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A Rolling Stone that Gathered a Great Moss: An Ode to a Shodhyatri |
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It was the year 1998, when a puny, thin young man approached the then secretary of SRISTI in his office and said, ÒSir, I need a job. I am ready to do whatever job you assign me.Ó Parshottambhai Patel started his association with SRISTI as a field researcher collecting field data in Banaskantha, Gujarat. His confidence and strong grasp on aspects of rural life was there for all to see. Since then and till his last breath, Parshottambhai served the cause of the Honey Bee Network relentlessly without so much as a whimper of protest. In the seventeen years of his tireless service, he planned, walked and collected critical data from 35 Shodhyatras in 25 different states across India treading on foot more than 5000 kilometres, often through extreme conditions, arduous terrains and regions of conflict.It is with great difficulty that we accept the untimely demise of Parshottambhai. This is a loss not only to SRISTI and HBN but also to thousands of innovators and many researchers who gained national and international recognition due to his unmitigated efforts.A valiant effort to know and delve into the unknown A Shodhyatri till the very endParshottambhai began his association with SRISTI in 1998 when he worked to finalise the second Shodhyatra route from Amirgadh to Tundia (Gujarat). He continued to work in planning the Shodhyatra route till the 35th Shodhyatra conducted at Tripura in the year 2015. He would walk from one village to another, trying to estimate the distance between two villages, ascertain the Gram Sabha and infrastructural facilities in each village, think of ways to reach the maximum number of people in the shortest time and collecting as well as disseminating knowledge. He would keep all these principles and objectives in mind while planning the Shodhyatra routes.Parshottambhai would meet the locals and gather information about examples of local creative practices and its implementation in agriculture, animal husbandry, livestock, traditional medicine. He would meet up with innovative people and document their original ideas so that they could be felicitated during the Shodhyatra also mobilise the local youth who would help us in planning logistics and post shodhyatra followup. There were many such instances where his presence of mind saved the day for the Shodhyatris. He had an uncanny ability to think on his feet. Despite meticulous planning, it is not every uncommon to have last minute changes and surprise challenges in the Shodhyatra. During the third Shodhyatra from Gol Gamadi to Ninghat, Parshottambhai and Devshibhai had reached there before the Shodhyatris. They reached the house of the farmer who was supposed to make food arrangements for the Shodhyatris. To their utter astonishment, the farmer had completely forgot about the arrangements. Parshottambhai calmly drove on a motorcycle to the adjoining large village, bought some lentils and rice, returned and prepared the food. When the shodhyatris reached there, he had already prepared khichdi. Being the onset of summer, the region had an abundance on semi-ripe mangoes dangling from the trees. Parshottambhai collected, cut and served the yatris these mangoes alongside the hot khichdi. Many Shodhyatris would recall the Chattisgarh Shodhyatra. This was a walk in the region marred by years of conflict and Naxalite insurgency. Near Bastar region, Parshottambhai, encountered a Naxalite youth in the dense forest during the Shodhyatra who took him to a valley and made all sorts of enquiries. A brave and composed Parshottambhai unflinchingly answered all his questions and conveyed the yatra’s objectives to the rebel. The youth was convinced and was so impressed by Parshottambhai and his work that throughout the Shodhyatra there were no problems from the rebels. Parshottambhai’s social capitalWith tears in her eyes, Yashodaben Srirambhai Chaudhary, a herbal practitioner from Vikarya village, Dang district narrated an incident related to her association with Parshottambhai. While reevaluating a practice in Vikarya, he visited Yashodaben at her home. At that time, she confided in him that she did not have enough money to treat her husband who had suddenly fallen ill. Parshottambhai immediately gave her Rs 1000 from the money granted to him for his field work. With time, Yashodaben returned the money and he formed a deep and lasting bond with this tribal family. Whenever he visited Dang, this family would be eager to help in SRISTI’s work. ÒI have experienced first-hand this bonding with this Adivasi family during my visit to Dang,Ó recalls Hemaben. Many friends and connections he formed during his field research often looked up to him for advice and mediation even in domestic matters. Kodarji Kaluji Paghi and his family were shocked when they heard the news of Parshottam bhai’s sudden demise. Kodarji from Lunawada Taluka in Panchmahal would regularly get in touch with him to provide direction to his grandson. He was to meet Kodarji at Kolwan after his field visit to Faizabad. Unfortunately, he could never visit him as he started showing signs of severe ailment right after his visit to Faizabad. A meticulous researcherHe has played an pivotal role in re-evaluation of practices brought by SRISTI’s field workers and compiling the detailed practices. He effortlessly conducted the important task of training the field workers of SRISTI and assisting other members of the National Innovation Foundation in their tasks. His way of approaching a task with self driven efforts and his methodology of work was unique. Parshottambhai assisted in the research of scholars connected with SRISTI like Kirit Patel, Shailesh Shukla, Riya Sinha, Anamika Dey and a German scholar Marianne Esders. He did excellent groundwork the study of conservation of diversity in millets for the doctoral research of Kirit Patel, the former secretary of SRISTI. During this study, he made lasting connections with most families of Dhabudi and Sarjumi village in the Panchmahal district.Parshottambhai has deeply contributed in the research study conducted in about 72 villages of Banaskantha for the Project regarding biodiversity and Organic diversity. Parshottam bhai has conducted research regarding the change brought about after the innovation, development and research conducted by farmers themselves such as Reshampatti variety of red chilly and Bullet Santi i.e Chakdo Handiyo. He had also made a presentation of this work in China. As an outcome of his research on the skilled rural workers working on the Bullet Santi, in the year 2013, 10 fabricators from Gujarat got an opportunity to present their work at the innovation exhibition at FOIN at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Parshottambhai’s contribution to the Sattvik -Traditional Food Festival In Sattvik, Parshottambhai did well to bring forward the traditional food from Panchmahal and Dahod. The first Sattvik Traditional Food Festival was organized in 2004. In this festival, the picture of villagers from Dhabudi and Sarjumi villages with their Bavta laddoo was published in the front page of a newspaper. Today Sattvik is one of the most awaited and well attended festivals in Ahmedabad. A key aide of the National Innovation Foundation Parshottambhai has played an important role in NIF’s biennial National awards for Grassroots innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. He would patiently explain the importance of the awards to the family members of the innovators and dutifully bear the responsibility of ensuring they reach their homes safely after the festival. Many of these innovators are reluctant to travel so far. Without his persuasion many of these innovators would never have reached New Delhi. He has also played a significant role in bringing such innovators to the SRISTI Samman awards stage.The eternal journeyWe feel as if SRISTI and Honey Bee Network are awaiting his return from this journey as if he would return from one of his several journeys! He may not be with us in person but his inspirational work and fond memories will continue to live in our hearts forever. |
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| Volume No. |
HB26(2)12-13, 2015 |
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