A Yatra into your own self
{article appeared in Crossover India}

A family of five make an unusual pilgrimage of [w:Gujarat]. To visit the Gods of development—unsung, unhonoured heroes working on water, education and primary health.

I’ve often met, over many years, people who have spoken wistfully of their need to step away from the corporate rat race, and ‘do something meaningful in life’.

The question that confronts such people, and I am no exception, is: so what do I do and with who and in what area of work? There is poverty. There is education and health. There are many social concerns of traumatized people in natural disasters or even in the normal course of your day that stirs your good side. We all know health, water and energy are areas that require, direly, professional thinking and committed initiatives. As a long-term corporate manager I had realized that the development world needs some of the training and professional rigour we learn in the business world.

And so it was that as a family, Radha who is an architect by training and a good researcher at work, our three children and I, decided to pack some light travel bags and set out at the outbreak of summer on a pilgrimage of [w:Gujarat], the land of the [w:Mahatma], to see if I could meet people, and groups, that could inspire us, as a family, in directions beyond the conventional.

We had found ourselves not too happy with the education that our children received—not that there was anything at all wrong with the school, with the work we were doing; or with the people we had to work with in corporate spheres. In any organized model which seeks economic efficiency, the structure robs every initiative of its human spirit and of humaneness.

When we boarded the train to [w:Amdavad], as Ahmedabad is officially called these days, we really had no expectations. We were armed with some names and telephone numbers we had secured from people we had never known.. The journey took us through 3000 km of travel in [w:Kathiawad], [w:Saurashtra_region] and South Gujarat and took us into the hearts and minds of some of the most amazing people in India.

Our first experience was with a couple, who were inspired by [w:Jayaprakash_Narayan] and had exited the mainstream to pursue their calling—of imparting meaningful teaching methods to primary teachers. Raju bhai and Dipti ben have trained thousands of teachers over a decade. A man who has mastered the art of conveying his thoughts with few words, he has come up with many innovative teaching aids.

Next we met a young couple, the most fascinating of our trip. Parthesh, a [w:Brahman], and Bindu, a [w:kshatriya] married against the will of their families. The day they married they took a vow never to get a child of their own. The village that they adopted has only 250 people from only two large families. Though the two families live peacefully they have their little rivalries. Bindu ben is the principal of the government school while Parthesh bhai works in a center for environmental education. Students learn by experience.

Learning Under the Tree

Classrooms serve the purpose of store room and a lunch room. Most classes run under the good old beautiful tree. The kids are their main source of strength. There were amazing innovations from the children: a micro finance system wholly managed by them, a first aid centre run by them, disease prevention effort by the kids that had achieved zero cases of Chicken guinea last season. The kids took to [w:Satyagraha] to prevent animal sacrifice for religious reasons, and for water conservation projects. The village trusts Bindu and Parthesh.

He is seriously considering quitting his job to dedicate full time for his village, Rajpur, about 30 km away from Gandhinagar.

Dr. [google:Arunbhai Dave] stays in Lok Bharati. A venerable old man, he used to be a Vice Chancellor of the haloed [w:Gujarat Vidyapith] that was founded by [w:Gandhiji]. Many in Gujarat know of Dr. Dhave’s contribution to education based on Gandhian principles. He has set up a science lab with sustainable technologies. He has an entire lab and his house running on solar and gobar gas. He has put together a science kit that can fit into a trunk box that people take to many villages to teach basic science to young minds.

When we did the long haul, from Amdavad to Rajkot, miles of a bleak landscape showed up. The heat was enervating. But the people were warm and wonderful. The ribbons of the men’s turbans and the [w:dupatta]s and [w:churidar]s of the women, not to speak of the intricately crafted nose and ear rings, brought cheer and gaiety to the eye. From [w:Lok Bharti] we did a trek to a dusty little village called Dhedhuki, about a 60 km further to the west. There was virtually no power grid connection. Amid this stark scape lived Chaitanya bhai and Sonal ben. Their home was a traditional thatch structure with pleasing cow dung floors and mud walls.

They were self-sufficient in water with a functional set of systems for rainwater storage and for treatment and reuse of black and grey water. The chirpings of hundreds of birds that rent the air as the sun set was music to our ears. The family didn’t own the house. It was given to them without rent by a generous poor villager, Ramji bhai. Chaitanya and Sonal have lived by these spartan values for nearly two decades. We met Ramji bhai and his family too. For seven months a year they have very little to eat. They shared with us what they had. If only there was enough water for their lands, they would be selfsustaining. Ramji bhai lived 7 km away in another small settlement which can hardly be called a village.

We met Premji bhai. Talking to a few of his neighbours made us realize that he was well regarded for the work on water conservation that he has done across Saurashtra, threading his way by foot tirelessly from village to village for years. At a small gathering, Premji bhai made a modest speech to a gathering of about 50 attentive villagers on the importance of check dams. He told them of the need for these smaller dams against the government’s insensitive approaches to water with bigger dams. He told us change would happen in the minds of the villagers—over time. His speech was poignant, specially amid a setting of such severe water shortage. Premji bhai personally nursed with his water conservation practices, about a dozen villages which have seen tangible change under the care of his small, but dedicated group.

