Gadu-Lota

I have to get the original picture of the lota (Odia - Gadu) that my grandfather used....

The one he used was made of brass and was heavy. It was like part of his body.

Now you get the plastic ones. Quite an useful utensil.

 

Tulasi Podium

One of the sacred places in any home in my village. A poduim made out of mud to hold the tulashi plant. It is like a flower pot, but made by hand. After bath and at dusk, women used to put water and place an oiled lamp each day of the year. The symbolic gesture of this ritual was of utmost significance to me as a child growing up.

Shoulder Pole

Have you been carried in one?

I have.

Replace the fruits and vegetables with a four year old and that was me on one basket hanging from the sharecropper's shoulder. This was on our way to the village from the bus stand. I remeber feeling comfortable enough to sleep on the way.
Boy, the world has changed a lot. Yet, in the villages the shoulder yoke is still used to carry loads.

Bullock Cart

I am not sure if you have had an experience to use bullock cart for a ride or not. But that was the last leg of my trip to my village.

Generally in summer, we used to ride an open cart like the one on the left. The ten kilometer trip to home was quite refreshing through the open woods and crisp air. There was an aroma from the nature. You could smell the greenery and the red clay used to give a nice earthy smell. The ambiance in the nature was very soothing. You could remember and cherish it every summer. There is no way one could take a tour on a bullock cart and experience the feeling. You have to experience it as part of your growing up as a trip to your village. You know, the village folks live this everyday. They could not even fathom my experience. You have to be in my position to say that I was experience the nature with absolute unpolluted serenity.

In the winter, it used to be one with a canopy.

Bitter Gourd

I used to dislike this vegetable in my childhood. I always wondered how something can be that bitter and edible! But as I grew older, I started to develop a taste for it. One reason may be my mother's cooking. She used to make a stir fry with potatoes and boy did it taste great.

There are several varieties of this vegetable. But this one is my favorite, especially when it is done in a mustard base sauce!
As a child, I was bitten by a dog. As soon as my grandmother learnd about it, the first thing she did was to snatch few bitter gourd leaves, rolled them between her palms and wiped the bite mark with it. I am not sure if it had any impact or not, but there are anecdotal report of bitter gourd juice having anti-bacterial properties.

My Village

Google Latadeipur, Orissa, India and you will find something about this village of about 1100 people. This is the village where I spent many summer vacations and winter holidays. With nostalgia, I often wish to repeat some of those experiences. However, at times I am also made aware of some of the harsh realities.

This is an attempt to seek and implement sustainable practices to improve quality of life at the village without turning it into a town. The natural beauty, the solitude around the river, and the sound of birds at a distance still rings in my ears. No, I do not want to alter these with technology and transportation. Yet, all of these should not be enjoyed at the expense of a poor quality of life in this village.

At times it seems like no one cares for the village. For it has so many resources, but still remains isolated and neglected. So here is an attempt to do something with what I have and what I can!

Here is a picture of my village from Google Map.
As you take a left at the top, the road takes you on the south side of the village almost away from the village, before taking an acute turn into the center. Finally another left turn will take you out of the village. As you exit, before the pond on the left is my school, where I studied in 3rd standard.
Now a bus routh bring people right into the village. We had to walk 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Joranda. It was reduced to 1.6 Kilometers (1 mile) from Kaluria.

Welcome

Welcome!