A strange name for a post indeed. For my friends wondering about what this is, let me clarify. Colinjivadi ( or Kolinjivadi) is the name of my native place, a small village nestling on the banks of the Amaravathi River, amidst the lush green fields near the popular Palani hills, 35 kms from the town of Dharapuram. Oops.. I almost forgot... It also stands for the C in my name. :)
Last week, we had an opportunity to visit this village. Max Mueller had once remarked in his popular speech " What India can teach us" that if one really wanted to know India, one had to visit the India of the villages. It presents a scenario that is totally unknown to the city dwellers.
Most of us pride on living in posh localities in the biggest cities of India. Yet, this small village comprising of 2 streets, 133 homes, 1 school ( built 2 years back ) and 1 post office completely took me over. Such is the charm. As I approached Dharapuram, I could not help but enjoy the sweet breeze, the cool surroundings, the lush green paddy fields and the gentle drizzle that brought about a sense of freshness and blew away the tiredness of the journey.
From Dharapuram, we went to Meenakshipuram, another small village lying beside Colinjivadi, famous for its Meenakshi temple. The pundit of the temple was my grandfather's friend and he was extremely pleased to see my father after all these years. He reminisced about how the things had changed. The wonderful temple atmosphere, with the wind literally whistling in my ears, made me marvel as to what made the people migrate to the cities. Whilst the pundit was busy with the temple chores, we happened to strike a conversation with another lady, from the neighboring Veerarajamangalam.
First she enquired about our whereabouts and how we happened to visit that place. As soon as we mentioned Chennai, she seemed alarmed. She asked my mother, in her typical Coimbatore accent ," Amma, pattanathula yethaarthama irukka mudiyadhaame? " ( It seems we cannot lead a natural ( free ) life in the cities. Is it true?) This simple question alarmed my mother, and brought me to fits of laughter ( which i supressed of course) . My mother assured her that it was definitely not the case, and people do lead happy lives in the cities too. She further asked her as to why she came to have that opinion. The reply she gave stunned us all. She casually told ," Amma, pattanathula veetellam pooti pooti veppangalaam. Tarandhu vechutu velila poga mudiyaadhaam. Veetla kuzhandaigalaiyum periyavangalayum paarka ve neram kidaiyadhaam"( she had heard that in the cities one had to lock their houses all day... and they dint find time to look after the children and elders in the family).
It was then that we understood what exactly she meant by a natural way of life. We, from the cities, live in an atmosphere of tension and discord and have come to accept it as a natural way of life.
We then walked over to our village. I observed the doors of each house. The lady was right. Each was wide open. The houses there are lengthy, start with a pyol, have a dozen rooms and end with a back-door leading into the other street. We entered my father's classmate's home. He lovingly welcomed us. He enquired about my uncles and the two friends updated each other about their lives, much to my awe. He also told my father about the happenings in the each of the families of Colinjivadi. I kept listening, wondering how they managed to keep abreast of the matters of the entire village, whilst the city-dwellers seldom ever care( or even identify ) about their neighbours, in their fast paced life.
We had a sumptuous lunch there. We thanked our hosts, visited our ancestral home and a few more neighbors, each of whom, though in their 80's, identified my father and recalled fond memories, and compelled us to stay for a few more days. ( ! ) We thanked them profusely and left for Palani.
This short, t his visit left a deep impression on my mind. I have studied that the technology had made our world a global village. True. We, truly live in a global village, where we live in houses, that are divided by and connected to my technology. Unfortunately, it has also paved way to a frenetic pace of life wherein, we don't have enough time to truly admire the actual source of happiness in the day-to-day life.
" No time to stand and stare" was never more factual. We spend all our time catching up with yesterday's work, take undue pressures, get frustrated and burnt out.
Today chatting has come to be synonymous with GTalk and socializing means nothing but Orkut, facebook or MySpace. Meeting others in person happens only at the workplace. Visiting relatives is a rarity. People prefer to watch a pirated DVD on the laptop rather than take a stroll whilst sharing jokes with ones' friends. No-one has the time to listen to a child or help others out. We have assumed this life to be a Zero-Sum game, where if one has to win, the other has to necessarily lose.
Technology is indeed a boon to connect to the dear ones who are far away, but it should not become a bane to the relationships with our dear ones who are near. It was meant to make man live a life of luxury but the inherent greed has robbed us of our curiosity and originality. The villagers do what they need to do, when they need to do it, enjoy their life in its truest sense and lead a happy life. On the other hand, we struggle with our life all through, feeling guilty, frustrated, regretful and take recourse to superficial sources of enjoyment. It is indeed a sad state of affairs.
What we really need technology to do, is to develop the global "village" into a village, in its truest sense, as depicted by the kind lady from Veerarajamangalam. To bring the hearts of people together, to develop trust amongst them, to sink the differences.
As we waited for the bus, we met a small boy of about 8 , just returning home from school. We became instant friends, as he shared his views on different teachers teaching him. With sparkling eyes, he told that he wanted to become a Software Engineer or an astronaut. We wished him the best and I bid him goodbye as he set out on his journey, even as the wind whistled loudly and the birds' cheerful chirpings reassured me that there was still hope and lots of it.
