Moments at Gramya Manthan.

Contributor: YA Team

The journey into the villages to explore and learn, Gramya Manthan is to begin on the 13^th of June. At Youth Alliance it’s a practice that before the program begins, the hosting team goes and stays in the village.  So yesterday the team members were to be in the villages, interact with people, understand their concerns, and communicate the purpose of GM. And also go outside their comfrt zone to request a household to give them shelter and food for the night.

Ajay Sharma, who came to Gramya Manthan last year, was touched by the warm welcome that he received in his village yesterday.  His was pretty popular in the village especially with the children because he would go around the village with a bhopu, inviting people for a mel-milaap (get together) his group was hosting in the village. The family he stated with last year, was as if waiting for him to arrive. He has been in touch with them for a year, they even invited him to their son’s wedding. Last year, with GM his journey with rural India began. Right now, he is working with TERI on a research on Indoor Air Pollution in Himachal Pradesh and UP.

Priyanka on the other hand, comes from a different background. This was only the second time she came to the villages. She who has newly joined the GM team, came first during Lead the Change program. For her it was about listening to stories from village elder (Shashtri Ji) and playing Kabbadi with little children. One of the children came in her lap and refused to go, and his elder brother a little later invited Priyanka to stay with them for the night. For her, it was beautiful gesture.

Both of them, were moved deep within with the the difficulties in the villages. For Ajay it was the mistrust that is created in the village with bogus policy implementations. Some people see us going there, with suspicion too. It is difficult for us to explain that we come here to learn from the villages and not to create development. Ajay says, while some other people like Master Ji in Palia village resonates with our purpose so much, they see the importance of sensitizing the youth and planting seeds of empathy in them. For Priyanka it was the lack of freedom among women.

At the moment, we are 9 people stuffed in a room. 3 of us sleeping. 2 of us focused on our laptops, 4 others discussing how participants are to be received on the 12^th and the 13^th. The excitement to host yet another cohort in Gramya Manthan is the common underpinning.

May all be in peace. J

This image representative of the flow of energy among us!