Then, I packed up, thanked Ponnusamy Chettiar, Lakshminarayan Gounder and all my co-workers, some of the kids and caught the bus to Pollachi. The experiment had come to a close. The experience was terrific!
Jan 7, 2012
Day 5 - The cockfight and packing up
The day was normal other than me witnessing a cockfight. It was happening the first time we went to the boss's farm but I didn't have my camera with me then. This time around, I managed to shoot some pictures. The fight was super. It was something watching it. Aroused excitement in a sort of medieval way. I wonder how bull-fighting would be. Must watch it from close quarters some time.
Then, I packed up, thanked Ponnusamy Chettiar, Lakshminarayan Gounder and all my co-workers, some of the kids and caught the bus to Pollachi. The experiment had come to a close. The experience was terrific!
Then, I packed up, thanked Ponnusamy Chettiar, Lakshminarayan Gounder and all my co-workers, some of the kids and caught the bus to Pollachi. The experiment had come to a close. The experience was terrific!
Day 4 - Some changes in the routine
With Manoj gone, I reported to work under Mr. Muthu and accompanied him on his tasks. Apart from weed cutting, this time we sprayed the cattle and livestock with insecticides to keep them free of infections. I had to hold the cattle while Mr. Muthu sprayed them.
Holding the buffalo was quite easy, but the cows and specially the calves gave some trouble. I held them as they tried to run and often had to hug them tight to keep them still. As a result, when we finished, I was also disinfected with insecticides.
I couldn't bring myself to hold the dogs - Mickey, Bon and Chutti. Thankfully, the boss's maid gave us a hand. I photographed this from a safe distance.
After work, boss asked me to take a shower in the small canal inside the farm and stay back for a while. Me and boss cooked wild boar again and had a good chat. He was warm and friendly. As we talked he asked if I wanted to go hunting that night. I said yes. But unfortunately, the forest guards were on rounds that night (A deer that my boss shot earlier had walked a bit on and died in a neighbour's farm. As the forest department got scent of this, the troops were on constant vigil.) So the plan was cancelled and after a long chat, during which some of the boss's friends joined, I went back to the mill and slept soundly.
Holding the buffalo was quite easy, but the cows and specially the calves gave some trouble. I held them as they tried to run and often had to hug them tight to keep them still. As a result, when we finished, I was also disinfected with insecticides.
I couldn't bring myself to hold the dogs - Mickey, Bon and Chutti. Thankfully, the boss's maid gave us a hand. I photographed this from a safe distance.
After work, boss asked me to take a shower in the small canal inside the farm and stay back for a while. Me and boss cooked wild boar again and had a good chat. He was warm and friendly. As we talked he asked if I wanted to go hunting that night. I said yes. But unfortunately, the forest guards were on rounds that night (A deer that my boss shot earlier had walked a bit on and died in a neighbour's farm. As the forest department got scent of this, the troops were on constant vigil.) So the plan was cancelled and after a long chat, during which some of the boss's friends joined, I went back to the mill and slept soundly.
Day 3 - Getting on!
The next day we woke up by 5am and after the usual routine, reported to the job by 7am. Now we went to work in the farm as labourers. We met our co-workers on the way and after some chatting, started the work.
Our colleagues :)
We worked well till the 10am break.
We shared some food with our new friends and then ate some more food prepared by the boss's maid (since we worked for food, the boss made sure he gave us good stuff :)) during the 10 o'clock break.
A custom in the village was that people who eat must take their leaf or plate with them and clean or dispose it appropriately. The custom was applicable at homes, work places and restaurants.
After that, we were assigned other jobs - weed cutting, spraying water to cocoa plants etc.
Mr. Muthu with the weed-cutting machine.
Watering the cocoa plants.
After work, we reached the mill, had lunch and were talking stuff and laughing about when kids came in for tuition classes. Every evening and morning, the kids come to the mill for their tuition. Since this was a holiday period, only 10th class students came.
