On the 26th of
June, 2015, the first year and second year MA Applied Sociology students were
taken by the Sociology Department for a village visit to Hoskote. Hoskote is a taluk in Bangalore Rural
District. Headquartered at the Hoskote town, it consists of 5
Hoblis - Anugondanahalli, Jadigenahalli, Kasaba, Nandagudi and Sulibele. Agriculture,
Apiculture and horticulture are primary occupations of people here, although
the industrialization in the recent times in Hoskote and places around has
thrown up new opportunities for the people. Hoskote is the largest taluk in Karnataka
having 333 villages.
On arriving the same day,
we had stayed at the Pragathi Cluster Level Association, funded by The
Churches’ Council for Child and Youth Care, Hoskote as a village can now be
seen as a semi-developed town. Since this was my second visit to the village,
it was still a refreshing experience and I was accustomed to the ways and
practices of the village and its people. Given an overview of the developments
by Shakuntala mam, the students got an insight into the past, present and
future of Hoskote.
After being divided into
separate groups, my group had gone to the local school. We had spoken to the
school headmaster who was an extremely hospitable gentleman. We learnt that he
had been the principal for twenty years out of his own choice. Two classes were
held simultaneously in the school, which was a bit difficult to understand.
However, the students enjoyed their classes. There were a higher number of
girls in the class as compared to boys. Every student was extremely keen on
learning and according to the headmaster were “fast learners”. Later on we
taught the students about health and nutrition and what vegetables and fruits
were important for the proper functioning of the body.
Later on we were
introduced to the local tutor by Vinay Sir. He had taken us to the cultivation
area, where they grew raggi that they consumed for their own requirements and
did not sell it. Mangoes, chillies and mulberry leaves were also grown. By the
evening we were taken to the tutorial centre where we had a discussion with the
tutor. The number of students who come has dropped in the years. According to
me, a proper tutorial centre along with proper lighting and more experienced
teachers are required to motivate the children and mainly the parents to send
their children to these centres.
We were also taken to
visit an SHG group. These women stayed together and according to them, they
would take loans for personal needs such as weddings or for festivals and in
two-three months would pay them back. It was great to see how these women were
getting their act together and actually going out of their way to do things for
their village.
The next day the artists
of our department gave back to the community by painting the walls of the
school with images of the solar system and so on. It was truly a beautiful
gesture.
Later on in the reflexive
session, we all had certain recommendations. A few were that street lights
needed to be put along with proper drinking water and other facilities for the
school so as to make the children’s lives better. Another suggestion was that
SHG groups should not only use the loans that they get for personal purposes
but should make proper use of it so as to benefit the community as a whole such
as construction of better roads and buildings, proper drainage systems, etc.
Every individual should also learn to be self-reliant and not always depend on
outsiders for help. The outside world should be introduced to them and this is
possible with proper transportation that needs to be easily available to them.
A hospital should also be within reach so that they can access it easily
whenever necessary.
Overall it was a great
and fun learning experience. The people of Hoskote are very hospitable and
treated us with respect and kindness. They were never shy to answer any of the
questions that we put forth, maybe because they are used to students visiting
them. Hoskote is a promising village and if looked after properly can develop
further.
Neomi DCruz, MA Applied Sociology
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