Interesting Days

These are interesting and eventful days. Life is brand new and most of the ‘learning’ from the prior life turns out to be a baggage than an asset. Some interesting incidences narrated below.

My way of dealing with people involves straight talk. I like to develop a good rapport with people I work with, but I don’t attempt to sugar coat words. Often, my first interaction leaves sour taste, so much so, that I appear arrogant, selfish, rude. 3 manual laborers, who worked with me on our first day, about a month back did not return for work the next day, due to my behavior. I’d promptly paid their wages next day through another labor. Now, about a month later, when I required labor, the same guys turned up with 2 more fellow villagers, this time our bonding much stronger and high trust level. I had similar experience with a mason as well. My bonding with the Sreejan Kartas has also deepened over the last few days. I think the key is to puncture the city – village divide, which exists in almost every villager’s mind. The way to do it is by working alongside them and treating them with dignity. Many urbanites often exert their power of financial strength or personal charisma or position to win over villagers and it works instantly. But in my opinion, it results in adverse selection (of people). Quality of work suffers and the cost of exerting the power increases. I prefer being myself and accept whoever gets drawn. I’ve never felt the need to change.

The house construction project has caught some pace. I considered building a stone house, then considered a sun-dried mud brick house with a large roof to protect from rain, then a sun-dried mud brick house with a burnt brick outside wall and finally settled for a stone house with a thick mud plaster from the inside. Almost everyone is unable to digest the aversion to cement and burnt brick, but all of them give up arguing with my craziness. Hopefully by day after tomorrow morning, the work will pick more pace and will get completed in 10-15 days. It will be quite an achievement to have an eco-friendly house within one month of shifting into a brand new life!

I bought for myself some basic farm equipment and a big drum for makingamrut jal. The farming also needs to progress. The farm allotted to me has a crop of turmeric, which is due to be harvested in April 1^st week. By then I plan to have a cow or two, leave them untied in a 3-4 guntas (approx. 3-4 thousand sq ft) and allow them to feed and roam in the area. The gomutra and the dung will enrich the soil in 2 months time, and then their home can be shifted to the next 4 guntas. Maximum impact with almost no effort! Need to look out for error in plan though.

The discipline in daily life has yet not come in. The weather continues to be quite cold and it has been raining as well occasionally. The effort will continue. There is ground to cover, but I’m not unhappy with the progress at all.