An escape to a village farm

Winter has surely departed. The sky was blue & loudly clear. Making our way through the sugarcane fields, walking the dusty thin roads, we entered into the yard of Mr. Sanju. This is a small village at a 60 km distance from the Pune city. Not more than 100 individuals reside here. They live far and scattered. Their livelihood depends on farming and cattle, hen & goat rearing.

Mr. Sanju, wearing a white Maharashtrian cap, was working in the field. He was growing onion beside his house. His wife was accompanying him. They were digging the ground. We exchanged salutations and made our way in. "Kaku kuthe aahe?"... "Kaku jhopto hai..."... Few goats were tied by the rope and standing near the entrance lane. They were black and they watched us curiously while also singing "mehhhh..mhhhhhh", to which we did not answer!

Kaku was lazying in his wooden bed laid outside in the courtyard. He is old. I am an alien. I came along with someone who is a family friend. Kaku is the father of Mr. Sanju. There was a clock hanging by a rustic creamy wall. I did not think if it had any purpose over there! Its 'tik tik' sound was an added flavor to the atmosphere. There was a comfy silence. No vehicle honk. No market thelas. No chattering. No crowd. Just a silence in great harmony with the air, the soil & the animals... A Cuckoo was cooing from somewhere in the adjacent field. 

At the courtyard were several hens. They were openly wandering. By the corner, there was a shed. 3-4 White Cows and black buffaloes were tied by it. They were fed farm straws. They did not even bother to look at us. There was a Tulsi plant in the middle of an uplifted platform. At its wall, Swastika in red was painted. In Hinduism, Swastika is considered a symbol of power, good fortune & prosperity! Kaku was already up and aware of our arrival.

We were masked. Our purpose was small. We wanted to feel a few moments out there. It's a privilege these days. We are the new generation's modern people. We live in clogged apartments. We want the old-time peace but also the new charming chaos of glittering malls. We just sat there asking Kaku not to worry about any formalities. I don't know if we interrupted them in their sleep. It was already 3 PM. They have had their lunch. I felt welcomed.

Spending a few minutes there & I was already wondering how the rural people keep themselves away from the online world of Netflix, Facebook & Instagram and still feel okay about it. This modern concept of getting bored was quite alien to them. They were surrounded by their animals. The animals didn't care to chat with them. They did not feel lonesome (not at that moment!). Anyway, I wonder what has changed since the past 100 years of industrial development. Obviously, health facilities have improved. We are surfing space. We wear good clean clothes. We ride in cars. We read in schools having toilets & water! Still... Something else has changed and we may not have the complete know-how about it... What is it?

On another go, it seems all so elitist to think that the grass is always greener on their sides. I live in an urban town because there are services that I enjoy here.  We sat for 20-25 minutes, chatted a bit and were already ready to walk out... By the side lane, a bore pump was attached to a big well and it was connected with pipe & dugged holes to throw water into the green fields.