Away from the cacophony of an urban lifestyle, what do they do everyday?
We went through a first hand experience to ponder on their daily life.
It started with the Sunday Mass in the Balijodi Church. A mellifluous amalgamation of hymns in Sadri provided a bespoke serenity inside the periphery of the church. Christianity is a major religion amongst the tribal community and this has been beautifully influenced by the tribal lifestyle. Hallelujah!Hallelujah!
Next came our time in the rice fields, learning the intricacy of harvesting and the beautiful art of using the sickle. Piles and piles of rice bundled up and aligned in geometric precision. Ah! What a productive organic way of worshipping the ingredient that gives life to the soul, lovingly called “Tikhil” (rice). The sunny field, the smell of moist soil would have made any poet romanticise about the nature.
Apart from harvesting rice, mushroom cultivation forms an intrinsic part of their occupation in winters. The spores kept in bottles are soaked and put in hay for the hyphae to grow.
Spores of Mushroom
The village of Jabaghat was another feather to our cap. The beautiful river that flows down the village is serene and the crimson hue of the sun makes it a surreal sensation. Wild flower bouquets awaited as we touched the soil of Jabaghat. Sunita took us through the bamboo forests and exposed us to the serene river.
From Jabaghat to Jalda, the momentum remains the same. “Indigenous, untouched, virgin source of living, won’t you like it more than the songs of Delhi?”