THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA - PART II

It is indeed fascinating and even worrisome to see how nature can change in a fraction of a second... no sooner we had finished our lunch, after returning from KUHI (Kuhee) village, a sudden gush of storm with high speed wind (@ 140 kmph) blew off the wonderful teakwood bed in the courtyard, tiles on the roof were flying and falling down all over, chairs were flying and rains followed for almost 30 minutes... and then the calm...

The premise of Melghat Maitri was in shambles...

Chandru of Melghat Maitri was a worried man and after the calm, it was time for cleaning and mending all the things as best as we could... the next day, I went to Sarwarkheda village with Shrikant (a student of MSW from Satara) to conduct the survey of infants and the village... walking through the jungle was so soothing and an amazing feeling... the beauty of nature all around with teak trees standing tall all around... truly majestic in nature! It sure was a challenge as toddlers were scared as they thought they  would be given injection... all we did was to weigh them, measure their height and arm’s size... moving from door-to-door, almost every house had infants below five years... Ignorance is bliss! So they say, but ignorance can also be dangerous and the Korku Tribe are yet to learn why it is so important to know the exact date of birth of their children...

The calm after the storm: Village Chilati

Many cried while there few who smiled and were curious to enjoy the weighing procedure... the parents were very cordial and not one refused... the sorry state of toddlers surely shook me from inside and all the while I was thinking how we would be able to help them... the first ever road since 1947 were being laid at the centre of the village houses (in two rows)... electricity, health care and drinking water are still a distant dream or aspiration for this tribal villagers... when I asked one of the volunteers (Maitri had trained) what were the difficulties without electricity (she had studied till 10^th grade, so has been to city)? Very innocently, she replied, “Nothing! We have been living since ages without electricity. All the household work is completed before the sunset and by 8 pm, the whole village sleep to wake up at dawn by 4.30 am... so there is no difficulty at all for me...”

The lady Maitri had trained @ Village Sarwarkheda...

Contentment is thy name Korku Tribe! I was informed by Chandru that not even a single parent will ever raise their hands on their children... Children have always been a delight for me to interact with because one can learn a great deal from them by simply watching them... I make friends easily in every village with the camera capturing moments that will always be treasured as the time goes by... children are always inquisitive and when I show them their pictures on the screen, they all scream in delight as if the biggest treasure’s gates have been opened for them to enjoy! PRICELESS!!! Yes, each smile that I am able to capture in my heart’s hard disk, I wonder and am amaze that there is so much joy in this part of the world without any worldly pleasure or materialistic gains or losses...

Weighing a child during the survey @ Village Sarwarkheda...

Exploring the villages in Melghat Region have been an altogether a unique experience and as I learn more about the tribe, I want to do more about them... the beauty of the Korku tribe is that every single farmer is cultivating food grains with Organic manure and everyone takes good care of their cattle, something one will not see in the plains of Vidarbha (95 to 98 % don’t even possess cattle)... they use every bit of land in the rocky areas, slopes are even ploughed with great care, even though if one will witness the farmers ploughing, one will wonder how dangerous it is... they grow enough food for their family and one will be shocked to know that the whole family’s yearly expenditure is not more than Rs. 5000/- ($100) on an average!

A Korku farmer ploughing his field @ Village Chilati...

I wondered what makes Vidarbha so special or critical... why it is known as the Centre of Highest Farmers’ Suicide of the country (6 districts: Amravati, Akola, Buldana, Wardha, Washim & Yavatmal) when such immense potentials are visible in the remote villages of Melghat Region... in the remote villages, the problems faced by the tribal farmers are:

No Electricity; No Irrigation Infrastructure; No Drinking Water or for irrigation; Farming is rain fed; No Accessibility to nearby cities; Wells still are dug by bare hands; No proper Health Centres; No proper Schools; Small Land Holdings; No Market to sell their produce....

Digging well with bare hands... hats off to Korku Tribesmen...

YET, my dear citizen of the world, farmers’ suicide is never heard of in this part of Vidarbha. Something that made me salute the Korku farmers from the bottom of my heart! I wish and wish many people to join me in spreading awareness about such great examples for other Vidarbha farmers to see that sincere hard work to save one’s own family (grow food for self first rather than growing cash crops) is utmost important factor if the farmers really want to avoid succumbing to suicide... avoiding debts and being content in whatever small things one has or have will see the six districts suicide free!

