreasing due to faith issues.
terrain
not enough is favourable
to sustain for citrus fruits,
their families
and buildyet
a the villagers
secure futuredofor
nottheir
prefer culti-
A significant proportion of wom-
children. vating them dueoftoPiplai
The migrants a lackvil-
of market
ento are engaged in carpet man-
lage eithersell them.in
worked With a shift inunits
bricklaying focus towards
ufacturing. This job is not
higher milk production
or in the loading-unloading of trucks.and bet-
labour-intensive, but it is time-con-
Some of ter yield,
them hadindigenous
migrated cattle
along varieties
suming and damages the eyesight

38
when engaged for a prolonged period.
However, for men’s “only” occupa-
tion, there are no such alternatives;
hence, this has been the trigger point
for the high migration rate, with men
migrating at the cost of separation
from their families and their freedom.
They bring back nothing in the form
of social or cultural remittance, and
the village is not transformed social-
ly. However, a more pressing issue is
that the children of these migrants
39
believe that migration and soul-
crushing labour is the only way to go.
It’s ironic how villagers initially mi-
grated in search of better opportu-
nities to build a better life for them-
selves and their families. Still, the
swamp of migration has engulfed
upcoming generations in this vicious
and never-ending struggle of hope-
lessness that worsens on struggling.
 14
Unity All Along.
Yukta Doshi
Praveen said, “Raju, get me the
round screw. I need to repair the cy-
cle.” Praveen had to repair his daugh-
ter’s cycle so that she could ride it to
school after the Diwali break. Raju,
his neighbour, got all the equipment
needed to fix it but there was some-
thing still missing. Looking at all the
confusion Raju and Praveen were
facing, a few more people joined
in to help them. I was stunned. In
the city, we don’t even know who
our neighbours are and what their
names are. People from all around are
coming together to fix a girl’s bike.
Praveen suggested that he call some-
one from the tinker/repair shop so
that they finish quickly. Raju inter-
jected, “Why should we call someone
to repair it when all of us are here?
Let’s all use our heads and figure
out the solution.” Ramesh helpfully
opened YouTube and searched, “how
to repair a cycle?” Everyone was im-
pressed. Ramesh’s grandmother,
who was 95 years old, started boast-
ing about her grandson’s smartness.
She did not know that Ramesh did
not comprehend the language in the
video but was figuring it out visually.
40
Soon, the whole village turned up at difference that we lose making a
Praveen’s doorstep to give their ideas small difference and living the small
on how to repair it. Girish Kaka, 80 moments. Humans, social beings,
years old, commented, “yeh sab aaj are all about relationships, and it is
ke zamane ki cheez zyada nahi chalti, necessary to make strong ones with
humare zamane mei tho hum chal humans rather than with machines.
ke jaya karte the” All the youngsters
smirked and were busy surfing goo-
gle for solutions. The aunties around
started sharing recipes and tips on
the effective use of gas cylinders and
how chulha is still better to use. Soon,
I saw chai being served with nasta. It
started with a small screw but led to
a mini party—a reason for the villag-
ers to participate and make a differ-
ence in each others’ lives. I was so
overwhelmed to see the unity of the
village, even for the smallest of things.
With a lot of head-scratching, they
figured out the solution and repaired
the cycle. The cycle’s problem was
solved by people across all genera-
tions. The Dadas gave their traditional
advice on how to solve, the young-
sters used technology to figure it out,
the uncles tried to balance both, the
aunties made sure the Josh was high
throughout and the kids were hav-
ing fun, and brought happiness to all.

When Praveen’s daughter rode the

cycle, it was not just Praveen who
was proud but the whole village
who helped. They all played a role
in getting the daughter educated.I
realised that city dwellers are dis-
tracted by technology, and we have
lost touch with our human side.
We are so focused on making a big

41
 15
How It All Started.
Aditi Patel, Banhideepa, and Megha

ठहर जाओ
जोर से चिल्लाई ठहर जाओ
गिर के कु त्ते ठहर जाओ
कायर धूर््त ठहर जाओ
पेट भरा तुम ठहर जाओ
भूख मरा तुम ठहर जाओ
चोर लुटेरे ठहर जाओ
गाय के हत्यारे ठहर जाओ

~ Zaverchand Meghani
(Translated)

