Visiting schools in tribal villages of the Satpudas

Some days ago, I got the chance to visit some tribal villages in the Satpuda mountain ranges. The reason was to deliver useful supplies to the schools run there by the Yung Foundation of Dhule.

    Crossing Toranmal, the famous hill station in Nandurbar, and going ahead through the mountain pass of Satpuda, villages and hamlets spread up to the border of Madhya Pradesh. While going through such winding roads where only an experienced driver should drive and only one car can pass at a time (sometimes we had to clear stones lying on the road ourselves), while watching the vast mountain ranges spread far and wide around, and the Narmada and its tributaries, Sandip Vinayak Deore Sandip Vinayak Deore, who has the experience of working in this area for the past few years, was giving us a lot of information. Talking about the surrounding mountain villages, rivers, trees as geography, the richness of nature and the people living there, culture, available/unavailable facilities, difficulties and experiencing silence in between, we reached Uddya village.

    Staying in that village for 2 days ahead and visiting the nearby schools, we could experience many things - houses on the mountain scattered far away in the fields, a nature dialogue school running in a room made using bamboo, on a plastered floor or under a tree, smart little boys and girls sitting in rows there and following discipline that would shame even city kids, while going up a steep climb balancing our breath and panting, watching with wonder the women and men climbing fast carrying heavy luggage/pots, people driving bikes confidently with two-three people through roads with valleys on the side like "Maut ka Kua" (and sitting trustingly behind them) (- some of these people travelled for a few hours for a school in a very remote area and carried supplies from Uddya), sleeping under the open air by putting cots and looking at the sky, the calm water of Narmada against the background of the mountain and gentle waves coming on it due to the wind - a scene like in a painting, taking a dip in the clean, pollution-free water of Narmada and trying to swim, food made together by everyone on the chulha (and on gas) and much more.

     Along with all this, the water, grain and fodder scarcity caused by the prolonged summer, people cutting tree branches and giving them as fodder to cattle, water being brought from afar on a donkey, lack of electricity and water sources, mobile network still in many villages (solar lights and pumps reached to some extent), closed primary health centres and anganwadi schools, plastic reaching remote areas even when nothing else reached... in all such situations villagers showing hospitality, fellows speaking openly, teaching wholeheartedly in schools, tribal culture, information received about gender equality in their traditions, there was so much to see and experience. There were many things that were calming and introspective. Still, since the rain had not started, seeing the lush green mountains and flowing rivers, waterfalls remained, will see them sometime again!

   To help small children in remote areas learn the alphabet and develop a fondness for school, these schools are set up and run through enterprising fellows in the tribal areas, by the Yung Foundation, from social contributions and funds. If possible, do experience this in Satpuda.