A spontaneous journey to Mangaon, a small town in Raigad district, 146km away from Mumbai, was to experience the differences we see from big cities.
This book is a documentation about understanding the viewpoints of urban village people, their pace of life, culture, ambitions, lifestyle, food, language, demographic etc.
As I got down at Mangaon station,I was greeted by a landscape that was completely in contrast with that of the city. Birds chirping, open fields and most importantly serene peace that is often forgotten in the humdrum of city life.
As I exited the station, there were trees all around. There was a chaiwala shop flocked around by the villagers and many autos which connected the people from the nearby places around.
Travelling through the auto, I was enthralled by the beautiful scenes of the villagescape, wide open fields, local markets, bakeries, hotels, schools, buses and a big billboard indicating a new upcoming mall!
I spoke to some local shopkeepers. One of them was Vishal, a 26 year old, ITI graduate. He shared his terrible life experiences about living in the city, the constant rush, the negligence, the crowds, the pollution and crimes. “It’s better to stay home, run my own shop, make time for our family. Its not just about money, he remarks, “Yahan sukoon hai”!
Mohi, 28 years, happy and cheerful,has two children who go to school and after that she runs a hotel from 11 am - 5 pm with a north eastern worker who taught her Hindi and she taught him Marathi. Her husband runs the shop after 5 pm - 11 pm. She loves to visit her sister and beaches in Mumbai.
Vishal, 40 years, runs a hotel and a juice corner. He appreciates the way of life there and is content with the money he is earning. He has a daughter and a son who are studying in 12th. He believes in equal education for all and getting married at the right age. He told me that a lot of people from the village go to Pune and Mumbai for studies and jobs but most of them come back home and live here.
Raman Bhosale, 30 years, a barber, runs his father’s shop with his brother. He started working from an early age with his father as he never liked to study. He likes the pace of life here as opposed to city life. “Sab kuch hai bas cinema hall nahi hai”, he said.
I also met a group of students who were studying in 10th grade. They were taught subjects like Marathi, English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science etc. They also shared their ambitions. One of them wanted to be a dancer, the other,a kabaddi player and another one,a singer. One of them wanted to be a boxer. “Hum jo chahe kar sakte hai,mummy papa support karte hai”, he said. His parents were sending him to Punjab to learn boxing.
The true experience I had is hard to put into words but it was definitely something that helped me gain a new perspective on life.Go somewhere, anywhere,without having a plan and you won’t be disappointed!
