Written by Mathirakshana K
Edited by Shreya Srinivasan
blur, clarity /blɜː(r)/, /ˈklærəti/
antonyms
– common words used to describe a photograph’s focus.
– former meaning unclear, out of focus; latter meaning clear and focused.
Conclusively, these two words were a big part of our whole experience at Grampari.
No article starts with a conclusion, though, so this is the actual beginning of this long story ahead.
To share a small part of Grampari history (also known in full as Grameen va Pariyavaran Kendra), Ms. Jayashree Rao always had the prospect of social work running in the back of her mind and finally gave into her visions of bettering villages after a poignant incident with a vegetable vendor and a second’s rumination. Grampari came to be under the wing and philosophy of Initiatives of Change.
Built on former farmland, Grampari now stands on its own as a successful NGO incorporating several sustainable methods of rural development. Their spectrum is very wide: they adopt livelihood programmes; lend a hand in watershed management; conduct hand wash programmes by raising awareness in schools about the same and through building Tippy Taps (interesting venture, that one); help with governance systems in villages; and hold youth programmes to instil a fire in them to work for the development of the village.
We had an insider’s perspective on everything during our stay at the organisation in Panchgani, a beautiful hill station. With resident translators in our group, we were well equipped.
During our whole stay there, we had umpteen face-to-face conversations with nature. It was soothing our souls with its weathered moods, from when the sky gently or fiercely cries to the sky shining in its vibrancy with warm sunlight to the sky dressing itself up in fluffy white finery.
The very essence of Grampari villages were the awesome interactions with the villages we visited, the first being a village called Vivar, a place where we had already met the heads of it, who spoke intensely about the conflicts that filled their village and how they overcame them, but there was also a divide in the place; it had been split into two. It was very insightful and interesting to hear how they handle issues and about the division in the village. I also learned that the youth of the village were also very inspiring.
There was a unit called NCT, or Nature Care Takers, who helped the villagers handle forest fires, which are not uncommon in those areas. They take water tanks and climb up to douse the fire, and they take care of the nature in the area while protecting animals as well. And there was a person investing in Organic farming who had been abandoned by his family but was striving hard to reap results out of his determination. And now it is a blooming success.
We also found a woman sarpanch overlooking everything in the other division of Vivar.
It is natural to come as a surprise, though we were informed beforehand that this change was affecting villages. However, the husband of the sarpanch does a lot more work than the sarpanch itself—they just hold the title for the sake of it. But it is cool that there was a woman in charge, driving the idea of women's empowerment a little, however it could happen. I mean, change starts small, no?
And the people of the villages we went to were oh so welcoming; they let you into their house even though you wear the label of a stranger and talked to you with the kindest tone, offering you a meal as well! It was eye-opening to see. I mean, it is kind of a cultural shock for us considering how, in urban areas, we barely let anyone we know into the house without watching them like hawks, be it the electrician or a plumber. We are cautious 24/7.
Second, we went to this place called Ruigar, where we participated in a quiet time setting, which is a major part of Grampari’s programme: an inner dialogue with your inner voice. A lot of people from the village gathered together in a temple to sit and talk about their problems or a current introspective thought or question after a bit of thinking in silence.
We had been doing sessions with our inner personas every morning, so it was easy to acclimatise, but the villagers were quite reluctant to share as we were not only invading their time but also because they were quite content and had tonnes of responsibilities running in their minds to fully let go and focus on themselves.
And our last village visit to Akhegani, the place we stayed overnight, was a revelation, to be honest. We went in pairs and a trio to a couple of doors in the village, curious to know about their lifestyles and histories, uncovering some very radical truths, perspectives, and ventures. Each of us had different takeaways from the multitude of conversations, and we realised the struggles of the village before Grampari immersed themselves and intertwined themselves in the development of the village. Grampari had really waved a hand of happiness over them and minimised their problems.
It enlightened us about the depth of the bond the people share in the community and the level of trust they have in them.
Our night's stay over there was also good, with rain pattering down the roof and us waking up to huge gusts of wind on the hilltop. We also came together in the temple (we also went the previous night for the meeting, but it got rescheduled due to low attendance) for a meeting to review our thoughts and ask questions.
The villagers were really nice and listened to us while asking a couple of questions themselves, and it was interesting to understand their point of view while sharing ours.
As mentioned before, quiet time was an integral part of our schedule as well. Real soul-searching silence to claw into the chasms of our being and dig out answers to questions we hadn’t really mulled over before. It brought out some truths we didn’t have the courage to face and some uneven ends that needed tying together. Intrinsically, it helped a lot and forced us to admit and face the consequences of our actions.
Another striking part of our schedule was the school hand wash programme we did one of the days we were there.
We had practised skits beforehand with the help of a dada in charge of the skit material, and having our own bit of fun with them, we presented them to the little students, who responded really well to the acting and content. Then we went ahead and built a Tippy Tap, a common concept in Grampari where, as the name suggests, the tap tips to provide water. It’s a simple process involving basic physics concepts and fun to indulge in. We learned how to build it, did the same in the school, demonstrated the procedure, and realised the deep impact of hand washing in their lives as well as ours. The most memorable part was the jingle-like song accompanied by the various measures to spread soap evenly on our hands before washing. We still remember the innocuous and simple nature of the song!
Yet another thing Grampari does is Shramadan.
It’s an act of physical labour, also something we took part in, much to the annoyance of the villagers (because we really weren’t contributing much but slowing down the process), who were working by toiling hard, each a representative of a family in the village. Amidst their busy responsibilities, they still took time out of it to work on the village's water filtration system. Maybe also because they were fined 200 rupees if they didn’t turn up, so yeah, that too could be why. He he.
And in continuation to the water systems, Grampari works really extra hard on supplying water seamlessly to each village and each house because, because it's on hilltops, they get water from aquifers and distribute and recharge easily if the process is done right. There’s a lot of manpower and real work that goes behind watershed development; the creation of spring boxes is a fitting example of how they facilely guide them in the right direction while monitoring them. Another example is the reed bed filtration system that they incorporate in many villages for filtering the water that rushes naturally for human use.
Identical to how we began the day, we would sit around in a circle at night to reflect on the day’s events, which helped us understand what we were really thinking about what had happened and also provided a special space of community time. The ultimate story-sharing time This was the space that really melded us all together. We learned unfiltered truths, bore our souls, and stripped down vulnerable. It was an amalgamation of darkness, light, and love. It was beautiful to see how we could be really present and support everyone. It was an indescribably deep time.
In conclusion (for real this time, no bait), it was a real awakening experience that opened our eyes to things we had never really seen before or had thrown an invisible veil over.
Aside from it being a trip for the history books (no liberal arts pun intended), we had a fulfilling time making new connections and making deeper bonds, even in the past. What better way to officially end the first year?
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