Gramya Manthan : A journey through villages and my Inner Self

9 Days | 35 changeagents  | 3 Villages
Role Models | Youth Alliance

Summer holidays was going on & i was in my college(IITK) to do something different than academics, to explore the unexplored path, to learn & do many new things. One day I saw about this program on Facebook  then i filled the application form & got selected after an interview.

Now here the journey begins...

It was a journey of the villages with 35 changeagents & Youth Alliance team for 9 days to start our new journey in rural India and explore the solution for the ever growing problems in Rural India. At the time of application, it did seem to be a really good opportunity,but not much clear and a journey to definitely embark upon. But what I had not realized the inner journey, the inner transformation ,          I would go through on the 9 days .

                              

The Participant Profiles:  

On the first day I was awestruck to meet     34 others changeagent , Kishan bhaia , Subha di , Prakhar bhaia & the whole Youth alliance team who share a common passion for some change & social impact in the society , village , cities & in our country.Most of them aged 18-28, this group of people is committed to drive the wagon for change – be it social, political or economical. And they came from very diverse backgrounds . I had never seen such a diversity in any programe earlier. This was the kind of group who would not smirk at you when you talk aboutmorality , meditation and value systems or when you talk about the problems of India and the possible solutions. In fact, this group teaches me to look at problems as opportunities and actually make use of this opportunity to create an impact. While there definitely were people like me hoping to find their passion, there were also people who are already owners of their own companies, and/or making a social impact. They were people from the villages and from towns and cities and a small set of international participants as well. Every moment you learn new things, you meet new people and listen to inspiring stories of people esp. called "life mapping session" who have been there and done that in their own space.It was really a great session through which we all came out of our comfort zone & closer in 1 days only.

Sharing Session

The Program schedule:                 
Yes , It was a very packed schedule but i really enjoyed it . we all tried to use every bit of our time whether it is lunch time , relaxation or sleeping time in sharing our ideas,views with others.
Day 1 started with the Life mapping session which brought us very closer to each other in which we shared everything from our childhood to till that day & our weak points , strong points.

Ravi Gulati Sir

Rangaswamy Elango Sir

But what we also did was meet Role Models in next coming days– usually unsung  heroes who have driven the wagon for change in their own way likeRangaswamy Elango sir who made a model village Kuthambakkam also mentioned by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sir in his book Target 3 Billion , Ravi Gulati sir founder of Manzil (words can't describe about him), DRI chitrakoot's head , Himanshu sir , Dr. Awadh Dubey sir etc. The visits entailed a small talk by the role models followed by an interactive session with them.           Elango sir gave his full 1 day to us & also went to villages with us .          
Apart from these,We all had many other interesting sessions that really forced us to see inside ourselves like reflection session everyday in the morning generally,in this we meditate for sometime & share our feelings with others,writing comments on others & most fantabulous was the angel secret and Going to vilages & talking to villagers learning from them , knowing their problems , these all activity led to an inner transformation in everyone of us . There were 5 groups divided among us to work on different sectors like Energy,Agriculture,Livelihood,Health & Education in villages . 

Major themes of discussions:

The major themes discussed during the programe were how to better the livelihood in villages like natural farming, organic farming, alternate funding opportunities, education especially primary,village upliftment, women empowerment, opportunities for youth, innovative start up ideas, etc. 

I committed myself to interacting with as many people as I can and developing perspectives. Whether or not I have been successful, whether or not I got the best of this opportunity? I don’t really know. .

Really after meeting to these role-models & changeagents,how much i get energized that i can't describe. And a lot of Belief shaken about the success,life,mission & an inner transformation that took place in me ...

These 9 days were characterized by lot of learnings and un-learnings, never-ending discussions and discussions that really led us to conclusions & also forced to think, meeting people, gaining fresh perspectives and humble realizations. But what is needed is to carry this process forward.

In these days i saw eyes full of hope in the villagers & the children there & willing to better their condition.

Finally i want to thank the Youth Alliance who organised such a good program that i had never imagined...

- Manoranjan Dev

(Changeagent from GM '12)

Blog: http://ajourneythroughvillagesandmyinnerself.blogspot.in/