Moments so Far ...

Once fortified and majestic .... Orcha had its glory period. Orcha has occupied a significant spot in history. It has also been a scenic beauty, with jungles, hillocks and a river to boast of. God too has decided to settle down beside the regular temple to teach a lesson to level the ego of the King from those times. Orcha is going through a tourism boom. Foreigners abound in season time. Locals with with luggage on head walk around visiting temple, hardaul baithak, hardaul samadhi, remembering the legacy of the bygone era. They are the sincere tourists. mysterious tree near hardaul samadhi Sun setting over hardaul samadhi Orcha is gaining religious importance. There was a time when it would be difficult to find someone to ring the bells in Shree Ram Raja Temple during aarti. Now uncontrollable masses gather there at specific times of the month to seek blessings. Orcha is also decaying. The following was observed and noticed during the recently concluded Ram N...

Halenijagal kids dancing The Sunday, 28th Nov,2010 was different. The students were divided into four groups. Each group had to present the idea as to "Define a feasible project for village development if you have a budget of 1 Lakh". There were interesting ideas on Improve irrigation and extend rainwater harvesting Cultural center in villlage with a outlet on NH4 highway close to the village. Scale biogas plant to cater to needs of every household. Basic Health care center. The constraint of the project were in line with India@75 vision of Professor Prahalad. The winning entry beat the runner up by mere 3 points. The participating schools were Shishuvan from Mumbai , The Jain International School from Bilaspur and a school from Kochi. The students played games like गिल्ली ओर डंडा (Gilli and डंडा), कंचे (marbles), लट्टू () and danced with local children in the school campus. Highlights of the day Kochi school kids talking about seasonal unemployment e...

August 14th trip: A write-up by Parvathy: Staff and parent at Bubbles centre My daughter and I had a wonderful experience during our trip to Hallenijgal. It was as close to nature we could get as possible. The lush green fields, the tractor ride, the walk through the fields and amidst the village houses and cattle.. it was truly an undescribable experience. We were touched by the kindness and openness of the villagers. The best part was that our kids were able to interact freely with the village school children, which is a huge benefit. I hope we will be able to take our kids more often to get such exposure which is key to their development. 0 Trip to Hallenijgal, August 14th, 2010: A write-up by a parent and staff-member: Pamela The trip to Hallenijgal was a very enjoyable trip. The children had a very good experience. They got to see the village scenario and the village life. We have taken photographs and are doing picture talk based on what they had seen and experienced i...

Aloo's village is on a plain table land on top of a hill belonging to western ghats. The mumbai local can take you to within 4-5 Kms from his residence. He was inducted into services when in Nineteen Seventees there was labor shortage and then scouts would be sent to nearby Adivasi villages asking if anyone was interested in job. His wife passed away sometimes back and now his complete salary goes for the welfare of his two sons. The eldest with his wife just came back from jungle after cutting wood for their fuel needs. The son only had a blue short and a muscular body drenced in sweat. The wife had skirt like saree and a blouse. That is the standard dress for a normal adivasi. Only thing that distinguished them from us was their instant happiness. They were glad and unihibited in interacting with us. The smile baring all teeth while talking was a glowing tribute that man can be happy in most isolated of places even if he was just returning from cutting wood. Most of elders go to ...

Government can bring out policy for promoting rural tourism and help it reach all deserving villages. Ensure that villages are not discriminated based on history,geography,demography,religion or natural location. Build a belief that every village has got the potential. Ensure that any village can be converted into a tourist destination without any administrative hassles. A single form/application from any social entrepreneur should take care of recognizing that village as a tourist destination, form necessary trusts for financial transactions. Ensure that most of the funds is managed by village self help group/cooperative/trusts. All revenue generated directly or indirectly through rural tourism should be tax free. Please add to the list. I am not good at policymaking.