Reflections of Gramya Manthan

Contributor: Vabhravi Verma

GRAMYA MANTHAN 2016, listening to a song on a loop which has taken control over my heart and soul, I feel paralyzed at this point of time when I have nothing around me, absolutely nothing. It is both mesmerizing and worthwhile to reminisce about all that GM has transformed me into.

 It was my ‘present’ which had the potential to turn into a ‘good past’. My objective to attend the Rural Immersion Program was simply to introspect, explore and make some good friends. It turned out to be a Program of good learning for me. I not only made good connections, not just good but better than a 4g connection but also I had lots and lots of things on my plate. Good people to talk to, to understand, to share stuff etc. etc., a memorable place to venture, Palliya, a small village with a small population but big hearts.

Preparing Poster for Health Camp

Gramya Manthan helped me to relive my life, to give life to lost connections between humans and human and nature. It gave me an opportunity to step out of the dormant life I had been living as of now, metaphorically, it opened the cage and gave me wings to fly high.

10 the June’16, while I was still confused about boarding the train to Kanpur, ten days later, while I had to depart from Kanpur, I was sure that I didn’t want to leave the place and board the train to Delhi. The very first day, the way we were welcomed by our facilitators, I was glad to see the amiability they exhibited. Thereafter, the sessions were all the more meaningful, inspiring, encouraging and life changing .All the sessions made me vulnerable, taught me what life is about and made me bond more with nature and relationships around. I don’t want to comment much on the sessions because words cannot describe them and it’ll be a little less impactful if I use words to express them. All the sessions made me realize how the community is much more important than materialistic things or the things that give pleasure to just ‘you’ as an individual.

Education Camp with kids in Palia village

Going to the villages, serving people, playing with kids, spreading awareness and living life away from all the gadgets and luxuries made me realize that we humans have big tasks in life, one of them and the most important is spreading love amongst the mankind. 

I cannot really link my thoughts and experiences with words, but it surely did change my life and made it more meaningful. What I take back is- a jar full of memories, lighted lanterns which touch the seamless sky and light the path in darkness, a circle of trust, a family to share anything and everything at any point in time, some more relationships i.e. with the village people, the love that I got from each and every hug, the smiles that I adored from small distances while sitting in the circle, some good people who were ready to lend their ears even with heavy eyes, some good conversations and good listening skills of course. Gramya Manthan, not just made me realize the above things but also helped me to understand myself in a better way. I had many haphazard paths in my head but it seems only one I see, makes more sense to me. Coming to GM was a lifetime opportunity, where we danced on the beats, shouted for a good cause, made like-minded friends, met new people, shared and heard experiences, glanced at our childhood with a magnified lens, meditated with concentration, gained power from each other and filled some blank pages of our books with colorful pens.

Calling out villagers for Health Camp

Finally, it’s the love and the smiles of people that makes me smile and strong for the coming days.

And I conclude it by saying- ‘the best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they must be felt with the heart’.