Visit a village this monsoon
On 15th August 2017, I was given
an opportunity to travel with the members of the Prakriti Bachao Samiti - Jagdalpur (Save the Nature Committee) for
their monthly meet and greet. The location was a quaint village named
Akshaynagar. It is located beside a dam made for irrigation purpose. Since I
didn't really had much to do, I decided to take this opportunity.
About the Committee:
Prakriti Bachao Samiti or Save the Nature Committee is a
group of volunteers of different age groups whose duty is to carry out
community works in order to enhance the nature around the city. Started in the
year 2012, this group has been constantly doing their work without much fuss.
They have developed a park with varied type of floral plants, all planted and
maintained by this committee. The core members of the committee also travel to
various places every month in order to promote tree plantation and explain ways
to give back to nature.
Facts about the Dam:
Koserteda Medium Irrigation
Project (Chhattisgarh) envisaged construction of Koserteda dam across Koserteda
Nalla, a tributary of river Markandi, under Indravati sub basin of Godavari
Basin and is situated near village Salemeta in Baster district of Chhattisgarh,
about 54 Km from Jagdalpur in South Chhattisgarh.
The Project comprises of an
earthen dam 1305 m long with maximum height of 25.60 m. A 155 m long waste weir
on a saddle on left flank with its crest at 117.70 m is provided with a maximum
discharging capacity of 1,100 cumecs.
The Day as it panned:
I was a bit skeptic about
visiting the place, not because of the location, but because of the elderly
intellectuals attending the meet. But, thankfully, they let me be myself. I was
let go after some initial small talks, as they observed that I was more
interested in the surrounding then the talks of politics that they were
pursuing.
The day was a usual monsoon day.
Dark clouds covering the sky, a bit of drizzle every now and then, and a
calming wind rustling continuously. The village is about 60 Km from my
hometown. The road leading to the place is a mixture of good, bad and worse.
Initially is the highway (the good part)which after a certain distance is under
re-construction (the bad part). Further, as we take a diversion towards the
village, we face roads, which has potholes at regular intervals (the worse
part) which makes driving a very tedious job.
The highway seemed bereft of much
greenery but as we took the diversion
towards the village, we saw the farms of the locals. And this is where all the
colors of nature started complimenting themselves to provide a joyous feeling
to the observer. Rich with wheat and corn plants, these farms provided a very pleasant
view, and thus letting us divert our mind from the road which kept degrading as
we proceeded.
After around 40 minutes of drive
on this 12 km stretch of road, we reached our destination, a government primary
school where the meet and greet was to take place. After initial handshakes,
the attendees decided to proceed to the opposite end of the dam. Driving
through a raw road , we reached there, and the view was just breathtaking.
As everyone were enjoying the
pleasant view, darker clouds started gathering around, and suspecting a heavy
rain, we decided to go back to the school. We reached there before the rain started
pouring real heavy as expected. After another round of discussions, we started
back and made a stop at the front side of the dam and then continued our way
back on the tedious road with the surrounding greenery gleaming amidst the
recently concluded heavy rain. The scenery, again, was a view to behold.
Conclusion:
This trip made me realize that if
you are under distress, it is not necessary to travel to a far off fancy place,
no need to do a physically challenging trek, and no need to have a plan at all.
Just take your vehicle and visit a nearby village, spend some alone time and
just relax and unwind yourself. Especially in this monsoon season, during which
you'll observe the best of it. I know
how stressful life is in the big cities. The traffic, the pollution, the
work-load - everything just sucks the life out of you. So next time you are
confused as to where to visit, plan a visit to a nearby village to relax and
recharge yourself.
P.S.: The villagers are generally
more welcoming then most urban peeps.
Ciao!
Keep Travelling!
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