It struck me a few days ago that I am going to be spending no more than a third of this trip in an Indian metropolis, the rest all being in rural parts of India. Mahatma Gandhi said that India lives in its villages. This is still true. Over 70% of the Indian population lives in villages. So, I am figuring that getting rural is giving me a feel for the India that is known to a majority. The cities are indeed a slice of India known to only a small privileged minority of the billion.
So, what is rural India like? Or, rather, what is it like in the southern part of the country. For one the roads are smaller and potholed. The homes are more hut-like – made of mud and with thatch roofs. A lot of the land is undeveloped or used for agriculture. Rice, millet, corn and a few other crops are the main staples. You see men and women, wading through knee deep water, weeding and tilling in paddy fields. Sounds like Vietnam, doesn’t it? It is something like that except that in southern India, the landscape is way dryer. The food is simple – nothing like the curries served in westernized Indian restaurants. Daal, a simple stir-fried vegetable, roti and some rice are the main dishes in every meal.
People transport themselves in whatever they can find – a bicycle, a two wheeler, a cycle rickshaw or a three wheeler which is the cab of rural India. This little vehicle (smaller than a Mini Cooper) transports as many or more than 12 people at a time. Yes, I said 12. A couple of people are always hanging on the outside, with only their feet touching the rickshaw floor. We passed one of these yesterday. There were 3 of us seated in a Toyota Innova (the Indian equivalent of a Toyota Sienna). The folks in the rickshaw looked at us like we were nuts! What would 3 people need so much space for! I could just see their minds bubbling with thoughts of how 25 of them could travel in a Toyota Innova.
There is much more to rural India. I will spill more as the days unfold …
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