Scorching sun overhead, 40 Kms of journey up ahead, 4 days of total uncertainty and some stuff stuffed in the magic (Tata magic..a vehicle) for the sake of probability. Hats on, masks on, mics on, sunglasses on, umbrellas wide spread, all set....let's get set and ....slow down!
Yes that marked the very beginning of our four day long journey. We had to reach Badanavalu by 19th of April for a grand gathering of all people believing in the sustainable way of living. We had to walk through it to get to it. So here we were on 16th starting our journey in mid-hot summer (we so wished sun to turn cool for us) from Deenabandhu boys' home. We began, saluting the master who re-initiated paadayatre in this land, Mahatma Gandhi. A green flag fluttered and the procession begun. We were set with our own street plays, songs and visions and we started, Badanavalu was our destination.
Badanavalu which has masked itself in the ruins of history isn't indeed as old a history. It did survive through thick and thin up-until the 1990s but then with globalization masking our hearts it did mask a grand culture that Badanavalu symbolized. It was a khadhi center, once upon a time very popular. It had established it branches throughout Karnataka. Tagadoor Ramachandraji, a gandhian had established it in 1927. They made khadi cloths, they had a paper mill, Oil mill, small scale industry which produced soap and also match sticks. It was a flourishing Khadi Center during its time. Gandhi also had visited it twice. But now with great negligence we have dismissed it into ruins. Badanavalu did symbolize an essence of ours and how our own priorities have made us neglect selves. So this was chosen as a place where all the people who wanted to slowdown, look back and walk a way back into our past so as to recreate a joyous future could gather. Many decided to walk from their hometowns to reach this place.
In kannada we call such a journey where we walk in groups to reach a particular destination with a common mission as 'paadayaatre'. Paada means foot and yatra means journey. Of course we travel with our foot even if we go by car but Paadayaatre is something beyond it. Travelling together for a particular mission is the most integral part of it. Gandhi united us all during Independence movement through these journeys. May be now also we all desired to be united again and hence this journey took a lot of meaning. Paadayatra is an adventure in itself but of a different dimension. It claimed no life nor did it claim injuries neither did it ask any special physical skills to survive. All it asked for was some openness, some uprooting of likes and dislikes, some commitment and a will to not look back. It did ask for some sacrifices of comforts which all of us were willing to embrace as it promised a distinct growth in us.
Well we started. 100 were we in numbers when the green flag hoisted and wished good luck. Later by the last day 70 of us made this group. We were a group with more than 30 children from the age of 12 to 16. We also had some who had crossed their 60s. But for this journey nothing seemed to matter except the dreams we carried. Dreams of living in oneness, dreams of living by nature, dreams of being with ourselves, dreams of a happy future, dreams where everyone smiled, dreams of joy and of sanity. Dreams were moving in the procession more than us.
We moved through the streets cutting through the gazes of all the people staring at us. We sang songs which we had prepared for this occasion to keep cheering us up. We stopped only to gather again and perform the street plays and voice out our missions to all the wandering eyes and curious minds encircling us.
First day, at 6 in the evening we were treated with lemon juice at JSS RUDSET, which operates in the village Mariyala. We said our good byes and left towards Badanaguppa where we had planned to stay that night. The love and respect with which we were received at Badanaguppe teared down all the tiredness in us. We performed for them too and had a wonderful dinner they had prepared. They served us as if they were serving their own children. Strangers were we....only our desires binded us. We stayed in a government school there. Toilets were exclusively kept clean for us. Villages made sure we had enough water for that night even though they themselves face its scarcity.
Second day we started early at 6 in the morning. Moved through lakes and fields. We went in procession into the village Bendarawadi. We did our little drama there and had our breakfast which Prof.Jayadev had brought for us. After a long rest we started again to Hegwadi. We reached Hegwadi by 11 in the morning. We had nothing on our hands till that evening and yes no more walking. We had our lunch and dinner there. Hegwadi is a bigger village than Badanaguppe. Here villagers were kind too but the distance between us was more evident. I noticed through out the journey, bigger the place greater was the distance between us and them. Lesser was the intensity with which we could reach them. Lesser was their interest in involving with our mission.
