Village Exposure

As a part of my MBA studies I got a chance to visit a village in Eastern Orissa. Unlike many friends it was not the first village exposure for me. I have always enjoyed a bath in a river, the tall coconut trees, and the ghost stories of the villages. This new village trip was going to be different as I would get a better chance to interact with villagers.

As expected, the trip turned out bit different. I made it a point to talk to people and extract pertinent information about their life.

The village had no electricity. But people had mobile phones. I was bit surprised. How do they charge it? They go to other villagers to get it charged. Some have friends and relatives and other get it charged with a small price. It gives an impression that power sector has failed miserably to cope up the rapid pace of communication technology. The sector has to go a long way to cater to the needs its existing and potential computers.

The cricket match played by the village boys was similar to what I used to play in the state capital. Modification of rules, mutual understanding between teams on various issues- everything was same. I loved it.

The most interesting part of the trip was the discussion with the village head. He was inclined to chat with we people. I wanted to know why the village name is BetaBellary. I thought he may not be knowing, still I asked. He knew it. This is the story he narrated:

The village used to come under the Kinghood of Kujang. In the 1940s the King stopped paying taxes to the British government. The government arrested the king and sent him to jail. The kingdom was auctioned. The King of Burdhaman, West Bengal won the bid. He shifted some of the small villages of his kingdom to shift to Kujang. The village BetaBellary was the first village with Bengali inhabitants. The place was full of Beta (A shrub used to make sticks). So the place was named as BetaBellary.

It was unfortunate that some of my educated friends enjoyed displaying their wealth in the villages. One of the village lad discussed with me about the disparity of income. I was bit uncomfortable. So changed the topic to disparity in educational facilitates. I was amazed by the views and the understanding of the village lad on the education system and causes in inequality.

At the time of return I thought about the disparity again. We say India is a talent hub and we are happy for that. But at the same time a huge talent pull is not getting a chance to leverage upon the resources due to lack of the basic amenities. People say corporate social responsibility will help Government to solve these issues. It is yet to be verified how much of the CRS fund is actually used for the benefit of the deprived and how much gets soaked by the system. I see a better solution in Personal Social Responsibility (PSR).

We need to wake up as such difference (one side people have luxury and on the other people don't have access to basic necessities) will lead to social unrest. It is important that the people leaving in modern township to glance beyond their cocoon. Leaving in a small world of our own will demean ourselves as responsible matured human beings.

Back in the state capital I was pained to know that some of my friends called it as their return from the "Darkness". If life of around 80% of India is "darkness" probably we ourselves need to come out of the pseudo brightness. Just wait: the marketing professor has a better news .....The rural market has exceeded the urban market. Will you still call it the darkness, or the light you failed to see.