As some of you know I have visited 3 historical and inspirational places on 27th, 28th and 29th of March, 09. In these 3 days I have visited the following places.
Ø Wardha – SevaGramam - Gandhi Ashramam & Other
Ø Anandwan - Baba Amtes Ashramam
Ø Pavanar - Vinobha Bhaves Ashramam
Ø Dattapur - Centre of Science for Villagers
Ø Gita Mandir, Goras Bandar, Photo exihibitions of these leaders and Many more
To be frank I have went for this visit without any expectations and along with some other members from different groups, numbered 12. Sri.Prasanthi garu is the initiator for this motivational trip. I have enjoyed, inspired, motivated, and learned many things from the 1st move of this trip. Thanks to the all other members who made this trip as a family outing.
I came to know that lot of researches are going on to develop our own villages and country by producing different types goods and products by utilizing resources available in our own country and which are mostly Eco-Friendly. I have very much inspired by these and want to implement in our own works and if necessary start a new division to produce these and to construct a bridge to reach all these to the end users, which can be available for very low price. This can be done only after testing those techniques and researches in our regular life and see up to which extent they are useful to this society and also to the producing units.
I have inspired mostly by Sri.Vinobha Bhaves dedication and Amtes family vision and how they are maintaining this ANANDWAN. http://mss.niya.org/people/baba_amte.php. In this Ashramam we can see the works and self esteem of untouchables (leprosy patients) and other unwanted and uncared people instead of their mental and physical difficulties. This Ashramam inspiring all of us just simply for their hard work and self esteem.
The following are the overview visit report by different co-visitors. I will send you the detailed visit report shortly.
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Friends,
It is not easy to share my thoughts and experiences of this trip. At the same time, not easy to control or contain myself :)
So far I suggested you all to plan for the trip. But after visiting the place in person, I decided to compel.
Why should anyone visit Wardha?
Not for Gandhiji. It is immaterial whether you believe in Gandhiji or like/dislike him. Seeing the ashram is only like moving back in Time Machine. If that is the purpose, you have to plan to stay there for 10 to 15 days with books on Indian Freedom Struggle and (auto)biographies of National Leaders/Freedom Fighters as Company. I feel we, who are used to Internet and other aspects of busy living, would be bored to death in that serene atmosphere :)
To be frank, we were completely occupied that we didn't have time to contemplate or just sit in the premises to go past into the history. When our friends visited Wardha for the first time, they felt that two days were not enough. Now we feel three days too not enough. Of course we have spent half a day at Anandwan, Warora.
We stayed in Bazazwadi and initially saw Bapu's Kutir and Adi Niwas. We sang Raghupati Raghava Rajaram in Bapu's kutir and it elevated the mood of us like anything. We were in a state of ecstacy. It has to be felt and experienced but never can be pronounced. Later the President of Sevagram Ashram Pratishtan explained us about the ashram and mentioned three points. (I lost the scribbling pad where in I wrote all those points. Hopefully I get it back if it was with any one of the fellow visitors).
Center of Science for Villages
Later we visited the Center of Science for Villages. They have many projects under different spheres like Housing and Sanitation, Organic Farming, Research and many more. Visit csvtech.org for more details specially this link: http://csvtech.org/activites.htm. We first visited ESTD ( http://csvtech.org/estd.htm ) and then Housing and Sanitation ( http://csvtech.org/housing_files/housing.htm )
Sri Soham Pandya of ESTD and Sri Sameer Kurvey of Housing and Sanitation made our Ugadi a very special one. Their enthusiasm, energy, love for their work was too good to be believed. It reminded me of the scientist in Aditya 369 movie only for his love towards his inventions and even when kidnapped he was not interested to lie but speak the truth. I feel bad that I am short of words to express all that we have felt when listening to them.
Low cost housing, the sanitation methods, rain water harvesting techniques, air cooling methodologies, biogas, solar energy utilization, waste management, new techniques in agriculture, water filters, cookers, poor man's fridge ......... you name it, they have it. All are eco-friendly, low cost and good for our well being.