This distance became more evident when we went through a much bigger village Kavalande the next day. Kind people they were too and treated us well but then it seems we hardly touched them. After having breakfast at Kavalande we were at Devanoor's math for lunch. For the first time we were troubled with the problem of clean toilets in this journey. I was worried about this since day 1 but then things went smooth the first two days. Somehow we managed but kept wondering why a clean toilet is such a low priority in a spiritual place like this!? May be using toilets isn't spiritual enough! Anyway we started again. We had to be there at Tagadooru before 6 that evening. We reached in time. Our kids stole the evening with their wonderful performance of the street play and beautiful rendering of songs. We stayed at Janata highschool that night. Staying was a challenge there. No lights in the toilets, no water as well in few. We cleaned the toilets and lit candles every where. Kept all the buckets filled. There were 100 of others who stayed with us. Our community had indeed expanded.
Next and the final day we all came to Devnoor back again for the breakfast. There others who had walked from Mysore joined us. We left together for our final grand destination, Badanavalu. I wasn't well myself so I involved less of me in the procession but apart from that as well I did notice something strange that had infiltrated the group. In spite of all paadayatra, mission and everything we were rather shattered in bits. Mysore was different than Chamarajnagar and that was different from something else. Only bond that binded us was walking together and the destination. In spite of all goodwill Why is that we are still not integrated? Why is that we still exclude ourselves? Why is that we stand alone? Is it because we all think we are the winners?
Anyway it wasn't as sad as it is sounding in the words that I have said. We reached Badanawala to join 5000 there who had travelled great distances to be together. We had many discussions and met many like-minded ones. Day was a success but many seemed not know what next. I was one of them but some how it stopped bothering much as getting together was itself a grand gesture.There was a destination to reach but we were more excited about the journey, we were looking forward for the grand day but it didn't matter as much as the company, We had to walk in a procession but it was not a mere exhibit. Doesn't it rather sound like a spiritual path? Paadayaatre definitely mimicked it indeed.
Yes that marked the very beginning of our four day long journey. We had to reach Badanavalu by 19th of April for a grand gathering of all people believing in the sustainable way of living. We had to walk through it to get to it. So here we were on 16th starting our journey in mid-hot summer (we so wished sun to turn cool for us) from Deenabandhu boys' home. We began, saluting the master who re-initiated paadayatre in this land, Mahatma Gandhi. A green flag fluttered and the procession begun. We were set with our own street plays, songs and visions and we started, Badanavalu was our destination.
Badanavalu which has masked itself in the ruins of history isn't indeed as old a history. It did survive through thick and thin up-until the 1990s but then with globalization masking our hearts it did mask a grand culture that Badanavalu symbolized. It was a khadhi center, once upon a time very popular. It had established it branches throughout Karnataka. Tagadoor Ramachandraji, a gandhian had established it in 1927. They made khadi cloths, they had a paper mill, Oil mill, small scale industry which produced soap and also match sticks. It was a flourishing Khadi Center during its time. Gandhi also had visited it twice. But now with great negligence we have dismissed it into ruins. Badanavalu did symbolize an essence of ours and how our own priorities have made us neglect selves. So this was chosen as a place where all the people who wanted to slowdown, look back and walk a way back into our past so as to recreate a joyous future could gather. Many decided to walk from their hometowns to reach this place.
In kannada we call such a journey where we walk in groups to reach a particular destination with a common mission as 'paadayaatre'. Paada means foot and yatra means journey. Of course we travel with our foot even if we go by car but Paadayaatre is something beyond it. Travelling together for a particular mission is the most integral part of it. Gandhi united us all during Independence movement through these journeys. May be now also we all desired to be united again and hence this journey took a lot of meaning. Paadayatra is an adventure in itself but of a different dimension. It claimed no life nor did it claim injuries neither did it ask any special physical skills to survive. All it asked for was some openness, some uprooting of likes and dislikes, some commitment and a will to not look back. It did ask for some sacrifices of comforts which all of us were willing to embrace as it promised a distinct growth in us.