.... to be continued...

THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA

It was Documentary Filmmaker Ajay Saklani, who introduced me to the ‘whole new old world’ of India – the Melghat Region in Amravati district of Vidarbha. Even though, I knew before hand about the highest malnutrition infants’ death (in India) and the Tiger Reserve in Melghat Region, the region had been unexplored by me, not so any more though. The young passionate documentary filmmaker has made a very hard-hitting documentary on Melghat Malnutrition Infants Death titled – UPAASMAR – The Taste of Hunger!

Precaution from Diarrhea...

When we met in person in Wardha, we discussed at great length about various problems on ground in the region and pondered what can be done there to facilitate some better infrastructure to make life of the Korku Tribal villagers. Ajay spoke about various people who were doing great work in the region since the past one decade and one such name was suggested to me was MELGHAT MAITRI, an NGO which comprised of three dedicated individuals, who represent the Pune based Trust MAITRI. I contacted Madhukar Mane and was able to connect with Chandrakant Jagdale and Ram Phad on Facebook. It was so nice when these individuals welcomed me with open arms to explore and guided me well to reach the destination - Chilati Village. All the while I was in constant touch with Madhu over phone.

On 8^th Morning I left for Chilati... from Wardha to Amravati, then to Paratwada... I got stuck at Paratwada for near about four long hours as there was no bus to Hatru (only one Bus per day @3.30 pm.)... at about 3.45 pm, the bus finally arrived and the beautiful journey around the ghats with forests all around was mesmerizing for me... thoroughly enjoying the nature in its full splendour, I was busy clicking pictures... reached late in the evening at around 7.30 pm... Chandru was there with his motorcycle to receive me and so was the darkness all around... the journey to Chilati through the forest area in darkness was an experience that was truly exciting for me... no roads and no lights, Chandru, one must say is an expert driving carefully throughout... All the while I was wondering when nature is so beautiful here, why this region is haunted with so many infants’ death!

Sarpanch Shri Ramlal Bethekar

Even though I had travelled for almost 12 hours, I was excited and not tired at all... with the fact that last night I didn’t sleep at all... we both exchanged information about each other and the al-fresco dinner under the moonlight and infinite stars was totally out of this world! The sorry state of the region with so many problems, sans basic infrastructure and basic needs... I wondered is this part of my nation India? For this reason, I titled the post as – “The New Old World of India”! It was really heartening to know all the problems in this region but certainly there were many beautiful things too, to experience during my three days stay at Melghat Maitri Chilati.

The next day, Chandru and I headed for a remote village KUHI... He took me to meet the Sarpanch (the Village Head) and we were welcomed at Shri Sabulal Bethekar’s house. The family is the highest educated family among the Korku tribe of Kuhi village. As part of the survey, we gathered all the required information, interacted with the whole family over a cup of tea. I was made aware by Chandru that there are many villages like Kuhi where basic infrastructures of drinking water, electricity, health centres, schools, irrigation facilities and connectivity to cities are still missing since time immemorial. Deep down I was amazed at the callousness of the Indian Government Policies ever since we got our freedom from British in 1947.

The highly educated family of the village Kuhi

Even today, wells are dug with bare hands using basic tools by the poor villagers. What is heartening is that there are no medical facilities in the region... one has to depend only to the nearby city (Paratwada – 90 kms) and the mode of transport during emergency is bullock cart, motorcycle (if one happens to be in the village at dead of the night)... the mountainous roads (natural) are dangerous and with jungles all around... I shuddered at the thought of such emergencies... deaths of new born babies due to malnutrition is prevalent in this region and has been recorded as the highest in India... still the government has turned a blind eye. Dedicated individuals and few NGOs are doing a wonderful job in trying their level best to provide some relief and help to the villagers in various remote villages.

A part of Kuhi Village...

We met the Sarpanch Shri Ramlal Bethekar, with education up to the Sixth Grade and he gave us all the required information about the village needed for the survey. Around the 15 kms radius of Village Kuhi, there are near about 15 odd villages, each separated at a distance from 2 to 15 kms through the jungles. With no roads and no electricity life in this village is certainly hard but the Korku tribe has been living here since generations (for more than 300 years old)... I was asking self – Is this the INDIA SHINING or INCREDIBLE INDIA that our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is talking about as the REAL GROWTH of the NATION?

... to be continued...