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-   -   Early mornings of a remote South Indian village (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/149941-early-mornings-remote-south-indian-village.html)

Prologue :

In life, we happen to chase certain things and think that they would make us happy. Well, agreed that they would definitely make us happy, but for how long? Ok, if we ask ourselves a question, "Haven't I got bored of my new super-expensive smartphone just after it's upgraded version got released?" I bet you might have already got the answer by now. Finding a certain level of happiness in material things is ok, as we all live in a materialistic world, but aren't we forgetting the smallest units, those small things in life that we take for granted? Wondering what those "small granted things" might be? Well, lets take a stroll across them.

How many times have we woken up early in the morning, and looked at the sun shining through the blinds? Shouldn't we be thankful for a brand new day? What if we slept last night and realized that the sun won't come up again the next morning, or even worse, what if we never get to open our eyes the next morning? But again, we lead too busy a life to think about all these, right? But do we realize that a busy, cynical mind is more apt to find problems than solutions.

Nowadays, we find innumerable reasons to fret over almost anything and everything. We fret over our salaries, we fret over our clothes getting outdated, we fret over the food that we are fed upon, we fret over the incompetence of our bikes not being able to race with our dear rich friend's superbike, some even fret over the unavailability of their favorite brand of mineral water!

Well, talking about our salaries, what if we didn't have a job at the first place? We fret over our rank in our organizations, not realizing that a million jobless contenders with better caliber than ours, are behind us in the queue to grab the job & salary that we fret upon each day. Shouldn't we be respecting the job that we have? Well, that doesn't mean that we stop dreaming big. If we have the substance & sustainability in our characters, we would definitely be rewarded with whatever we deserve in life. But fretting over it ruins whatever possible comfort our current assets might give us.
We fret over our clothes getting outdated and getting out of fashion? Well, if we look around with eyes wide open, we would instantly see children roaming nude on the streets. Shouldn't we be respecting the fact that we have an intact body and a piece of linen to cover it? Similarly, shouldn't we be respectful to the fact that God has made us this much privileged that we are Blessed with a meal, 2 times a day?

Now, coming to the most significant part of our discussion here. How many times have we looked upon the sky and thanked God that all of our four limbs are intact and that we can do anything that we wish to with the help of them? Here, I would like to make a special mention of a terrific personality whom I happened to meet a few days back. His name is Mark Inglis. In 1982, both his legs got amputated below the knee. I was shocked as well as ashamed of myself to see this man, that inspite of being handicapped, he does everything far better than us non-handicapped "perfect" people. Want more? He even climbed Mt. Everest with his artificial carbon fibre legs attached below his knee.

The next time we drive our car or bike, eat food with our own hands, or run up the stairways, we should remember to thank God that our greatest asset, our body, our limbs are in perfect working order. If we learn to respect these small things, life would seem far more colorful.

To reiterate this very idea of the prologue post, one early morning, my camera, my car, and me, set off for a remote South Indian Village, named Kukkrebelur.
The reason? Well, there was a time recently, when I myself wasn't following whatever I wrote in the above prologue post. Being in the glamour world, doing fashion shoots, producing music for movies, shows, fans, and fame does get into your head sometimes. I needed something that could take my feet down on the ground again. I had started complaining about my life, rather than facing it.

And when I came back from the drive, my mind and soul were enriched, and the consequent pictures would tell you how.

All set to roll



The lights of the S10 still guiding me as the twilight starts to emerge



Dawn starts to break, and the S10 takes a breather



Standing there, breathing the air, was priceless





The sun just pops out from behind the leaves, and I miss no chance to say Hello to the superpower



An unforgettable moment

I saw a lifecycle happening in this shot. A simplistic farmer's house, with the bare minimum necessities. A bicycle that is used as the primary means of transport in the family. Although there is a vehicle in the house, the herculean 475DI, but that vehicle is there for a purpose in the family, it's a member of the family, and that too an earning member of the family. A sheep, tied to the tractor, just like a life tied to it, in a very extraordinary way. Extraordinary because the sheep is fed by the same money that the tractor earns for the family by ploughing the fields.
Apart from this, there is an interesting thing to note, that there is no human present in the frame, but his presence is felt everywhere, as if the farmer himself is telling us his life story




Age isn't a factor to keep up the hard work. Another lesson learnt.




Hasn't it been ages since we have been starved of "Pure" cow's milk?