42
 the picturesque Himachal, or Uttara-
We were thrilled to hear from the
khand, or some other hill station.
VFS office that we were being sent to
Amrapur Gir, a village in the jungles of
Now fast forward to our arrival at the
Sasan Gir. Our journey started with a
village. While driving towards our
bus trip from Ahmedabad, where the
stay, we were happy to see a restau-
three of us met for the first time, full of
rant, petrol pump, bank, more than
excitement and joy to see the lions of
one clinic, and a private school with a
Gir and to work with the lovely villag-
hostel, among other amenities. Grad-
ers of Kathiyawad. What is interesting
ually, as we entered the village, all our
about Kathiyawad, it is one of the most
perceptions started to fade. It was
resource-rich regions in Gujarat. The
nothing like our imagination. It had
Gir forest is home to the only Asiatic
an open drainage system and open
Lions in the world. It is also famous
defecation. The houses were not pak-
for its colourful culture. Their food is
ka houses, and residents survived on
as delightful as their people. Growing
meagre earnings. At last, we reached
up, we read stories about this region
our accommodation with tradition-
from one of the most prominent writ-
al Gujarati-style architecture. It was
ers of Gujarati Literature, who was
breathtaking and different from all
a native of this region—Zaverchand
the places that we came across. And
Meghani. He described the people as
then we had our first meal. Aah! The
both courageous and brave but also
food was delicious, with dal and sabzi
soft and kind at heart. All households
in water. The next meal was even more
rear buffaloes, and milk flows in the
delicious than the first. After this, we
veins of the Kathayawadi people.
also faced a water crisis. We didn’t have
And we cannot forget the famous Gir
access to drinking water immediately.
cow, whose milk is considered very
Yet, we decided to cook for ourselves.
healthy. Meghani describes the re-
We bought vegetables and made a
gion as an extraordinary land where
sandwich. We had never imagined that
people fight lions like we fight dogs.
a sandwich would make us so happy
It’s a lush green region with abun-
and content. It felt like having the
dant water, fertile land, and livestock,
first meal after two days of starvation.
with its celebrated mangoes and
groundnuts. The mangoes have the
The short-lived two-day bliss began;
Geographical Indication (GI) tag, and
our kind neighbour provided drinking
the groundnuts fetch remunerative
water and offered to prepare food for
prices in the market. Even big brands
us. That was the day we also learned
like Snickers procure from here.
that water was supplied after 7 days in
the village. At this point, we realised
In short, we were happy about
that the life of a villager isn’t that easy.
our location even though it wasn’t

43
All our myths were busted. Reality
started to kick in. We learned how dif-
ficult their lives were. Meanwhile, we
were also talking to some of the farm-
ers, and we understood that some of
the fields near the river get submerged
in water every year because of floods.
And yet, they face a water crisis.
Nonetheless, we would like to share
that even in these challenging times, we
were and are enjoying ourselves a lot.
We took a fish spa in the river, and
one of us even bathed there. We
swung on the roots of a banyan
tree and felt all our worries fade
away with the wind. We also visit-
ed the forest and hills of the village.
It has been a fantastic roller coast-
er ride. We laughed, cried, rejoiced
and experienced the ride together.
44
 16
जल की जद्दोजहद
Prameshwar Lal
A village with no steady access to
drinking water after more than 75
years of independence. This village of
Rajasar Bhatiyan is near the Pakistan
border in Bikaner. It is covered by mil-
itary camps but still left out of many
government water supply schemes’
benefits. Earlier, people used to fetch
water from ‘Kuis’, ‘kund’ and pub-
lic borewells for their daily needs.
Women were supposed to bring water
from those borewells in the morning
on their heads, or men used to col-
lect it through camel carts. In 2002,
the water tankies were constructed
45
in the village through gram panchayat
where the water is stored through
pipelines from a 20 km distant vil-
lage ‘Sadlai’. There is no regular
timing of this water supply. Some-
times in summer, there is no wa-
ter for several days, so they must
depend on whatever is collected in
their kund through the rain. Most
households do not own a camel now,
so they have to rely on the private
tanker mafia (During winter, the
mafia charges 300-400 rupees per
tanker, and in summer, it could
go up to 1000 rupees per tanker).
Roughly 1000 households pay 45 lakhs system resulted in the destruction
for water, a fundamental require- of the erstwhile natural water re-
ment for life. Due to irregular supply sources. Gram Panchayat’s negli-
timing, these tankies often overflow. gence has ensured that household
Villagers claim that more than 10,000 water pipe supply is not possible soon.
litres are wasted daily, creating dirt. People are left on their own with-
The local doctors believe that dirt out much support from Gram
causes illnesses like Malaria and fun- Panchayat and the government.
gal infections. The new water supply

