By HariKirtan Das
There are around six lakhs or more villages in India stretching north, east, west and south. Though certain features like muddy roads, thorny bushes, open drains, narrow roads, etc. are common features in all villages but distinctly the culture, topography, food, lifestyle, occupations, etc. still vary distinctly from place to place all over India.
After preaching in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since the last few months, preaching in Khargone District villages of Madhya Pradesh was a very novel experience. The preaching was organized by Shamik Rsi prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who held many devotional responsible positions.
in the USA Yatra and who is also a renowned doctor practicing his profession from the last 45 years. Khargon happens to be his native place.
The 9 days Yatra was blessed with the presence of HH Bhakti Raghava Swami, ISKCON Guru and Minister for ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry in India (promoting rural development) and HG Bala Krishna prabhu, a very senior Srila Prabhupada disciple, an active preacher and a farmer in Saranagati Village in Western Canada. Three devotees from Indonesia were part of the Yatra headed by HG Kisora Krishna prabhu a prominent leader in Indonesia preaching yatra. His sweet kirtans attracted the attention of all villagers. Also on hand was Kinkini prabhu and Bhakta Ashok.
One very pleasing thing seen in these villages is that people still keep desi cows and use bulls for agriculture. In comparison, sadly in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana buffalos have largely replaced the cows and even the poorest farmer resorts to the use of tractors and other machinery
instead of using bulls. Everywhere in the villages we had darshan of the beautiful local cows. We were even blessed to get cow’s milk to drink in almost all villages we visited. Amazingly, there is a bullock cart for almost every house. The design of the cart is unique, made with the combination of wood and metal, seemed like even a child could easily handle the cart. The bullock carts are widely used for all purposes even as schools cart to drop and pick up students from schools.
The villagers are fortunate to have many rivers that are tributaries of the sacred river Narmada. But due to improper planning there is a lot of wastage of water thus there is a shortage of water for agriculture. Cultivating mono crops has become a practice all over India after the “green revolution”
program. There are mainly crops of wheat, corn, cotton and chilies seen in all villages.
The women, especially the married and older ones, still follow the custom of covering their head with a veil. They are shy and humble in demeanor and display natural awe and reverence for sadhus. But these old traditions seem to be watering down as the young girls move around in trousers and t-shirts are becoming common and acceptable. The modern education system is particularly designed to destroy these finer traditions and sentiments. Thus Srila Prabhupada referring to modern educational institutes as slaughterhouses is no exaggeration and it’s an irrefutable fact.
The natural interest to attend spiritual programs is also a remarkable feature in these villages. People in 100s very enthusiastically assembled for the satsanga programs. They attentively heard the discourses and enthusiastically participated in dancing along with kirtans.