The kid in the red t-shirt was the son of one of our co-workers and the other kid, called Sethupathy, wanted to become an IPS officer.
Manoj had to leave that day to Chennai to attend an interview the next day. So he went off, saying good bye to some of the people who had become friends with us. After sending him off, I came back to the mill and slept alone. This time I was suddenly aware of all the sounds and activities around the mill. I removed my belt and kept it at an arm's length to use as a weapon in case something happened. Apart from that, things were fine, I slept like a log and woke up at 5am. I was into the fourth day now.
Our colleagues :)
We worked well till the 10am break.
We shared some food with our new friends and then ate some more food prepared by the boss's maid (since we worked for food, the boss made sure he gave us good stuff :)) during the 10 o'clock break.
A custom in the village was that people who eat must take their leaf or plate with them and clean or dispose it appropriately. The custom was applicable at homes, work places and restaurants.
After that, we were assigned other jobs - weed cutting, spraying water to cocoa plants etc.
Mr. Muthu with the weed-cutting machine.
Watering the cocoa plants.
After work, we reached the mill, had lunch and were talking stuff and laughing about when kids came in for tuition classes. Every evening and morning, the kids come to the mill for their tuition. Since this was a holiday period, only 10th class students came.
The kid in the red t-shirt was the son of one of our co-workers and the other kid, called Sethupathy, wanted to become an IPS officer.
Manoj had to leave that day to Chennai to attend an interview the next day. So he went off, saying good bye to some of the people who had become friends with us. After sending him off, I came back to the mill and slept alone. This time I was suddenly aware of all the sounds and activities around the mill. I removed my belt and kept it at an arm's length to use as a weapon in case something happened. Apart from that, things were fine, I slept like a log and woke up at 5am. I was into the fourth day now.
Day 2 - First day in the job
The rooster began crowing by 5.30 am. There were sounds of activity around and we woke up by 6.30am. We walked about 200 metres to a use and pay toilet. Then we rented a cycle and pedalled our way to a stream to take our shower. The picture of the village wouldn't have been complete for me without the stream and the temple on the way.
This was the temple on the way to the stream and was said to house a very powerful amman. As I passed it I wondered if there was a sthala purana for Sethumamdai. It would be interesting to hear it. Sthala puranas, apart from being interesting and imaginative stories have a lot of reality and many of the local customs of a village would also find explanation (logical and superstitious) in the story. I made a mental note to ask some suitable guy about it if I get the chance. But that never happened.
After the shower, we changed, had a light breakfast and reported in the farm to work by 9am. Our employer, Mr. Lakshminarayan Gounder, was examining some electrification in the middle of the farm and when we neared him, said to us 'I'll be back!' and hopped into his jeep and went for his rounds. A short way on, he opened the other door of his jeep and yelled 'Come on'. As we looked around in confusion, two deadly daubermen raced forward and even as I held my breath involuntarily, one of them jumped into the jeep and off the trio went, boss and pets, to inspect their farm.
After waiting for some 15 minutes, our boss came back and said 'So... apprentices!' and smiled. We smiled back. I recounted the experience of yesterday when we came to ask for the job. There were four unchained daubermen sniffing at us and cock-fighting was going on in one corner. There were two thickset men waiting near the boss. Whenever he addressed them, they bent in obedience. The scene was straight out of a movie. This man was one of the hot shots of the village, Maniyan had later told us. 'He owns more than 100 acres of coconut farm, no one knows how much exactly. I personally think it is around 400 acres', he said. After this we didn't know who to be more wary of - the boss or the daubermen! Taking no chances, we obliged both. We stood still as the daubermen sniffed our balls and boss said 'You can start by cleaning the goat shed, then wash the horse and give it a haircut. Let us see.' And off we went to do the job. The shed was full of droppings but we hardly cared. The experiment was underway. 'How awesome!' was all we could think.
