In few instances, living in the village seems almost the same as living in the city and in few others, it feels like living in another planet altogether!
I have just started to learn the very basics of living in a village and I call it - learning the V of becoming a Villager.
The two major differences that hit me in my face when I moved into Hoovinahalli were these - Water system and walking into each others' house!
Water System
So, the entire village has no concept of overhead water tanks and none of the houses inside the village have pipe systems. Basically, we have no taps!😨 The village has few tanks placed in common spaces and that gets filled from a bore-well near the village lake. There is a water-man from the Village Panchayat whose job it is to fill the tanks everyday. The ladies of the house take vessels ('kodpaanas') from their houses and carry them back to the houses for water consumption. Are you wondering how many would we need everyday? I seem to have been a little lucky in this matter as the tank is very close to our house and depending on the crowd at the tank, we connect a really long pipe to the tank and fill all the big barrels at our place. So, we do this filling up activity every alternate day and it suffices us for all our activities - toilets, bathing, drinking, washing utensils and cleaning the house. Though the other ladies who come by when we have connected the pipe, remove the pipe to fill their utensils. We need to wait by and plead them to put the pipe back once they are done filling water.
This water filling activity is a very social one in the village. The ladies use this activity to chit-chat, gossip and also, fight at times! I am a little shy of people and have been avoiding this activity since the month I got here. I have been coaxing my mother-in-law and husband to do this activity. I dread the day I may have to forcibly do it. Because since the day I got here I have kind of been the intriguing creature for all the folks of the village. Every time I step out I get stared at by the ladies and since I do not talk with any of the ladies, my poor dear mother-in-law bears the brunt of all the gossip!!
Walking into each others' house
The doors in the village are never locked except when we sleep. The feeling of community is so strong here that they keep walking into each others' house at anytime of the day. And since I am the new one in the village, ladies just walk into our house saying they came to see the new daughter-in-law. In such situations, I am so confused as to what am I supposed to do - stand like a doll for them to see!?😕 There was this one particular morning when my mother-in-law and I were making breakfast, when this neighbor of ours, who is quite aged, walks into our kitchen and makes herself comfortable on the floor and starts gossiping at 9 in the morning! And this is not the norm only with the ladies but also with the men. My husband's friends walk into the house in the morning and sit in the verandah and chit-chat away to glory for an hour or so. Having been in Bangalore for a long time, I would never have imagined chit-chatting with my neighbor at 9 in the morning, that would be the time I would be cursing away in a road jam!
Though I am uncomfortable right now with this whole new way of walking into each others' house, it is at these times that I remember Gandhiji who emphasized that we work hard for few hours in a day and the rest we spend singing, dancing and being a part of the commune.
When compared to my life in Bangalore, I just remember rushing to work, rushing to finish a project at work, rushing back home, rushing to eat and rushing to sleep.
Though the true spirit of community is reducing each day in the village, there is still some left!
I have just started to learn the very basics of living in a village and I call it - learning the V of becoming a Villager.
The two major differences that hit me in my face when I moved into Hoovinahalli were these - Water system and walking into each others' house!
Water System
So, the entire village has no concept of overhead water tanks and none of the houses inside the village have pipe systems. Basically, we have no taps!😨 The village has few tanks placed in common spaces and that gets filled from a bore-well near the village lake. There is a water-man from the Village Panchayat whose job it is to fill the tanks everyday. The ladies of the house take vessels ('kodpaanas') from their houses and carry them back to the houses for water consumption. Are you wondering how many would we need everyday? I seem to have been a little lucky in this matter as the tank is very close to our house and depending on the crowd at the tank, we connect a really long pipe to the tank and fill all the big barrels at our place. So, we do this filling up activity every alternate day and it suffices us for all our activities - toilets, bathing, drinking, washing utensils and cleaning the house. Though the other ladies who come by when we have connected the pipe, remove the pipe to fill their utensils. We need to wait by and plead them to put the pipe back once they are done filling water.
This water filling activity is a very social one in the village. The ladies use this activity to chit-chat, gossip and also, fight at times! I am a little shy of people and have been avoiding this activity since the month I got here. I have been coaxing my mother-in-law and husband to do this activity. I dread the day I may have to forcibly do it. Because since the day I got here I have kind of been the intriguing creature for all the folks of the village. Every time I step out I get stared at by the ladies and since I do not talk with any of the ladies, my poor dear mother-in-law bears the brunt of all the gossip!!
Walking into each others' house
The doors in the village are never locked except when we sleep. The feeling of community is so strong here that they keep walking into each others' house at anytime of the day. And since I am the new one in the village, ladies just walk into our house saying they came to see the new daughter-in-law. In such situations, I am so confused as to what am I supposed to do - stand like a doll for them to see!?😕 There was this one particular morning when my mother-in-law and I were making breakfast, when this neighbor of ours, who is quite aged, walks into our kitchen and makes herself comfortable on the floor and starts gossiping at 9 in the morning! And this is not the norm only with the ladies but also with the men. My husband's friends walk into the house in the morning and sit in the verandah and chit-chat away to glory for an hour or so. Having been in Bangalore for a long time, I would never have imagined chit-chatting with my neighbor at 9 in the morning, that would be the time I would be cursing away in a road jam!
Though I am uncomfortable right now with this whole new way of walking into each others' house, it is at these times that I remember Gandhiji who emphasized that we work hard for few hours in a day and the rest we spend singing, dancing and being a part of the commune.
When compared to my life in Bangalore, I just remember rushing to work, rushing to finish a project at work, rushing back home, rushing to eat and rushing to sleep.
Though the true spirit of community is reducing each day in the village, there is still some left!
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