The Indian rural milieu: villages and hamlets once served as a symbol of
beauty and glory; love and affection; arts and crafts; culture and heritage;
customs and traditions; etc. India
was credited for its rural milieu. It was considered to be many a great
institution to promote its image with rich culture and heritage. Its
inhabitants were pure in their hearts, sincere in their dealings, affectionate
in their treatment. They had love and affection for each other in spite of
their consciousness of class, caste and creed. So the rural set-up was filled
with joy and harmony for they wished the welfare of all without discrimination.
The people in the rural set-up conveyed their
whole hearted greetings on festive occasions. They wore traditional dresses of
kaleidoscope of colors to reflect their culture. They welcomed their relatives
especially their daughters and sons-in-law to the festivals. They pleasantly
exchanged pleasantries to renew their human relations. They played games and
sports with sportive spirit. They witnessed street dramas for their
entertainment and enlightenment. They learnt ethics from their favourite epics
like the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha etc. Sati Sayitri and Sati Anasuya were
their interesting dramas. Since the characters like Sri Rama, Yudhistira, Sita
and Savithri were their role models and object lessons, they never deviated
from the path of rectitude. Hatred, jealousy, hypocrisy, envy, etc., never
touched their hearts. In spite of their illiteracy, they lived in perfect amity
and unity. They were human and humanistic in every walk of life. Unfortunately,
human values and virtues which were admired and revered in the past have become
topsy-turvy and are now forgotten for ever. In the changed circumstances, they
respect material values rather than human values.
The beauty of rural landscapes is gradually
fading away. The paradise-like rural set-up is fast fading and changing. It was
a paradise lost and is never a paradise regained. The chirping of birds in the
surroundings, the dancing of peacocks under the bushes etc were the common
features of natural wonders which are now scarce in the rural milieu.
For transport and conveyance, they had
different kinds of bullock carts and horse coaches. They traveled to distant
places by carts, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature and listening to the
sweet rattling of small jingling bells on the necks of bullocks. They rode
horses to exhibit their chivalry. Women were busy singing folk songs while
working in the fields. Marriage processions were spectacular events in the
rural set-up. The palanquin bearers would listen to the budding love-words of
the bride and the bridegroom in the palanquin whenever they stopped their
chorus, sung in the direction of averting their painstaking palanquin-bearing.
The surrendering of bridal daughter led all, including the bride, in the
parting ceremony to the shedding of tears. It was the most heart-moving scene
in every marriage for the rural people who interestingly witnessed with tears
in their eyes. All people especially women would send off the bride with their
earnest appeal to the bridegroom to look after the bride with utmost care.
Birds of multifarious species used to appear in
the surroundings and on trees, twittering and flittering in a joyous mood. They
built their nests with instinctual designs for cozy shelters. Sparrows, mynahs,
‘garudas’, etc have almost reached the stage of extinction. The house sparrow
which built its nest under the tiles of roofs is unseen and its chirping is
unheard. They were fed seeds in the houses. The flocks of cows and buffaloes
were a common feature in grass landscapes. The herds of deer were seen in thick
thickets. The pastoral glory was so rich that the people in the rural set up
were delighted by it.
Where are rivulets and streams gurgling and bubbling?
Now they are bare without water. Instead of wells and canals for agriculture,
there are bore-wells at the bottom of rivers, rivulets, streams, deepening the
level of underground water. The landscapes with all kinds of crops are scarce.
Mostly commercial crops are grown for materialistic prosperity. The tenement of
multi-storey buildings may stand to reflect our scientific advance and
technological progress but the deterioration of human values prevalent now
reveals the devoid of human values and humanistic splendors.
In the wake of scientific advance and
technological progress, the lifestyle in villages has taken a different turn
beyond one's expectations as love and affection for human welfare are replaced
by undue care and craving for material prosperity. Buses, cars, jeeps, etc. are
different types of vehicles for conveyance in the rural set-up today. They
prefer speedy travel by fast moving vehicles to the travel on foot and in a
bullock cart. To travel by modern vehicles invariably marks the sign of their
prestige. They have cinemas and T.V. serials for sheer entertainment in place
of street dramas which were meant for not only entertainment but also
enlightenment in the rural set-up once. Today they have attractions for cinemas
and T.V. programmes though they are misled by them to false ways. The spirit of
letter-writing, which was once a main source for communication, is lost.
Cell-phones have become the most essential means of communication. They crave
for air-cooled or air-conditioned houses for their artificial comforts and
luxuries. The cool shade of trees goes unheeded.
Time in its flux has brought about various
changes. The people of rural areas maintain mechanical relations and false prestige
which sabotaged the spirit of humanity in the rural milieu. All rampant changes
in the rural set-up reflect the diminishing beauty of rural charms to be
deprived of the cultural identity in India .
Published in TRIVENI Vol, 79 No, 2 APR-JUNE-2010
