Snapshots:

They all jokingly called him ‘Shabari Baba’ and ran away the moment he came in sight. One night after our round of medical camps in the designated villages in Pench, he sat down with me and chatted up. Slowly the conversation turned towards religion and his favourite topic, Ramayan and how devoted Shabari was to Ram. I realized now why people called him so. He was more than 60 years now living with his wife and did not have any kids. Most of the time he spent soaking up religious books, songs and sermons for the entire village….a very mild-natured pious man indeed.

The village Mela was being held at the periphery of the forest. There was palpable excitement in the air. Villagers were slowly trickling in from all across dressed in their finest Sunday clothing. There was food, bangles, photo-frames of gods, household items and even games. The Mela was filled with mothers, kids, young guys and girls.

We talked to a guy handsomely dressed hanging around with his friends. He explained us the games especially the one where one had to climb a slippery pole to get to the prize. Next day while on our way to the SF office, we heard a commotion at the village market. Somebody had consumed poison and the SF van rushed him to the nearest hospital. As it turned out, it was the same Mela guy who had consumed poison because of a ‘love’ issue. One day happy and boisterous, and the next day its passion-play. Who could have guessed. He managed to survive.

While on the field, we had our lunch in the villages itself cooked by a family. They were given the necessary food items and some money for the service. By the time we finished our camp, food would be ready – piping hot. In every house where we had our lunch, it was served with so much warmth and love. And for all of us there, it was the best food ever eaten….so much that we all ended up over-eating.

Life and people in these villages are so simple with simple needs and demands. Small things give them happiness and each incident becomes a big event for them to talk about. In the last few months I have gone in other villages and spoken to villagers. I realized that given the right knowledge and guidance, they are all willing to go the right way. Tell them plastic bags are harmful and they will use a single one for months.

It’s us city folks who are the most obstinate about the idea of change. Tell a city person not to use plastic and you will see the next person carrying 5 bags out of a shopping mall. We, who are seemingly educated and know the status of our world, refuse to change. Because we refuse to give up even an iota of luxury for anything good.

Now I feel it’s really a very difficult task ahead of us.