A New Inning
It was a damn tough decision to leave a job at a large sized
philanthropic organisation in India and going to a village with confirmed
intention of settling oneself there. When I started to let people know about it
openly and after finally putting in my resignation at the office, the reactions
I received for this update were mixed, but not too mixed to get really
surprised. After starting for my native village leaving Mumbai for good, I posted
about it on facebook. That was also to say final bye to Mumbai, the city which
has given me so much in my life. The status update got flooded with likes and
comments wishing me well for my future endeavours.
Had this been even about 10 years back, I doubt whether
reactions would have been that positive. Majority of my close and older
relatives who have lived a secure life with government jobs have always been
against my getting into private and insecure world of low pay non profits. But
now scene seems to have changed. I was actually surprised by large number of
positive reactions even from those from whom I would have expected some
negative remark or a heavy load of doubt or plain scoffing. Many people openly
said that they were envious about me since I have an ancestral village with
some land to cling to and live life so close to the nature. A large number of
people expressed their desires to buy a piece of land somewhere and retire on a
a farmhouse, which I would be doing so early in my life.
Though I am really greatful for all these wishes which I
received, I did not tell all those well wishers something. I needed all that
positivity badly because life is not easy out here. Many things are hard to
come by and so are the people. Current level of incomes in this area are no
match to Mumbai. I went to the bank in the nearby larger village to open an
account. Though it is connected to the rest of the country through core banking;
I seemed to be the only one in the crowd gathered at the branch office on a
market day, who could talk about net banking and swift accounts. Back at home
and farm, there is very little local to call as income and majority of the monetary
transactions which I am doing are just plain expenditures. My skills in
agriculture are largely theoretical in nature and at personal level these are
yet to be practically proven. And contrary to popular imagination of the people
around me back in Mumbai, I have not retired to stay on a farmhouse having a
caretaker, a hammock and a barbeque. It is difficult but I have not found it
impossible so far fortunately.
I left something behind and started for the attraction of the
woods which looked lovely but are actually very dark and deep. I just dont know
how many miles will I have to keep. I don't even know the way. What I know is
that I can a least walk.
The lines in the paragraph above are plainly figurative of
course. Majority of the times I do not walk but ride my motorbike trying to
avoid potholes or a protruding stone here and there while the road passes
through rocky, rough and red coloured terrain.
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