Rural Roots in Southern India

INDIA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [365] | View Smaller Image

“Eager to share”. While wandering through the shop-lined streets in Saraguru, we stopped to ask some of the shopkeepers if we could take pictures of their colorful shops. The language barrier was overcome with gestures and smiles, and when they saw that we were interested in their shops and their work, they were more than happy to open up to us and share about their livelihoods. They proudly showed their large piles of cotton outside and then motioned for us to follow them to another building where they had a large pile of lentil-like grain, which they again proudly showcased. So much can be said sometimes without understanding a single word.

Tags: grain village shop india

“Cotton a trap”. Cotton is grown near the village of Saraguru and it is fairly common to see trucks overloaded with large bags of cotton passing through the streets. Cotton is a very labor intensive crop and one of the local men said that many parents do not want their children to continue in farming. Instead, the children are encouraged to become doctors or engineers, where they can enjoy an easier life. Partly due to this, more and more people are moving away from the rural areas and farm owners are finding it increasingly harder to find labor to help run the farms.

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“Smiles are universal”. Like the vibrant scenes that first greeted me in the city market, I found that the people themselves are just as dynamic and colorful. Despite the hardships that so many of them obviously faced in making a living, the people of southern India are some of the richest I’ve met in terms of their happiness and welcoming attitudes. Smiles abounded there was no hint of fakeness about them. Makes you step back and think about what true happiness is and how little of a role money and material possessions play a role in that.

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Rural Roots in Southern India

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