Pandhrigota: First Impressions

7th October, 2013

Motion sickness is my constant companion while travelling and today was going to be worse. Not only I was going to travel, I was going go up a mountain. So on a diet of some homeopathy medicine and a cup of tea, I started my journey for Pandhrigota.

We bid goodbye to the last signs of ‘modern civilization’ and immediately got stuck in a traffic jam. Not a regular traffic jam mind you; it was a traffic jam of cows and buffaloes.

Our journey was beautiful and the ride was smooth. But surprisingly, there weren’t too many vehicles. That got me thinking, were the roads so smooth because they were well maintained or was it because nobody really came this far. Something to ponder about.

Throughout the journey, I could see messages written near the slabs used to indicate the miles. “Anekta mein ekta” and even ominous ones like “Jhopla toh Sampla” were seen throughout the journey. Also, I could see houses with fences as we started reaching Korchi. We crossed the CRPF camp and after two kms, we entered Pandrigota.

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TV has the power to numb your mind. You can sit in front of it for hours together and not realize how time flies. I experienced its power in Pandhrigota. Ever since I joined college, I did not bother to watch T.V. I suddenly came face to face with it in Pandhrigota. T.V.s are very cunning; they tempt you with bright lights and catchy music and once you are drawn in, you will continue to sit in front of it, no matter what you are shown.

For about an hour and a half, we were sitting in front of it and watching absolutely random movies, till Kaki called us for lunch. We looked at the time; it was nearly 2 and we hadn’t even ventured out to meet anybody. Ashamed, we vowed to get to work immediately after our meal.

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After our Transit walk, we decided to start with our household surveys. After working for about a couple of hours, we decided to return home for it was getting dark. In our last house, I saw something interesting. In the middle of the verandah, there was a beautifully decorated bamboo. I asked the family what it was and this is what I was told. For weddings,the people in the village construct a pandal with 8 pillars of teak to support it. The  central pillar is carved beautifully and has sun one side and moon on the other. After the wedding, it is taken to the house and kept it there. Some people keep it in the verandah while others use it inside their house to construct something. The pole would have carvings of sun and moon and also designs inspired by nature. 

I commented that their house was really beautiful. Immediately an elderly Kaka said, “Shehar ke concrete wale ghar mein rehte ho aur bolte ho ki hamare matti wale ghar ache hain”

Flustered, I tried to give an explanation but all he asked me was, “Kya apni zindagi yahan bita sakte ho?”

I did not have an answer for that.