The Futuristic Indian Village
As the morning sun was coming out of its mystical abode and
the birds had just started chirping in the cold morning breeze we travelled to
the incredible and enlightening Bare-Foot
College in Tiloniya village founded by
the eminent Bunker Roy near Ajmer
on 20th November for a mesmerizing and life time experience.
Being with the village people who were technically more
advanced, creative and knowledgeable as compared to us yet so humble made us
feel delightful. Our guide for the College was a local villager Bhag Chand
Ji. We were amused when we came across
some village ladies working on parabolic
solar cookers, solar water heaters, solar dryers etc and it reached to the maximum
level when one of them started describing the complicated time clock mechanism with zeal and enthusiasm. Moving
on we visited the Computer workshop
where village women were teaching
computer to people from foreign countries. Their knowledge and perfection
on it made us all applaud for them.
Bhag Chand Ji showed and explained the age old mechanism of converting thread (cotton
- soot) into cloth as we continued to
explore the place. At the Carpentry
workshop we saw entire range of well finished toys, especially designed to teach village kids in a simpler yet
effective manner. It was very nostalgic to see those small aeroplanes, math’s
balance, mouth organ and many more. We were dumbstruck to see the Electronics workshop were people from
around the globe were working together on solar
lamps, solar panels and many other devices with full dedication. The thing
which impressed us all was firstly as most of them were from different
countries like Kenya, Nepal and many African countries yet they communicated
with one another through sign language so effectively and secondly, the person
leading them was not a Professor but a handicapped villager.
As we travelled in the future Indian village we came across
an alluring workshop named “Kabad
Se Jugad” or Best out of Waste proclaiming that “Nothing is Unwanted”.
With magical touch handicapped villagers were converting waste material to
useful articles.
After a mouth watering and delicious lunch “Daal-
Chawal-Saag-Roti” cooked in solar cookers we were all set to meet Dr.
Leilani Lea from U.K. A specialist in accu-
punctures who had come there from U.N.O. to train villagers. It was a pleasure learning
some of the basic techniques from her which actually comforted us.
The college is all solar lighted and has the largest library of rural India
containing variety of informative books, novels and about 120 magazines.
Further, we learned about the rain water
harvesting tank and a small farm equipped with drip irrigation system which was being
used their technically sounder than in any of our so called developed cities. The
Local hospital was all managed by
villagers mostly handicapped. The dentistry of it was famous which was managed
by an elderly woman of the village. Holding our breath we travelled in their Craft emporium which was indeed commendable.
The adventure level had risen to maximum when we saw Maruth Fighter Jet (Similar to Mig-21) which
was gifted to the founder as a token of respect by the Indian Air Force.
Though travelling back to the real world was the only option
but, we left the futuristic Indian
village Tiloniya with lots of knowledge, experience and a spark in the
heart to bring about a revolution in the present scenario and a ticket for our
next time travel.