Last week, we had an opportunity to visit this village. Max Mueller had once remarked in his popular speech " What India can teach us" that if one really wanted to know India, one had to visit the India of the villages. It presents a scenario that is totally unknown to the city dwellers.
Most of us pride on living in posh localities in the biggest cities of India. Yet, this small village comprising of 2 streets, 133 homes, 1 school ( built 2 years back ) and 1 post office completely took me over. Such is the charm. As I approached Dharapuram, I could not help but enjoy the sweet breeze, the cool surroundings, the lush green paddy fields and the gentle drizzle that brought about a sense of freshness and blew away the tiredness of the journey.
From Dharapuram, we went to Meenakshipuram, another small village lying beside Colinjivadi, famous for its Meenakshi temple. The pundit of the temple was my grandfather's friend and he was extremely pleased to see my father after all these years. He reminisced about how the things had changed. The wonderful temple atmosphere, with the wind literally whistling in my ears, made me marvel as to what made the people migrate to the cities. Whilst the pundit was busy with the temple chores, we happened to strike a conversation with another lady, from the neighboring Veerarajamangalam.
First she enquired about our whereabouts and how we happened to visit that place. As soon as we mentioned Chennai, she seemed alarmed. She asked my mother, in her typical Coimbatore accent ," Amma, pattanathula yethaarthama irukka mudiyadhaame? " ( It seems we cannot lead a natural ( free ) life in the cities. Is it true?) This simple question alarmed my mother, and brought me to fits of laughter ( which i supressed of course) . My mother assured her that it was definitely not the case, and people do lead happy lives in the cities too. She further asked her as to why she came to have that opinion. The reply she gave stunned us all. She casually told ," Amma, pattanathula veetellam pooti pooti veppangalaam. Tarandhu vechutu velila poga mudiyaadhaam. Veetla kuzhandaigalaiyum periyavangalayum paarka ve neram kidaiyadhaam"( she had heard that in the cities one had to lock their houses all day... and they dint find time to look after the children and elders in the family).
It was then that we understood what exactly she meant by a natural way of life. We, from the cities, live in an atmosphere of tension and discord and have come to accept it as a natural way of life.
We then walked over to our village. I observed the doors of each house. The lady was right. Each was wide open. The houses there are lengthy, start with a pyol, have a dozen rooms and end with a back-door leading into the other street. We entered my father's classmate's home. He lovingly welcomed us. He enquired about my uncles and the two friends updated each other about their lives, much to my awe. He also told my father about the happenings in the each of the families of Colinjivadi. I kept listening, wondering how they managed to keep abreast of the matters of the entire village, whilst the city-dwellers seldom ever care( or even identify ) about their neighbours, in their fast paced life.
We had a sumptuous lunch there. We thanked our hosts, visited our ancestral home and a few more neighbors, each of whom, though in their 80's, identified my father and recalled fond memories, and compelled us to stay for a few more days. ( ! ) We thanked them profusely and left for Palani.
This short, t his visit left a deep impression on my mind. I have studied that the technology had made our world a global village. True. We, truly live in a global village, where we live in houses, that are divided by and connected to my technology. Unfortunately, it has also paved way to a frenetic pace of life wherein, we don't have enough time to truly admire the actual source of happiness in the day-to-day life.
" No time to stand and stare" was never more factual. We spend all our time catching up with yesterday's work, take undue pressures, get frustrated and burnt out.Today chatting has come to be synonymous with GTalk and socializing means nothing but Orkut, facebook or MySpace. Meeting others in person happens only at the workplace. Visiting relatives is a rarity. People prefer to watch a pirated DVD on the laptop rather than take a stroll whilst sharing jokes with ones' friends. No-one has the time to listen to a child or help others out. We have assumed this life to be a Zero-Sum game, where if one has to win, the other has to necessarily lose.
Technology is indeed a boon to connect to the dear ones who are far away, but it should not become a bane to the relationships with our dear ones who are near. It was meant to make man live a life of luxury but the inherent greed has robbed us of our curiosity and originality. The villagers do what they need to do, when they need to do it, enjoy their life in its truest sense and lead a happy life. On the other hand, we struggle with our life all through, feeling guilty, frustrated, regretful and take recourse to superficial sources of enjoyment. It is indeed a sad state of affairs.
What we really need technology to do, is to develop the global "village" into a village, in its truest sense, as depicted by the kind lady from Veerarajamangalam. To bring the hearts of people together, to develop trust amongst them, to sink the differences.
As we waited for the bus, we met a small boy of about 8 , just returning home from school. We became instant friends, as he shared his views on different teachers teaching him. With sparkling eyes, he told that he wanted to become a Software Engineer or an astronaut. We wished him the best and I bid him goodbye as he set out on his journey, even as the wind whistled loudly and the birds' cheerful chirpings reassured me that there was still hope and lots of it.
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4 comments:
I wish I were there with You in Colinjivadi!! Excellent Narration!!
awesome depiction!!! BrillianT!
send more pics of Colinjivadi!!
Aha! Nice topic to blog about!
I remember going to a village in Punjab a few years back. There I met a few kids who were amazed when I sang an English song for them. Can never forget the expression on their faces!
Sometimes, I can't decide if technology is really bridging this gap. We chat for hours with someone in another country, but can't take out time to spend with our parents in the next room. :|
true man... and this would be possible only if technology was synergized with spirituality...
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