Well we started. 100 were we in numbers when the green flag hoisted and wished good luck. Later by the last day 70 of us made this group. We were a group with more than 30 children from the age of 12 to 16. We also had some who had crossed their 60s. But for this journey nothing seemed to matter except the dreams we carried. Dreams of living in oneness, dreams of living by nature, dreams of being with ourselves, dreams of a happy future, dreams where everyone smiled, dreams of joy and of sanity. Dreams were moving in the procession more than us.
We moved through the streets cutting through the gazes of all the people staring at us. We sang songs which we had prepared for this occasion to keep cheering us up. We stopped only to gather again and perform the street plays and voice out our missions to all the wandering eyes and curious minds encircling us.
First day, at 6 in the evening we were treated with lemon juice at JSS RUDSET, which operates in the village Mariyala. We said our good byes and left towards Badanaguppa where we had planned to stay that night. The love and respect with which we were received at Badanaguppe teared down all the tiredness in us. We performed for them too and had a wonderful dinner they had prepared. They served us as if they were serving their own children. Strangers were we....only our desires binded us. We stayed in a government school there. Toilets were exclusively kept clean for us. Villages made sure we had enough water for that night even though they themselves face its scarcity.
Second day we started early at 6 in the morning. Moved through lakes and fields. We went in procession into the village Bendarawadi. We did our little drama there and had our breakfast which Prof.Jayadev had brought for us. After a long rest we started again to Hegwadi. We reached Hegwadi by 11 in the morning. We had nothing on our hands till that evening and yes no more walking. We had our lunch and dinner there. Hegwadi is a bigger village than Badanaguppe. Here villagers were kind too but the distance between us was more evident. I noticed through out the journey, bigger the place greater was the distance between us and them. Lesser was the intensity with which we could reach them. Lesser was their interest in involving with our mission.
This distance became more evident when we went through a much bigger village Kavalande the next day. Kind people they were too and treated us well but then it seems we hardly touched them. After having breakfast at Kavalande we were at Devanoor's math for lunch. For the first time we were troubled with the problem of clean toilets in this journey. I was worried about this since day 1 but then things went smooth the first two days. Somehow we managed but kept wondering why a clean toilet is such a low priority in a spiritual place like this!? May be using toilets isn't spiritual enough! Anyway we started again. We had to be there at Tagadooru before 6 that evening. We reached in time. Our kids stole the evening with their wonderful performance of the street play and beautiful rendering of songs. We stayed at Janata highschool that night. Staying was a challenge there. No lights in the toilets, no water as well in few. We cleaned the toilets and lit candles every where. Kept all the buckets filled. There were 100 of others who stayed with us. Our community had indeed expanded.
Next and the final day we all came to Devnoor back again for the breakfast. There others who had walked from Mysore joined us. We left together for our final grand destination, Badanavalu. I wasn't well myself so I involved less of me in the procession but apart from that as well I did notice something strange that had infiltrated the group. In spite of all paadayatra, mission and everything we were rather shattered in bits. Mysore was different than Chamarajnagar and that was different from something else. Only bond that binded us was walking together and the destination. In spite of all goodwill Why is that we are still not integrated? Why is that we still exclude ourselves? Why is that we stand alone? Is it because we all think we are the winners?
Anyway it wasn't as sad as it is sounding in the words that I have said. We reached Badanawala to join 5000 there who had travelled great distances to be together. We had many discussions and met many like-minded ones. Day was a success but many seemed not know what next. I was one of them but some how it stopped bothering much as getting together was itself a grand gesture.There was a destination to reach but we were more excited about the journey, we were looking forward for the grand day but it didn't matter as much as the company, We had to walk in a procession but it was not a mere exhibit. Doesn't it rather sound like a spiritual path? Paadayaatre definitely mimicked it indeed.
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