As
we entered the bus, one by one, all of us were equally excited for the
overnight visit that would expose us to the rural environment of Karnataka. This
excursion, which was undertaken by the final year undergraduate students of
Sociology between 31st July to 1st August, was directed
with the help of the Centre for Social Action. The main objective of the trip
was to create awareness among the students about the rural life of India by
sensitizing them to rural communities. One of the main tasks assigned to us was
to study the village system and its important components.After
a journey of around 2 hours, we reached the base camp in Halasinakayipura
village, Hoskote, where we received a warm welcome from Mrs.Shakuntala, the
head of the village cluster. She rendered a brief summary of the developmental
activities that were initiated in the village by CSA. We were made aware of how
CSA had worked in the village for the first 7 years after which all the
responsibilities were given to the villagers for better functioning. She also
oriented us with the challenges faced by them before the advent of CSA to the
village, which include – lack of awareness about the nutrition to be provided
to children and pregnant women, problems in the areas of education, financial
inclusion and women’s position in society.
Team
Ragi Mudde visited the village of Chikanallala, where on visiting the school [Nammoora Sarkaari Hiriya Prathamika Shaale]
they interacted with the headmaster. The students found out about the
day-to-day functioning of the school and the problems faced by them, one among
which was the lack of benefits received from the government. Further, the
students visited two households, where they had friendly encounters with the
inhabitants. They learnt about the functioning of self help groups and how the
men of the houses enthusiastically supported their wives in all of their
endeavours. One of the interesting experiences of the students was weaving silk
with a charkha that was improvised by the wheel of a cycle. This was looked at
as a source of additional income.
Activities
were carried out in Halasinakayipura by Team Suhaas’s Angels. They visited the
school in the village, agricultural fields and two houses after which they observed
a self help group meeting. All this gave them a firsthand experience of the
daily circumstances of rural society. The students learnt songs in Kannada from
the schoolchildren. They saw fresh crops being grown and were also offered a
few vegetarian delicacies like tomatoes and ridge gourds. On their way back to
the base camp, they also had the opportunity to witness a beautiful peacock in
the forest.
The
following morning proved to be a peaceful delight with the smell of fresh earth
and the sound of birds singing. Consequently, most of us went out for a morning
stroll, exploring the interiors of the village. After a tasty breakfast, we
prepared ourselves for Shramdhaan, or the gift of service, which was to be
provided in the form of painting the school walls of the Halasinakayipura
School. An artistic quarter of us were involved in painting the water cycle and
depicting the stages of a woman’s life through our colours and brushes. The
rest of us applied coats of primer on the other walls. Completing this task
took a time period of 3 hours after which we had a session of reflection with
Mr.Ranjit Singh.
All
of us shared our experiences during the session and discussed the learning
outcome. We reflected and internalized our roles as agents of change in order
to transform the adverse situations in rural society. We conversed about the
importance of development projects and the session ended with us giving a few
suggestions as to how this rural exposure programme for students could be
improved. We had a wholesome lunch and set out on our way back.
In
its entirety, it was a beautiful experience that widened our perspectives and
gave us multiple dimensions of looking at the world.
OINDRILA MUKHERJEE
5PSEng
1313263
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