The results of collective thinking

• written by Sundarlakshman

For some time, some people who originally belong to

 a village but have now settled in cities due to 

jobs or business, have started taking up some 

activities for the development of their respective villages.

While going to Mumbai by train recently I came across a person returning from Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) with his family after having darshan of Balaji. He lives in Mumbai but does not own a house. The reason is low income, as he works as a taxi driver. He resides in a rented house at Mulund. Apart from maintaining the family, he has to educate his two kids also. Due to limited income and growing expenses following price rise he was planning to shift to Dombivali so that he could save some money by paying low house rent. Once a year, he goes to his village in Tamil Nadu. When I asked him why he came to Mumbai, he narrated a long story. He said till there was plenty of water in his village there was prosperity in the family. 

But since the water availability has come down the agriculture production declined
substantially and for some time it is almost become difficult to maintain the joint family. Then he found no other option but to shift to a city in search of livelihood. And finally he shifted to Mumbai. All of us know why the population of cities especially in Sewa Bastis (slums) is increasing, and number of people living in villages is decreasing. It is due to difficulties in getting employment in the villages. This is the aspect which cannot be ignored while thinking any activity for village development. An effort worth emulating for village development A swayamsevak, Ravindranath Kurup, lives in Perai village under Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. He has developed his village during the last 20 years. He started extending helping hand to the villagers who work in brick kiln or coconut pluckers so that they can live a respectful life. 

He visited every house of the village to find out the children who were not going to school. He convinced their parents to send them to school. Those whose parents agreed were admitted to nearby government as well as private schools. Even though he later went to Kuwait for a job, he continuously helped the village children for higher studies. A boy belonging to brick kiln worker’s family got higher education with his help and he is now Deputy Superintendent of Police in Chennai. Shri Kurup has also arranged jobs in Kuwait for more than 14 persons of the village. Now all houses in his village have good roads. After education, Shri Kurup focused on temple associated activities.

He arranged daily pooja, monthly deep pooja, annual festival, etc. He also started a Sangh shakha by sending his two sons to Sangh Shiksha Varga and a daughter to Rashtra Sevika Samiti Varga. They later trained many village youth for Sangh work. To assist the students in their studies, he started weekly tuition classes and also weekly Samskar Kendra. Though he belongs to the caste, which has very limited population, he persuaded the people of majority class to understand the game-plans of the Christian missionaries. He explained them the richness of Hindutva. Through temple committees he imparted training of Pujari and organised regular religious discourses. During the last 15 years, he persuaded more than 4000 people who were attending church prayer to visit temple. He made the temple a centre of all activities like gym for youngsters, yoga for all age groups, counselling centre, legal guidance, financial advising centre, medical guidance and help centre. More than 26 temples have been renovated in the village by restoring daily pooja, weekly Samskar Kendra, monthly deep pooja and annual festival.

He also conducts temple Pujari (residential) training, coaching classes for Maths, Science, spoken Samskrit and English. If the village people face any difficulty in their family they come and discuss with him as a counsellor. He suggests them viable solutions. While doing all developmental activities he overcame all types of opposition from Christian missionaries and also the local communist cadre. Anna (foodgrain), Shiksha (education) and Chikitsa (health) are regarded as three basic needs of the human beings. In my village every individual used to do the first one. Those who were educated imparted knowledge to others, while the Vaidyas looked after the health needs of the people. Now all these things have been commercialised due to western thinking. This mindset needs to be changed if we really want to survive for long. Our Ideal Villages When I was young, I went to my grandfather’s house at Kalloor, 12 km away from Tirunelveli town during vacations. The village had a small canal, small tank, Ganeshji temple under a banyan tree and a Shiva Temple. At one km distance Tamraparni river flew. Surrounding area had paddy fields. The village had around 1500 people with about 300 houses. The village was self-reliant having chekku (oil grinding machines run by bulls), carpenters, masons, barbers, goldsmiths, black smiths, small provision stores, primary school, village Vaidya (village doctor), weavers, village priests, Gram Devata Mandir, Gram Raksha Devata Mandir, etc. Once in 6 months harvesting was done by the villagers. Different types of vegetables, nuts and agricultural products were there.

Due to the presence of different types of trees there were variety of birds in the village. Once a year there used to be bhoomiyajna in villages before the beginning of the rainy season. The objective of the yajna was to invoke the rains in the village. During that activity gram bhoomi was worshiped followed by bhandara (community meals) by people who live in the village without any caste, creed or religious differences. Due to the increase of political influence in the villages, people are divided into groups, hugely disturbing the normalcy. Need of the hour is that the villagers should select village chief and other Panchayat representatives to the Panchayat unopposed. Mera Gaon Mera Teerth For some time, some people who originally belong to a village but have now settled in cities due to jobs or business, have started taking up some activities for the development of their respective villages. Sri Ramesh and his brothers belonging to Thiruvenkatanathapuram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu are doing a good work by sponsoring activities in their village. They have started various activities through Sivaswamy Trust (formed after his father’s name). The activities include annual temple festival, weekly Samskar Kendra, daily Balwadi, educational help, etc.

The reason of burgeoning population in cities 

is decreasing employment opportunities in villages. 

This should be the main focus of our 

planing for village devlopment.

Similarly Sri Venkatnarayana Reddiyar has also started some activities in Samoogarengapuram under Tirunelveli district. He also runs Balwadi, Samskar Kendra, Deep puja, Mandir Utsav, etc. He is thinking to start a primary health centre after his fathers’ name in the village. Shri Mahindra Singh Dadwal at Gatsankar village in Punjab has started a school and Goushala. There are so many people who live in towns or cities but have started many constructive activities in their respective villages. This experiment can change the picture of majority of our Indian village. Therefore, the experiment needs to be strengthened and more people should be involved in it. Here is an experience of a lady teacher in government school at Sambathrayan Pettai under Arakonam Taluk of Vellor district in Tamil Nadu. 

She changed the school atmosphere with love and affection and without getting disturbed by any type of mischief by the students. She says, “First day I entered my class. I saw one student always playing with his cellphone. I asked him to handover the phone. But he refused, He said: “I will not give; you can do whatever you want.” His friend, also in the same class, was sleeping in the class room. Due to the support of external people and involvement in their activities, those students had become very indifferent, arrogant and disrespect. That was a small village in backward Vellore district in the year 2008. I took all care and attention to these students and made them pass class 12th. 

There was another student who was always found sleeping. On enquiry I found he works at farms during the night hours. He was economically very backward and nobody was there to support his studies. I promised him assistance in studies. He put lot of efforts and passed 12th. I also found that the girls at the village got married off very early, at about 16 or 15. I made them realise the value of education and job. This made them socially aware of their rights and values. That village never sent a girl to collage before. After I started working all the girls started going to college. I have achieved 78 per cent result in the first year, from previous results of 32%. Now all my previous boy students are doing good jobs and 48 girls are going to colleges. Every year this school achieves a minimum of 98% result in 12th class." This type of devotion and attachment to work is needed by all.