When country roads beckon

Pushpa Achanta visits the village of Pinnenahalli in Tumkur district’s Gubbi taluk and learns a thing or two about rural life. There are no asphalted roads and public transport. The nearest bus-stand is in Nittur, nearly 20 km away. The village has the only government primary school in a five-km radius.

When Varun Jagannath, the faculty coordinator of the National Service Scheme (NSS) of a Bangalore college invited me to be a part of the annual rural camp for around 80 students, organised by the institution, I agreed to join them readily. The destination was Pinnenahalli, a hamlet of around 850 people located in the interior of Gubbi taluk in Tumkur district.

“One of the objectives of a camp like this is to expose participants to the realities of how people live in the villages of India of the present day. It is important for them to realise that people still collect firewood, milk cattle, rear chicken and other animals and grow their food grain and vegetables,” said Varun. Incidentally, he is a veteran of leading young students on camps like these.

Idyllic environs

Situated around 100 km from Bangalore, Pinnenahalli is one of the many hamlets in the country that have been largely untouched by the basic indicators of development like tarred roads and public transport. In fact, the nearest bus stand is in the town of Nittur, nearly 20 km away. The last stretch of our journey was filled with humps and bumps, but the abundance of green fields and flowering plants like the large pink shoe flower (hibiscus rosa sinensis) and fruit trees such as lime, which have become a rare sight in large metros, made us forget the backbreaking ride.

It is important to note that the vagaries of the weather have adversely impacted the lives of the residents of Pinnenahalli and its surrounding villages, who engage in agriculture, primarily.

Some of them have small dairy or poultry farms, coconut groves and banana orchards. Saroja, nearly fifty years old, said, “We depend on the rice and ragi that we grow for our domestic consumption and sell the remaining for our livelihood. But the minimal rain last year affected our yield negatively. It has also increased day-time temperature, irrespective of the season.” On the other hand, like it happens in almost all villages, mobile phones are visible (or should I say audible?) everywhere.

Pinnenahalli has the only government primary school in a radius of around five km. Classes and teachers were merged because of the decision by the State government in 2012 to close some of the schools that it runs. But the school has committed staff, good infrastructure (colourful classrooms, hygienic toilets and a clean playground) and serves nutritious afternoon meals.

Despite this, young children in some of the households study in private schools. Hearteningly, a few of these children became friends and exchanged information with us.

“There is nothing much left here. I want to work in the software industry in Bangalore when I grow up,” Manjunath, aged 12, revealed. This sprightly lad and his friends even participated in some of the team building activities that were conducted for members of the outing. 
  
Camp life

An aspect that stood out in the trip was that we stayed with minimal amenities in a healthy and peaceful environment amidst nature’s bounty. After starting our day under the bright blue sky with meditation and warm-up exercises, we dispersed into teams.

Groups were assigned with the responsibilities of cleaning, collecting water, cooking, gathering firewood et al. After a nutritious breakfast, campers began to level a muddy, uneven path and clear scrub. A cool breeze lifted our spirits. Lunch was followed by discussions on various observations about life in the village and its surroundings.

The evenings were filled with cultural programmes by the college students under a starry, moonlit sky. Village residents whose warmth made us feel comfortable, encouraged the performers with their presence. “We are delighted to have you all in our midst. Let us learn from each other and make the most of your stay here,” said the president of the gram panchayat. These are among the vivid memories that of I have of this socially beneficial excursion which could play a small yet vital role in bridging rural-urban divides.