That's how rural India throws colors into their life :)




Reminds me of my childhood days. Yes, I'm a small town guy. Life was so simple and sweet




And then I found some company




Sitting beside the highway, eating food from the dustbins. This man compelled me to reflect back on life




The less you own, the more is the width of your smile. Another practical lesson learnt




This photograph might not be snazzy or technically brilliant, but Shots like these is why I love photography so much. Photography is all about preserving life, and not just doing snazzy things with the camera which provide next to naught emotional value




This is a very special photograph. Met this boy roaming around in the village, called him, asked him to pose for a photograph. He obliged with a wide grin. Following that, what he asked from me in return, blew me away.
He asked whether I had a notebook and a pen in my car. He said, he wanted to study, but his parents were incapable of even buying him a notebook and a pen.
I was shaken. The value of whatever little education I have been gifted by my parents, started to float in front of my eyes

Ahead into the village, another majestic experience lay still to captivate me. Grain fields! Walking across the fields like a typical farmer, in those early hours, and singing songs to oneself. Priceless!






Just then, I came across this woman in the fields, who was happily heading to reap the harvest. She smiled at me, and asked me if I had breakfast. She then invited me to her place for breakfast.
Where do we come across such people in our cities, who, still follow "Atithi Devo Bhava". This sense of bonding that people from our villages or small towns have, is an asset to humanity. In our cities, we even don't know who our neighbors are.




Checking out the quality of his harvest, this man was happy to have been photographed. He loved that we came there and shared our lives with theirs




Suddenly, this flock took off, and it tested my reflexes over the camera. A shot well executed :I Rule:




Sparkling dewdrops lay hidden on the harvest, which wasn't even visible through the naked eye from a distance.
Lesson learnt : There is a beautiful spark in the eyes of even the smallest of things, and to see it, you yourself have to put your feet on the ground




Yes, I chased this guy all over the wheat fields. It was a flashback of my schooldays. I had all of a sudden become a kid




Meanwhile, the farmers had more company. Nature, man, birds, insects, all seemed to be in perfect harmony at that moment




Having come back home, all enriched, it was now time to reflect back on some of the learnings that I had brought along from the drive, and push myself towards becoming an even better human being.

Thanks for reading

Cheers,
Shubhodeep Roy

Brilliant. One of those rare travelogues which you read with a lump in your throat. Marvelous photography, but I suppose that is only to be expected from a professional. But combined with some thought provoking words, this is a gem. Bravo.

Where is Kukkrebelur, by the way ?

I'm so glad that you took out time and went through the text, and not just the images. Thanks for all the good words.
Kukkrebelur is a small village that lies between Bangalore and Mysore

Beautiful words! I had to read it all over again and its still not enough. Loved those two scenes you have portrayed brilliantly. The one of the little boy asking for a notebook and of that generous woman who invited you for a share of whatever less they have. Coming from a similar village and living in one of the most materialistic societies all I can do is to read it all over again and again and as you said, reflect on the life I lead!

You mean Kokrebellur? Kokre means stork in Kannada.

Not to nitpick, but that's a buffalo.:)

Actually, you are very good. A brilliant capture of different moods from of a village.

I had posted a similar travelogue few years back. Photos are not this good, and the village is my native.

Brilliant !! Thank you very much for this. Made me go back in time ! Sharing this.

Priceless! That's a beautiful short travelogue with some really thoughtful words and pictures. You've indeed touched an interesting topic, we should indeed thank God for whatever we have instead of cribbing about what we don't have! The joy is in the small things, how we tend to forget them in our quest for larger and bigger things in our lives!!:)

A very enjoyable read and some very nice emotional photographs too! Thanks for sharing.clap:

Thats the prize you get for getting up early. The prize is two folds. One you get the nature's best colours. Secondly you get the best of early risers off to work.

Not to mention the short drive giving you immense pleasure.

RevvMusic, Beautiful travelogue. This country is so beautiful. Thanks for discovering one more bit of this beauty and sharing it with us. BTW you have a very good sense of photography. The contrast you brought out in your pics is something I loved and would keep it in mind while clicking some of my own!!

Pics & words, evokes many emotions, makes me hate the meaningless rush all around & the life more. I do crib but i do hope someday to live in peace of mind like these souls..

Amazing pics and equally good description :)

Must mention that this travelogue reminded me of my childhood:thumbs up