I didn't take the camera with me for the first two days of work. Two days after we cleaned it, this is how the shed looked.
The horse that we washed. And look at that haircut! Close and trim! All that first day sincerity on the job looked good on the horse.
Then there was some wild boar for lunch. Our boss had hunted it with his .22 calibre hunting rifle just two days ago. He then cooked it himself. This was apparently to be a visit of many firsts. The sight of the guy in his jeep with rifle and the three daubermen would be one I'd want to witness. We went back to work and then our day got over by 1pm. We then reached home, slept for a couple of hours, showered in a well opposite to the mill and by this time it was evening. We went to the group of children playing kabaddi close by and joined them. Time went on merrily as Manoj caught the guys many times and I got caught by the guys many times.
Here is Manoj interacting with the guys.
Here, he shares some tips with them on playing Kabaddi.
After this, we had dinner and talked our way to sleep lying on the good old sack bags. A wonderful beginning!
This was the temple on the way to the stream and was said to house a very powerful amman. As I passed it I wondered if there was a sthala purana for Sethumamdai. It would be interesting to hear it. Sthala puranas, apart from being interesting and imaginative stories have a lot of reality and many of the local customs of a village would also find explanation (logical and superstitious) in the story. I made a mental note to ask some suitable guy about it if I get the chance. But that never happened.
After the shower, we changed, had a light breakfast and reported in the farm to work by 9am. Our employer, Mr. Lakshminarayan Gounder, was examining some electrification in the middle of the farm and when we neared him, said to us 'I'll be back!' and hopped into his jeep and went for his rounds. A short way on, he opened the other door of his jeep and yelled 'Come on'. As we looked around in confusion, two deadly daubermen raced forward and even as I held my breath involuntarily, one of them jumped into the jeep and off the trio went, boss and pets, to inspect their farm.
After waiting for some 15 minutes, our boss came back and said 'So... apprentices!' and smiled. We smiled back. I recounted the experience of yesterday when we came to ask for the job. There were four unchained daubermen sniffing at us and cock-fighting was going on in one corner. There were two thickset men waiting near the boss. Whenever he addressed them, they bent in obedience. The scene was straight out of a movie. This man was one of the hot shots of the village, Maniyan had later told us. 'He owns more than 100 acres of coconut farm, no one knows how much exactly. I personally think it is around 400 acres', he said. After this we didn't know who to be more wary of - the boss or the daubermen! Taking no chances, we obliged both. We stood still as the daubermen sniffed our balls and boss said 'You can start by cleaning the goat shed, then wash the horse and give it a haircut. Let us see.' And off we went to do the job. The shed was full of droppings but we hardly cared. The experiment was underway. 'How awesome!' was all we could think.
I didn't take the camera with me for the first two days of work. Two days after we cleaned it, this is how the shed looked.
The horse that we washed. And look at that haircut! Close and trim! All that first day sincerity on the job looked good on the horse.
Then there was some wild boar for lunch. Our boss had hunted it with his .22 calibre hunting rifle just two days ago. He then cooked it himself. This was apparently to be a visit of many firsts. The sight of the guy in his jeep with rifle and the three daubermen would be one I'd want to witness. We went back to work and then our day got over by 1pm. We then reached home, slept for a couple of hours, showered in a well opposite to the mill and by this time it was evening. We went to the group of children playing kabaddi close by and joined them. Time went on merrily as Manoj caught the guys many times and I got caught by the guys many times.
Here is Manoj interacting with the guys.
Here, he shares some tips with them on playing Kabaddi.
After this, we had dinner and talked our way to sleep lying on the good old sack bags. A wonderful beginning!
Day 1 - Reaching Sethumadai - Hunting for a job and place to stay!