After all the discussion, I asked a dumb question that students of which streams of B.Tech. or any other course are eligible for training!! Can you guess his reply? Sameer ji simply laughed and said that they have been training uneducated village people successfully and no qualification requirements are necessary for their trainings. All of us must have remembered an IIM Graduate who ventured into his family business of Idli-making and inaugurated it by none other than Infy Narayana Murthy. It seems he visited Sri Kurvey earlier and told him that he was interested in this kind of work but he wants to earn more money and that his pay check would be one crore a year in MNCs. Sameer ji as usual smiled and replied to him that if he can make use of the technologies and apply it to business, he can even earn more. He agreed and made use of the bio gas, energy efficient filters and other stuff and now he exports one lakh Idlis a day .......most of them to different countries. His profit is one rupee per Idli and it would be one lakh rupees a day. Calculate how much he earns in a year!!!
They were also part of the teams who were invited to build model houses in NIRD, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad and out of seven in display, three are theirs and they contributed to other four by way of advise and suggesting improvements. The water filter that they developed costs Rs. 350 and it was tested many times on Fluoride, Arsenic, Waste etc., and filtered all of them successfully. When they demonstrate it to the Govt., our authorities (may be Maharashtrain or AP or central govt.) denied it saying they want a product worth 10,000 rs. a piece.
That evening we met Tori's family who were very high in social status with respect to Education, Qualification, Designation, Property and last but not the least, Principles n Values.
Anandwan – AMTEs Ashramam
Next day we visited Anandwan. It was another hair rising experience. Baba Amte was the personification of Bapu's principles and teachings. Listening to his son Vikas Amte was so moving that I couldn't resist my tears. They also do Organic Farming, Low cost Housing, Bio gas, and make wonderful use of all forms of waste. Actually there are three more places of Amte's work and it takes at least 4 days to visit those places. One place is near our Adilabad. Sri Sathe ji was our guide in Anandwan and he is one amazing person. Don't know every person we encounter may have those amazing qualities by virtue of staying there and being influenced by the towering personalities that they follow. He was a Leprosy patient and after getting cured, being a bachelor he wanted to dedicate his life to this cause and been here ever since. There would be a youth camp - training to youth for 8 days during May 15 to May 22. If anyone of us can make it, there would be nothing like it I suppose. Until and unless we stay there and observe, we can't get the feel of the place or those values. (You can stay at Warora itself and visit all their places if you can spare 4 days. It would be very cost effective if there is a minimum number of 6 people in the group). That day evening we roamed in the ashram and saw all the kutirs that were open.
Go Ras Bhandar, Magan Sangrahalay (Bapu Museum), Jamnalal Bajaj's House, Vinoba's Museum, Gitai Mandir and Santi Sthupa, Pavnar Ashram
Next day morning we visited Go Ras Bhandar, Magan Sangrahalay (Bapu Museum), Jamnalal Bajaj's House, Vinoba's Museum, Gitai Mandir and Santi Sthupa, Pavnar Ashram and the last destination being Ganesh Temple in Nagpur. The discussion with the Heads of Go Ras Bhandar was an eye opener and it was an opportunity to know the views of a farmer on Organic Farming and other new techniques. (I will write all those in detail rather leisurely). Jamnalal Bajaj's Oxford :) was undoutedly the center of attraction and amusement. Vinoba's museum was too good and it was so heart rending to think of current state of politics and the leaders of those times and their trials and tribulations.
Gitai Mandir
Gitai Mandir was significant that Bhagavadgita with seven hundred and odd poems was engraved on seven hundred and odd rocks with different colors. It was a marvel and the aerial view shows the Spinning Wheel on the left hand side and a Cow on the right hand side. The entrance gate resembles a book holder (the wooden piece in a open book like shape on which we can place the book to read). This was constructed to commemmorate the 60th B'day of Late Shri Jamnalal Bajaj and the initial Sankusthapan Pooja and inauguration was done by none other than Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan who was a close family friend of Shri Bajaj. In Vinobaji's museum, the special item was his explanation on Vishnu Sahasranamam. He wrote one letter a day in his dairy and in that page he describes that letter in detail. He wrote this dairy on the request of Smt. Janaki Devi, wife of Sri Jamnalal Bajaj.
Pavnar – Vinobha Bhaves Ashramam
In Pavnar, the river dried out and I didn't get much feel as we had spent hardly half an hour there. It was good talking to the old lady Suman Deshpande, Nirmala Deshpande's sister, who was with Vinobaji right from his early Bhoodan days. Sri Bajaj was also an interesting person. He quoted Internet as the source of all sorrow and headache :) when asked if he has an email. Though he spoke with us for only five minutes, he said that ashrams are of no use if they were not driven by young people like us with strong belief in those principles and values. Otherwise any ashram would be a showpiece with no life. He invited us all to come and stay with them for few days whenever we find time. Pavnar is like a Christian Monastery that houses spinsters. Shri Bajaj ji is the only Bhai there all are Bahans.