Defying Delhi

Lok Mitra, the NGO Chaitanya and Sonal run, has built over 12,000 trenches, several check dams, ponds and rainwater harvesting structures. The yield in many of these villages has doubled over 10 years, thanks to these positive interventions. These villages wear a happy look despite the severe water crunch. There is less infighting among their inhabitants in recent years. Lok Mitra’s work is untiring. Chaitanya hardly rests. He wears a quite demeanour. Sonal is the chirpy one.

Their entire team is bursting with enthusiasm. They run at Dhedhuki, a Bal Mandir and a dispensary. Chaitanya draws his inspiration from his grandfather who was a freedom fighter who continued to fight for justice well after independence. The old man had trekked the long haul to Delhi on various issues in his years of work. Once he fasted for 39 days for removal of a corrupt Deputy Home Minister. He didn’t rest until the minister resigned. In his last years, he told his family that there was no point in him staying alive with his body so weak. He chose his day to die. Such was his will power.

We headed back to [w:Amdavad]. There were other causeholders to be met. Anil Gupta of the National Innovation Foundation was one tireless soldier whose work has been inspiring. He has traveled over 50,000 km in the rural scapes of India and meticulously collected many ideas, technologies and product innovations. At what he calls Sristi Innovation, he has published Honeybee, a magazine that presents many priceless lists of traditional knowledge systems. He has reported experiments that can make for better quality of life for the working farmer. Anil has sought to commercialise products that are based on such indigenous knowledge and practice. Sristi Innovation has put out about ten products in the market mostly related to agriculture, health of animals and humans, a herbal mosquito repellent that was invented by some unsung hero among the many hundreds of villagers that Anil has met over the years on what he calls the Shodh Yatra which takes him and his team on many walks into the remote recesses of India’s villages.

His son stopped schooling after class 12 and chose his father’s path. Anil Gupta’s life and demeanour is so unassuming for a Padmashree awardee and a man who was instrumental in setting up an exclusive allocation in the Finance Bill dedicated to such innovation in rural India. His record is staggering: there are over 5000 inventive villagers who have secured financial rewards and recognition for their ideas and inventions. Many of them own worldwide patents, too.

Total Revolution

My yatra of Gujarat would not have been complete without the darshan of Shri [w:Narayan_Desai]. We took a ride to Surat and beyond to the center for education called Total Revolution that he runs at Vedchi.

Here is a man who is the son of [w:Mahadev_Desai], that legendary and prolific secretary of Gandhi who stayed by the Mahatma’s side during those heady and hectic years of the 40’s just before independence. Narayan Bhai is one of those few living Indians who have worked with Gandhi, Vinobha Bhave and JP Narayan. He grew up with Gandhiji over his first 20 years. He left the great man’s retinue and the Ashram, and with his blessings started a new movement for an education of a different kind. Many years later, he joined Bhoodhan in the late 60’s and walked over 12,000 km across Gujarat, persuading landlords and big farmers to share their largesse with the poor ones.

Protecting Seeds

From this little town in South Gujarat we had been transported to Ambetti to a school that was part of the Gujarat Vidyapith. Reaching Ambetti was a challenge. We took a local bus from Vedchi to Valsad, and then on to Vapi. We were given a quiet welcome. We attended the evening prayers. We slept in the dining hall with 12 fans. Only, there was no power till 11 p.m. The Agri-research Centre at Ambetti is the most impressive. It is run by an enthusiastic farm researcher, Dr. Raju. The centre’s work has revolved around protecting seeds and agro products. Dr. Raju trains many farmers on green practices. The spirit of Gandhiji suffuses the Centre and all its members.

Tears in my Eyes

As I sat at Sabarmati Ashram just outside of the bustling old city, I reflected upon the man’s simple but seminal writings. The sheer lucidity with which Gandhiji espoused the essence of our environment took my breath away. Tears rolled down my eyes. The Ashram is today a relic of a past that we know definitively is the only future. I sat watching my children cranking excitedly the charka. In the entire stretch of the Ashram road, the [w:Sabarmati Ashram] is the only place that draws thousands of birds. Gandhiji never returned to Sabarmati after 1938 when he swore that he will come here only after India was free.

A Broken Man

By the time she was free, he was a broken man who saw his dreams splattered with the blood of millions who died as India was amputated into three lands and two countries. Even on the day he was shot five and a half months later, he and his small group of eight had their return tickets to [w:Sevagram], for the day-long ride that he would have taken to Wardha if he had lived that day. So he never set his eyes on Sabarmati ashram for nearly the last ten years of his life.

As we returned to Bangalore, we reflected on the immense possibilities that life on the slow lane offered. As a family we have been deeply impacted by many people who have inspired us with their efforts to create and influence new directions to a more peaceable world.

This pilgrimage to Gujarat will be remembered by us for many things - Gandhiji’s Nayee Talim [new education], the work of genius at grassroots in the face of the insanity of today’s urban development, the power of simple vision, the beauty of vows and of zero-ambition living, the elevating impact of simple bhajans and prayers, the strength and resilience of India’s women and children, the need for sensitivity toward water use . . . we absorbed all of these abiding values as a family. Who knows, it may help us find our own Nayee Talim into the future.