After a fantastic pleasure trip with friends to the Kolli Hills, I boarded a bus directly from Namakkal to Coimbatore on the night of 26th December. After staying the night at my aunt's home, I boarded the bus to Pollachi the next morning where me and Manoj planned to meet. From there, we were to take a bus to Sethumadai and begin our experiment. As I sat on the bus to Pollachi with my backpack, munching on a few pieces of cucumber, I thought of what we were about to do. Me and Manoj, the two of us, were about to practically do things we've always been wanting to do. All those plans in paper and animated discussions of what we'll do when we have the time or the money or the means. No more just talking. We were giving life to our thoughts that very moment. 5 days of going incognito, in a sense, and living the village life. Curious? Hell, yeah. Excited? You bet.
I glanced at the Thirukkural on the bus - “Iniya Ulavaaga Innaadha kooral, kaniyiruppa kaai kavarndhattru” ("Why should we use negative words when there are so many positive/good words to express the same?"). I didn't know its meaning then but learnt it byheart just to pass my time till I reached Pollachi. Somehow byhearting classics, even when I don't totally understand them, leaves me calm and filled with a sense of well-being. I was wondering on this and debating in my mind if knowledge is essentially a good thing or a bad thing, when the bus reached Pollachi. Manoj was already waiting. Together we finished the curd rice my aunt had packed and borded the bus to Sethumadai. With Manoj, I need not repeat plans and impress upon him the purpose of the visit. I could trust him to be sensible and do the right thing, which was a big plus on an experiment like this.
As we boarded the bus, we were aware that we had to make friends as soon as possible if we were to have some chance of getting a job for a week and a place to stay for free. The people in the bus too, were very friendly. So, after a few smiles and warm enquiries, we found ourselves chatting with half of the bus, explaining why we were going to the village and supplying curious questioners with information on what we do and where we come from. There was a particular gentleman, called Ponnusamy Chettiar, travelling with his aide Maniyan, who quickly grasped our intent and asked us a lot of interesting questions. When we reached the village, he said to us with a smile and fatherly affection 'You guys stay here and have some tea. I'll make sure Maniyan gets you a job and a place to stay for a week.'
This was the tea shop at the village centre, where he left us. Later we understood that tea shops here were a parallel to the coffee shops of the city. This particular tea shop was a hang out for the middle-aged and was owned by Kirukku (Madman) Palanichaamy.
As me and Manoj actively eavesdropped and sipped our hot tea, we learnt that Kirukku Palanichaamy was a very gentle old man. When Maniyan returned after talking to a few people about our job, he gave his mobile phone to Palanichaamy and said 'Your daughter wants to speak to you.' The old man's face lit up like a bonfire and all the men smiled and nodded understandingly. 'Palanichaamy is so proud of his daughter!' said one. 'He damn well deserves to be' remarked another 'having brought up such a well behaved and independent woman. The man did back-breaking labour to provide for her, now she takes care of him'. And the others grunted and nodded in agreement. Palanichaamy handed the cell phone back to Maniyan. Maniyan said to us 'Ok let us go talk to the land-owners'. The trip had begun! After being denied a job by two people, the third one agreed to give us a job. He was sceptical about us in the beginning, not trusting our intentions but anyway told us report back for job the next day. Since he didn't agree to give us accommodation, Maniyan said we could stay in the Rice mill of his boss. We agreed gratefully.
This is the mill where we stayed.
Maniyan asked us if we needed some mattresses. 'No, it's alright sir. We'll use the sack bags lying there. Thanks for everything.' we said and then were left alone. The day's job was done. We had a job and a place to stay! We spread out the sack bags and folded some of them to serve as pillows. And when we stretched ourselves, we observed that one pillow was fatter than the other. There was an immediate rush for the fatter pillow and me and Manoj ended up having a wrestlemania match. I guess you'll know from the picture as to who won it.
