IMPRESSIONS

Impressions of  CSY 19  Harshika Pydimarri
I feel privileged to have been a part of the Chinna Shodh Yatra 19. It is one journey that would forever be remembered by me. And Ganesh sir, as I fondly call him “thathayya” was with us throughout the yatra. This yatra was a learning experience. The yatra brought  a close interaction with the villagers.

The  to be yatris of CSY 19 started off from Hyderabad and first   reached   Veerapunayanipalle in Kadapa district.   Each yatri was different and unique in one’s  own way, having a story to tell as to why they wanted to be a part of this yatra. For me, it was something that I had never experienced before. I had never seen a village so closely  - the unconditional acceptance, warmth ,  love  and  respect  the villagers showered on us is what I cherish forever. After seeing them toil for producing food for us, my intention/ habit  to never waste / throw even a morsel of food grew stronger.  There was a lot to learn from them right from the eating habits to the way they conduct themselves.  Interestingly their food consists of lot of millets which are not seen in the urban world. Obesity is almost a non-existent phenomena.

It was a great  pleasure listening to Shri Vijaykumar garu. He is truly an inspiration, despite the harsh destiny  he faced, he managed to come up and proved himself a very worthy individual. The urge   to do something for the society clearly showed in him.  He enlightened us about organic farming and implementing on a larger scale. He also entertained us with his songs, one of them being my favourite, “santha maa oori santha” .

We continued our walk, towards Adavicherlapalli village. The walk towards the village in pitch darkness was  an experience by itself. We enjoyed the weather, the serene nature and its soothing effect on  our minds and thoughts . The hospitality at Adavicherlapalli  was something unforgettable.  The interaction with the villlagers at that place was knowledge gaining. We learnt that , the villagers faced a lot of problems due to  paucity of funds and overly burdened debts. We spread word about the inventions of  Palle Srujana , and how effectively they could be put to use, in order to reduce their problems t some extent.

There were regular breaks in between, where in thathayya would speak about some great  grassroot innovators  and their innovations. One such person he spoke about was, Shri Mallesham garu… his life  was thoroughly inspiring.  We would also discuss problems faced by  the villagers and a possible solutions during those sessions. A case discussed  was, on preservation of  milk for a longer time, till it reaches the destination for sale .
One of the  yatris came up with an idea to check how fit the water is for drinking…  tests would be made in the labs and the result would be known, so that if any corrections required, it would be informed.

We then visited some farm lands and tried our hands at sowing seeds. It  was quite an effort.  We then showed them  the Seed Dropper .We also spoke about the Solar Sprayer and  a Tree Climbing Tool that could be helpful for them. We then moved on to ho   houses which had weaving machines. It was painful for us  to operate the machine even   for 5 minutes .  I was only wondering as to how they could weave so many saris  at a stretch. They have been facing lot  of problems  with physical labour, marketability etc. Due to lack of better alternative within their means, they are forcibly  continuing the trade.

On the last day at Gangireddypalle, we shared our experiences of  the yatra and each person summed up the yatra in one’s own perception.  We spoke about how we can make a change with the innovations of Palle Srujana  and be a part of betterment of villagers’ lives . I feel proud, happy and at the same time  enlightened  for having attended this yatra. Another joyful effect of the yatra is,  i could  show / inspire some of my people into this kind of social service/ giving back to society.

Eagerly looking forward to many more such yatras in near future!

-Harshika Pydimarri(engg student)