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SHODHYATRA PART-II |
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Streams without bridges: Simmerings unheard 24th Shodh Yatra, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh-II |
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| Abstract |
The second part of the shodh yatra report brings out a tale of an incomplete bridge, the only one that could have been there among more than twenty streams we crossed. But it was not to be. It also helps us to meet creative innovators who wished to have solar powered wooden lathe machine. Children were getting a lot of attention, be it clay model of job for one’s child, or participation in national science talent contest, dancing with mridanga bigger than one could hold easily. There were some hopeful instances of faith in future leaders. But the stories of neglect on the borders of the country cause concern. Why was the state so indifferent to the simmering discontent? Will we hear their voice only when it becomes too loud? |
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Work on display but not to be seen: Tryst with NREGS
The path to Da Subahi had many streams, which did not have bridges. There were of course many boards with details of the work under NREGS depicted on them. But much of that work was missing. While crossing one of the streams, the jeep got stuck in the sand. It was getting dark as well. Initially, the people sitting in the jeep tried their best to pull it out but to no avail. Later, more shodhyatris joined the rescue team and eventually freed the jeep from its sandy trap.
Lalit Dowara recalled the special relation that the Honey bee Network shared with their village. Mushtaq Ahmed, the innovator of bamboo wind mill, later appealed to the shodhyatris and the villagers to assist in the preservation of traditional knowledge and innovative spirit.
Creativity all the way
While walking out of this village, shodh yatris came across a foot pedal powered wooden lathe made by Gulab Gogoi. He had been using it for last seven years for wood carving. Although this lathe already seemed more efficient than the ones we had seen earlier, Gogoi wanted to increase its efficiency further by using a motor, powered by solar energy. When asked if he would be able to design the assembly, he said that he already had a plan in mind and was waiting for some funding to take care of the initial cost.
A brief detour to Arunachal Pradesh: Learning Chinese in Nepali
When the shodh yatris reached Kanko Basti, a village in Arunachal Pradesh, a distinct cultural transition was noted not only in the design of houses, attire and the sacred signs, but also in the level of prosperity. Kanko basti seemed to have better economic conditions, though the complaints about national resources not reaching the grassroots was more pronounced here.
An old man, presumably in his sixties and dressed in the traditional attire, came to meet us and shared with us the history of his village. He said that about 300 years ago, their ancestors had migrated from areas situated at higher altitudes of Arunachal Pradesh to this village. The reason for migration was the increase of pressure on the natural resources on which they depended most. He explained, “Jameen nahin badhti aur aadmi badhte chale gaye isliye humaare purkhon ko pahaadon se niche
aana pada. Hum log jungle par hi nirbhar karte hain apni roz ki jarooraton ke liye.”
Local communities practiced “Jhoom” or shifting cultivation cycle for six to eight months in a year. They returnto the same patch of land after around twelve years. They also grow a different variety of paddy in the Jhoom method of cultivation. The lack of sensitivity to the strategic role of language and presence of national programs became apparent when villagers mentioned about a radio programme in which the Chinese broadcasters were running a tutorial on the basics of Chinese language in Nepali.
While all these discussions were going on, most of the shodh yatris were waiting for a delicacy that was being prepared by the villagers for our lunch. Bamboo rice is a special preparation in Arunachal Pradesh. It is prepared by cooking rice inside Bamboo shoots. Everybody savoured this rice and some also partook in the rice brew that was freshly being filtered. After a brief but memorable detour to Arunachal, the shodh yatris started walking towards Paanchali village. The villagers gifted us with an old bow, vest and a hat as souvenirs. Several homes here had local icons outside in the gardens signifying local spiritual beliefs. Different faiths intermingled here without any problems. Many local community members wanted to convey their strong dissatisfaction with the
way public programs were implemented. They wanted their grievances to be conveyed to higher level policy makers.
Knowledge for public good: Any takers?
At Jaamugiri High school in Panchaali village, many herbal healers had come to interact with the shodh yatris. Prominent among them was a young herbal healer named Sitaram Haldhar who had been practicing this art for the last five years. When asked if he felt that by sharing his knowledge he would be at loss, he said, “My ultimate goal is the well being of my patients. Knowledge sharing would in fact be good as more and more people would know about useful herbs and thus more patients would benefit.” He also mentioned about his maternal uncle from whom he had learnt a lot. The next morning we felicitated his uncle. Later in the meeting, a lady herbal healer shared her knowledge with us. She had been treating humans as well as animals using medicinal plants found in the region. She said that she had treated human patients with diseases like pneumonia and many gynaecological problems besides treating different diseases in the livestock.
In the evening during a brainstorming session, someone suggested that threshing in this region is mostly done with the help of cattle and is quite inefficient. Better mechanised or machine based alternatives need to be developed. Pedal driven thresher found in Purulia could be tried out here. A question that bothered all shodh yatris was, ‘When the news about film, music, and politics gets disseminated widely, why should such innovations remain localised?’. Others were worried about the increasing use of plastic based products rather than bamboo products.
Meeting at the God’s place
At Jaamugiri, the meeting was held inside a temple. This was out of the ordinary; meeting in a sacred place just showed the respect that they had for strangers like us. Everybody agreed that the knowledge should be shared widely.. During the meeting a young boy named Krishna Bora came forward and showed an innovative candle that he had designed for participation in a national level Science Congress for children. His work was applauded by one and all.
Kids’ rock! Indeed
The second last day was quite eventful because relatively more number of villages had to be covered. A large assembly of young school kids had gathered in the school compound in Bishnupur Tekjuri to welcome the shodh yatris. The kids, dressed in dhotis and saris, looked lovely when they performed Bihu. The centre of attraction was a young kid who was playing “Mridang”. Although he was unable to hold the heavy “Mridang”, he was still performing to the best of his ability. In the ensuing meeting also the school kids stole the show by showcasing their creativity and innovative spirit. Plaban Baruah & Saurav Baruah, students from Madhyamik Vidyalaya, presented their project on ‘control of plant weed Mikania by useful means.’ They had earlier presented this project in a national level Science Congress for children. Apart from the merit of the project, the confidence of the duo impressed the shodh yatris a lot.
City boys versus village girls
At Tekjuri, a competition was organized between village girls and city boys to write down the names of plants they see daily. Both the parties wrote more than 175 names of the plants in 15 minutes but the village girls had more variety and less common plants and were announced the clear winners. Later, both the groups were asked to work towards finding out the medicinal properties of the plants that they had identified during the competition.
Love breeds creativity
On the way to Giyadhal Amulgiri, Shodh yatris met Midul Salang. He had made a miniature working model of a JCB. When he did not have the money to buy a similar toy for his child, he thought of designing the same and did so to perfection. The toy JCB was working fine. He had seen the machine only recently when it was used for a road construction in a nearby area. The pure affection of a father towards his son was quite evident.
The walk ends; journey has just begun
On the last day of the 24th shodh yatra we had the final meeting at village named Hatigarh – the last pit stop in our schedule. We met Deba Koch, a locally well known herbal healer. He also held a patent on his herbal formulation for Malaria. He was quite happy to share his experience with the shodh yatris. Another herbal healer we felicitated at Hatigarh was Vikram Badora.
Lest people forget that leadership of ULFA, an insurgent organization hailed from this region, it did not escape anyone’s notice that neglect was still the rule rather than the exception. Given the apathy of public policy makers and lack of economic development, should it surprise anyone that many young people become angry and choose violent ways which of course we don’t endorse. There is a crying need for more intensive social engagement in this region. Hopefully, somebody will listen before the noise becomes too loud to ignore any way.
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 21 (3), 4 to 6, 2010 |
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