The Bharat-India reality

It was high time that I discovered India. However, I wasn't really sure what it meant precisely! All I knew was that I wanted to discover India but had no clue whatsoever about what exactly to discover: people, culture, landscape, languages, food or what? So, on the spur of a moment, I decided to explore something unconventional, something that fascinated me... the remotest parts of Maharashtra and its tribal culture, their lifestyle, and their problems. Never did I think that it would be a life-changing discovery; an experience -

far more interesting than the streets of Paris,
far more frustrating than Lebanese power cuts,
far more exasperating than Pune traffic,
and far more calming than the beaches in San Francisco... 

I was skeptical about traveling alone in my own country, though it felt like a true adventure in all senses, much more adventurous than getting lost in a Cedar forest in Lebanon or missing the last train from Berkeley to SF city. I was quite irritated that I had apprehensions when, for once I didn't have to worry about the language, the road signs or food. Finally, I made up my mind and decided to take it up as a challenge and a chance to test my own limits. I don't regret that decision, even for a second, for it showed me to a completely different and unknown side of my own country.

The challenge began with the longest and the most grueling bus journey of my life: Pune - Akola - Paratwada - Simedoh - Chunkhadi - Hatru - the distance of about 700 km that we covered in 26 hours through various buses and bus stands.

The last leg of the journey was the most thrilling, beautiful and relaxing. The untouched beauty of Melghat, its remoteness, lush green landscapes, the mountains clad in emerald green shawl, roads with sharp turns (at one point there were about 52 sharp hair-pin turns in just one km!!), the rare serenity and to top on that the informal chats with the fellow travelers and their simplicity made us forget the distance we had covered. Maybe this was something I was looking for - the openness of human interactions, connectivity free days, and simplicity. It's like at times you don't know what exactly you are missing unless you come across it and that's exactly what happened with me!

Melghat, basically a Tiger Reserve situated in the north-eastern Maharashtra, in the district of Amaravati, was a perfect destination to forget all the tensions and uncertainties of the busy city life. Leaving Beirut and returning to Pune to the same unpredictability wasn't something I had asked for. I needed to go away from all that and Melghat offered me that solace. I went to Melghat with Maitri, a Pune-based NGO that has contributed phenomenally to lowering of maternal and child mortality rates in this region thanks to its "Dhadak Mohim" or an awareness campaign organized every year during the monsoons (July to September). The main idea behind this campaign is to create awareness about the primary health care, nutrition and try to bridge the gaps between medical services provided by the Government and the actual needs of the villagers with the help of volunteers.

Though a boon to agriculture, monsoon season isn't exactly the best friend of tribes living in jungles, especially in the jungles of Melghat. The overflowing rivers completely cut off the villages from each other, making the already tough life even more difficult.

This year the heavy rains took away all the crops and left the poor farmers with nothing in hands, neither to sell in the markets nor to feed their families. All possible infections, water-borne and communicable diseases, though usually easily treatable, are at their peak during these three months of monsoon and take the highest toll on children between the age of 0 to 6 months old. As a result, the main objective of the "Dhadak Mohim" to these villages was to provide primary medication to the children in need, treat the disease at the very beginning and report the critical cases to the district hospital when required, talk to people about their problems and give simple yet sustainable solutions for primary health care, breastfeeding practices, hygiene etc. Our job as volunteers was rewarding in itself and satisfactory too, however, I did not know how to deal with the constant nagging feeling at the back of my mind to have much more solid and long-term solutions...

The stay in Melghat made me realize that I was taking so many things for granted - Good schools, good roads (oh well, it's a different story that after the monsoon, even the city roads can compete with the village roads!), drinking water, regular income, private or public transport etc. But just ten days in these villages, with these wonderful people I am convinced (yet again) that, no, life is unfair and equality is a myth. After the first two days at our base camp, I learned that the villages that came under the Tiger Reserve were not provided with electricity and proper roads because that land was under the Tiger Reserve. For a second, I thought, who is more important - tiger or man? Should all these people living on this land for generations be kept away from today's basic necessities just because some tigers might want to roam around the jungles of Melghat? Who is the intruder here? Survival of the fittest?
The opinion remains divided even my own mind.

Melghat explained the notorious difference between 'India' and 'Bharat'... It was heartbreaking to actually see that even today, in 2013, a considerable number of people still live without proper housing, electricity, roads and schools. Yes, I was aware of such harsh realities yet, actually witnessing the grim truth was not easy. After having lived in the developed cities of the world, working and living in the small villages of Melghat with poverty struck Korku people was a real eye-opener.

The experience was frustrating on many levels. I felt helpless that the children of this part of the world are being deprived of their rights to education and food. Reading about poverty and actually seeing, experience it from so close are two different things altogether. Before this camp, living without my phone, the internet, electricity, drinking water was something unimaginable. The world outside my comfort zone seemed too far-fetched. Wanting to help people and actually helping them was as different as day and night. But I am glad I took the first step outside my comfort zone. I tested my own limits thanks to this camp and now I can say that I can live in any situation, anytime! This was a true field experience per-say where we were in constant touch with the beneficiaries (or not) of the various government policies and seeing its (disastrous) results.

Those ten days are over and now I am back in my comfortable house. Nothing has really changed here. But I can say that I am a different person now. I saw and lived things like never before. It has taught me a lot and has made me a lot more sensitive, aware of the problems of my country and grateful for my luck. The simplicity of Korku people opened my eyes to the fact that you can be happy with what you have. It's good to have finally made that connection with the people of Melghat and I hope to do something really concrete for them and somehow contribute to the tough yet possible task of uniting the India and Bharat...