I glanced at the Thirukkural on the bus - “Iniya Ulavaaga Innaadha kooral, kaniyiruppa kaai kavarndhattru” ("Why should we use negative words when there are so many positive/good words to express the same?"). I didn't know its meaning then but learnt it byheart just to pass my time till I reached Pollachi. Somehow byhearting classics, even when I don't totally understand them, leaves me calm and filled with a sense of well-being. I was wondering on this and debating in my mind if knowledge is essentially a good thing or a bad thing, when the bus reached Pollachi. Manoj was already waiting. Together we finished the curd rice my aunt had packed and borded the bus to Sethumadai. With Manoj, I need not repeat plans and impress upon him the purpose of the visit. I could trust him to be sensible and do the right thing, which was a big plus on an experiment like this.
As we boarded the bus, we were aware that we had to make friends as soon as possible if we were to have some chance of getting a job for a week and a place to stay for free. The people in the bus too, were very friendly. So, after a few smiles and warm enquiries, we found ourselves chatting with half of the bus, explaining why we were going to the village and supplying curious questioners with information on what we do and where we come from. There was a particular gentleman, called Ponnusamy Chettiar, travelling with his aide Maniyan, who quickly grasped our intent and asked us a lot of interesting questions. When we reached the village, he said to us with a smile and fatherly affection 'You guys stay here and have some tea. I'll make sure Maniyan gets you a job and a place to stay for a week.'
This was the tea shop at the village centre, where he left us. Later we understood that tea shops here were a parallel to the coffee shops of the city. This particular tea shop was a hang out for the middle-aged and was owned by Kirukku (Madman) Palanichaamy.
As me and Manoj actively eavesdropped and sipped our hot tea, we learnt that Kirukku Palanichaamy was a very gentle old man. When Maniyan returned after talking to a few people about our job, he gave his mobile phone to Palanichaamy and said 'Your daughter wants to speak to you.' The old man's face lit up like a bonfire and all the men smiled and nodded understandingly. 'Palanichaamy is so proud of his daughter!' said one. 'He damn well deserves to be' remarked another 'having brought up such a well behaved and independent woman. The man did back-breaking labour to provide for her, now she takes care of him'. And the others grunted and nodded in agreement. Palanichaamy handed the cell phone back to Maniyan. Maniyan said to us 'Ok let us go talk to the land-owners'. The trip had begun! After being denied a job by two people, the third one agreed to give us a job. He was sceptical about us in the beginning, not trusting our intentions but anyway told us report back for job the next day. Since he didn't agree to give us accommodation, Maniyan said we could stay in the Rice mill of his boss. We agreed gratefully.
This is the mill where we stayed.
Maniyan asked us if we needed some mattresses. 'No, it's alright sir. We'll use the sack bags lying there. Thanks for everything.' we said and then were left alone. The day's job was done. We had a job and a place to stay! We spread out the sack bags and folded some of them to serve as pillows. And when we stretched ourselves, we observed that one pillow was fatter than the other. There was an immediate rush for the fatter pillow and me and Manoj ended up having a wrestlemania match. I guess you'll know from the picture as to who won it.
The village experiment!
AIM: The purpose of the experiment was to live like a villager, to immerse ourselves in that lifestyle.
APPARATUS USED: We (The two social scientists carrying out the experiment - Me and Manoj) knew no one in the village and we had no experience of this sort before. We worked for food, slept on sack bags and played Kabaddi for recreation.
PRINCIPLE: One of the things in my bucket list is to live in an Indian village for a year. I would love to do it right away but there are other things to be done like clearing civil services, making money etc. that have to be taken care of. Therefore, this time around, me and my friend (Manoj) visited a village in Tamil Nadu and stayed there for five days, as a kind of warm up for the eventual one year stay. The village we chose was Sethumadai, some 33 kms from Pollachi, near the Tamil Nadu - Kerala border.
PLAN/ PROCEDURE: The plan was pretty simple. Go to the village. Find a place to stay - preferably without having to pay rent. Find a job - preferably as an agricultural labourer. Survive for five days. Return home.
The posts that follow give an account of how this experiment turned out.
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