Soul Soaked!

When we think vacations, we think relaxed times with nature. The noisy, hurry and run and shop is not our idea of unwinding. We love to get away to a place where even a shop of biscuits is not visible. However, the places we visit are completely self-sufficient in meeting our basic needs.

We are experiential people. We do not like to go on long winding abstract word trips. We rather love to get down to the grass root levels of a place and feel it. My kids too widen their base by expanding into a different reality- one that exists whether we acknowledge it or ignore it.

Our idea of holiday does not include looking for artificial entertainment elements, rather we find adventure in exploring "What Is" in its true form.

This October we had twin purposes- one, of shooting a short film and another of vacationing.

Our Destination was the rural set up of "Panose Kond" village in the Raigad Zilla. The closest Railway station is Mangaon. A Farmhouse Developed on 20+ acres of land by Mr. Jayant Naik, who is 84 currently. He bought this land when he was 60 and converted the barren untended landscape into a thriving ground of rice production; vegetables like Okra, Lemons, Chillies; fruits like Banana, Chickoo, Jackfruits, Pineapples, Mango, Mulberries, Cashews; Herbs galore like Turmeric, Tulsi, Lemon Grass and countless others. He has Teak and Eucalyptus.

He has deep support from his daughter Poornima Naik who is literally his partner in crime. He so fondly adds "Only my Poornima can stay here. She is so courageous." He is proud and he should be, for all the expert management she pulls out!

Together they are a Formidable Resourceful Duo.

Mr.Jayant Naik is an octogenarian Ajoba, whom my kids adored. His stories of childhood struggle of not having enough food to eat (loss of his mother at a young age) to today's abundance are awe inspiring. Each evening went in sitting around the dining table or living room listening to how he made this house, to his various adventures in other countries, to his statement on Government policies, creating impoverishment for his village folks. It had us nodding in agreement, as various aspects of rural life were totally lost on us as Urbanites.

What we take for granted like a mobile phone network is simply missing.

Medical facilities as basic as Anti-venom is simply not there. Snake bite is a veritable reality, yet the villagers devise an adjustment. They wear gumboots to deal with snake bites while they work in the golden-green, waist-tall grass. Nothing is wasted. The cut grass serves as fodder for Cattle.

Indoor Thrills

The Farmhouse is simple with basic amenities. It is a Homestay, so do carry your own towels, soap and personal toiletries. There is a Courtyard with cowdung flooring, keeping it cool and pleasant. Swing on the old wooden Jhulla or read on the cane swing or simply gaze at the greenery around. In the backyard are the glorious green plants offering you peace and silence.

For Children, they have a small pool tank which suffices as a swim pool. It is filled on a need basis with fresh water from the bore well and no Chlorine. Sometimes, a frog joins in but we are in nature; it has every right to. Fresh and clear!

Kids spent hours soaking in the cool waters. We joined them occasionally. We could literally close our eyes, be silent and actually listen to the Silence!

There is a Vermicompost shed where vermiculture thrives to add nourishment to the plants around. Another Daughter, Bhavna Jadhav is involved with that, and rearing of Buffaloes. She is greeted with evident fondness by the fivesome buffaloes as she brings them specially grown fodder from their farm.

We did carry few earthworms back to Mumbai, hoping their Green luck rubs on us too.

CUISINE

This was one of the best part of our stay. The amazing organic freshly made food by Poornima Naik and her staff. We got to eat authentic Konkani Curry, Sol Kadhi, Jhunka Bhaakar, along with other lovingly prepared dishes. Most of the vegetables we consumed and the rice were grown right there. They boast of not using any pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Their produce is fully organic. They live the adage "What grows in the backyard is wholly organic."

In the month of May, they promise a huge production of Mangoes and Cashews! We just might return!

Outdoors

We had to shoot in the Local school. The experience was humbling and educative. There are creative teachers making do with limited resources. There was just one, single room constituting the school. The teachers had painted the ground with boxes- teaching tens/units, numbers, alphabets, Kaana matras, boxes for word building, directions and shapes depicted.

The walls were painted with birds, flowers, vegetables, fruits with Marathi and English names. The floor paints allowed children to write on it with chalks and rub it out for the next batch to practice. What an ingenious idea- all practice on the floor and wipe it once done! Just one room, students from Grade 1-5 studied with two teachers at their disposal. The key to the school premises was is possession of a ten-year old who opened, checked carefully and locked once we were done!

Our visit to the local village too proved invaluable. We glimpsed their neatly kept homes, with shining pots and pans. Most importantly we witnessed their welcome even though we were strangers. We doubt if we would encourage any of them should they saunter into our surroundings. Absolutely never!

But they did spend a happy time allowing us to observe the process of rice threshing, even getting their kids to say a word we needed for our shoot. We learned how to win trust.

We had no biscuits, chocolates or any goodies since we came upon them accidentally. So, all we had was our own true selves to request, entreat and cajole to give a byte to the camera. The little ones shreiked in delight and camaraderie once they saw we came in peace and love. One Mr. Sadanand Mahadi promised to get his bullock cart for our shoot before sunset and he kept it.

Nozzer had this to say "When these innocent people give their word, they will keep it, no matter what!" We were thrilled to enjoy a Bullock cart ride by the Sunset.

We compensated in a pithy way, we Urbanites can with some money and goodies. To Mr. Naik, we can offer only gratitude for his magnanimous gesture of accompanying us to the village in the scorching hot sun and requesting the village folks to give us a Bullock Cart.

When a protest was made that it is hot and he must not venture out, he brushed it aside "I'm born and brought up in hot sun, nothing will happen." His humility as a Son of Soil is worth saluting.

When Shahaan told, "Look Everyone is waving to Uncle.", he interjected wisely "Everyone is waving because I am!" ; pointing out the vital communication principle to my little one that it is imperative, we extend warmth to receive the same.

The terrain was quaint, rugged, trails and trails of golden green grass on the sides with rural folk walking occasionally with a pot of water or a scythe, or bundle of wood. It gave us long uninterrupted periods of shooting wherever we wanted, how much ever we wanted. The serenity touched our souls with its queer solitude and secure bands. Though we were alone with not a person around not once did we feel scared. The people were non-intruding, went about their business without much ado. No one seemed to be in a hurry, nor wanting anything more than what they had.

If they were afraid that they would be bit by a snake, they wore gum boots.

They face food shortage, they grow subsistence stuff. When Shahen asked one, he simply shrugged "We grow rice, tur dal and our own vegetables, we eat that."

Water, they bring from a river that flows around the village, women folk washing clothes and bathing there.

They had Tata Docomo for network but it has stopped. Now they have no connectivity. They accept "Kaay Karnaar?"

Much of the adversity is accepted with such questions, where possible they improvise like gumboots and school premises.

We met hard working toiling people who impacted my kid enough to know what sweat goes in growing stuff, resulting in no wastage of food.

We met happy resourceful and helpful people who help without expecting much in return except a smile and a warm word. They feel happy to be useful.

We grew closer to Nature. The Silence, the serene solitude andthe content, no hurry environment. The willingness to wait for things to happen and resigned surrender to fate when cyclones flatten their plants or water shortage dries up their water bodies.

This terrain and people are fighters and survivors in no need of our sympathy but every demand that Gods and Government be kind to them.

Hope it happens some day that their water shortages and food shortages are alleviated.

As for us, we loved the long walks, warm smiles, naive innocent looks and golden green grass and the possibility to someday own a piece of land to claim this hushed solitude and striving and creating with nature!

By Sonnal Pardiwala