46
 Quotes from
VFS

“ “Life in remotest of the Himalayan region is not at all

easy. It is the agility of this rural community that helps
them survive in such difficult living conditions. “
-Shivam & Nikhil

“Everyone has a tendency to defect from their duties

and partake in corruption; Anyone who claims that
they are free from this tendency hasn’t held an advan-
tageous position before.”
-Sarthak & Tanuj

“Light up the World with your Smile:)”

-Chidvilas & Aravindhan

“ जहां सुकून मिला था,

अंजानो के बीच में भी प्यार मिला था,
अपने गाँव के सफर को मैं कैसे बयां करू,
मेरे गाँव का अनुभव वो है जहां मुझे अपना पहचान मिला था”
“
-Vishawas, Himanshu, & Saurabh

47
Photo by Ankit Subarno

48
 Clubs of
IRMA
Private Sector and
Rural India
Abhyudaya Club
Since independence, rural devel-
opment has always been a priority
for Indian policymakers. Both gov-
ernmental and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) were working
to uplift rural India. The government
kept a tight leash on the for-profit pri-
vate sector. Before liberalisation, so-
ciety did not admit the crucial role of
the private sector. But now, an era of
corporations has ushered in. Compa-
nies like ITC and HUL have expanded
aggressively in the rural market. ITC
spokesperson recently stated that
their FMCG sales have doubled in
small towns and villages after making
the “bottom of the pyramid” innova-
tion like small low-priced packets.
With the advent of mandatory CSR,
companies are also working on core
49
development activities in the ru-
ral sector. The lines between for
and not-for-profit are blurring.
The businesses have started serv-
ing the stakeholders, not just share-
holders. Social entrepreneurs are
leveraging technology to provide
sustainable solutions in all dimen-
sions, from healthcare to agriculture.
The companies work with rural In-
dia not for philanthropy or to ease
their guilt but for making shared
value for all the stakeholders.
The role of government has trans-
formed from a regulator to a fa-
cilitator. But this does not mean
that it must not keep a watchful
eye on corporates trying to ex-
ploit and loot the villages of India.
 due to lack of sufficient cold storage
Potential of and warehouse facility, incurs a se-

agribusiness for vere post-harvest loss, and existing

poor market linkages aggravate it.

transformation Agribusiness can change the face

Krishinova Club
“I have incurred huge post-harvest
loss again and am not fetching a re-
munerative price, which is wreak-
ing havoc on my financial condition”.
These are the words of a marginal
farmer who produces in surplus but,
of agriculture by addressing these
existing inefficiencies and gaps. In
fact, this is manifested in the rap-
id increase of agribusiness start-
ups solving such problems in recent
years. With the advent of industry
4.0 and other innovative practices in
the pipeline, the next decade would
belong to the agribusiness industry.

of the total FMCG sales, a major part

Strengthening of it being food items, reporting an

Rural Distribution impressive growth of 14.2 per cent

y-o-y in the third quarter of 2020-21

Network in the against top metropolitan cities, 0.8 per

cent y-o-y figure of the same period.

Pandemic How did the companies manage to

Operations Club
A potential victim of the Pan-
demic could have been the ru-
ral distribution network of the
FMCG sector, but the proactive
action by the sector prevented it.
In the wake of the pandemic, urban
India reported sluggish and erratic
demand. Still, FMCG companies prof-
ited from the relatively milder and
more lenient form of lockdowns and
restrictions in rural India. The rural
market contributes around 37 per cent
pull it off?
- Reworking and customisation of
product portfolios with smaller SKUs
and value packs.
- Adding thousands of new distribu-
tors, dealers, stockists, sub-stockists,
and sales staff.
- Ramping up the rural distribution
network.
- Deployment of ready-stock van
units.
- Digital initiatives in rural areas
across both B2B and B2C, such as
adopting apps to onboard Kirana
stores and small shops.

50