The ashram is full of the idols that were found while digging the place to construct the ashram. One idol which was found in the Dham river near by was so clean and clear and it seems to be sculpted very recently. Ram Mandir is the place where only one of the idols was consecrated in the regular fashion and norms. There was a wonderful quote of Vinoba on why he has chosen to consecrate this particular idol.
Coming to me, I feel the time was very inadequate and should spend more days in leisure there specially to live for 5 to 8 days in the usual ashram guidelines, learning to spun cloth, reading books, doing physical work and all. Not just in Wardha but in Warora and Pavnar too, though I somehow feel that I may get very bored and depressed in Pavnar.
Most of the members of this visit are not at all interested in this trip but I literally forced them to come at gun point :) When I asked their feedback at the last leg of the trip, they said they will definitely recommend their friends to visit Wardha once. Srinivas' (of AMMA group) friends felt very bad for missing the trip (due to office work) and were so anxious to visit asap when Srinivas shared his experiences.
We have to plan in April or else after July because it was so hot in Maharashtra. Prasad garu suggested that to plan a trip only after July. But some of us decided that certain good things can never be delayed and if everything goes well, we may likely plan a trip sometime in April itself, any weekend or a weekday. I will share the photos by this weekend.
Wardha is a link between the past and the future. It is for us who are 'present' to catch hold of it. While the nuances and principles of ashram teach us values, the experiments of CSV (Center of Science for Villages) show the future in good light. We have to spread the message and encourage more and more youth to be a part of this movement, make them entrepreneurs ... India lives in villages and it can be self sustained if the children of those villages are self sustained. Are we ready to take the call to fulfill the need of the hour?
Thank you.
with regards,
PRASANTHI.
from Sudarshan duttaluri@gmail.com
dateThu, Apr 2, 2009 at 3:34 PM
When I entered ashram, first feeling i got is that " Am I eligble to enter"? thought its an intrusion into someones private place.
felt that seperation because i never came in touch wth gandhi ( not physical body but the all pervading thought ). My Education and modern life never did allow me to think of him( not physical gandhi). Ever since I joined English medium in my childhood , I lost touch with what is India. Today Most of my communication Is happenning in english, Not that English is to be banned, but the swadeshi feeeling is not there in english education, ( for me atleast).
True that I had gandhi in many of the text books i read since my schoolng, and all the walls of my schools, all the poltcians wearing gandhi caps to remind him, But still i did nt know gandhi. read his books, books on him, on non violence and all. Alas but i never could see these in my life around me. Peace loving people were there in my life, thats mainly becuase they are tired or sefish. I am like any alien from brazil or russia or USA or Gulf/africa , when I talk about my connection to real india gandhiji envisaged.
Just because i am born in india and read about gandhi more times didnt make me any good. I am still that raw human being with somany defects.
My strict vegetariansm, being a teetoteller, and helping other people didnt make me any good to come near to gandhi.
Hence I felt alien and seriously thought i should get permission to enter his ashram. But who is authorised to give such a thing? Prasad ji or p/resident of ashram? Are they eligible? I do not "know Them" So I am not sure. So I tried speakng to gandhiji himself. I will express later, on how I tried talking to him.
But I strongly beleive that i did not have his permission. So I was in there physically and committed a crime of wandering in his premises without permisson. But as we all know he will pardon me for atleast once.
When I entered Baba Amte's ashram and vinoba bhave's , I know i am enterng into another block of gandhi ashram. So same feeling there.
I decided to reduce my time with computer and english and get down to action. Want to spend more time with elderly people.
Desist heavyly from watching TV and movies. using cheapest and indian made cloths( NO to branded clothing hence forth), Drink only "cheap and locally available Fruit juices whch are freshly made. Eat only cheap,locally available food in small quantites. Use my car in only emergencies. dont want to sell my car keepng in mind medical emregencies that may come up at anytime in my home.
When gandhiji and vinobaji worried about the cost of their food why we shouldnt Be? I will give away the excess amount( after reducing my food cost) to feed hungry animals( like dogs and pigs etc on the road or whereever. I shall never stay in any star hotel nor have parties there, henceforth in my life.
These are some simple things I started practicing. Once i could firmly say i am able to live a good life then i will visit Ashram again and show myself before him and ask for permission to enter his kutir and sing "raghpathi raghav rajaram" with authority..
Best regards
Sudarshan
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