A Letter from Rural India

Having been born and brought up in an urban setting, it was a pleasant experience to go back and stay in a village. I still remember how much I used to love staying in my parental village during summer vacations, when my parents used to take me back there. It is interesting to ponder on how much rural India has transformed over the past two decades. How the roads and the means of transportation have changed for the good, and how the natural beauty, greenery and forests have taken a beating over the years due to human overpopulation and over-exploitation of natural resources.

My recent village sojourn was to Karda village, located in Karda gram panchayat, Gogunda tehsil, in Udaipur district, Rajasthan. Historically, Gogunda was the site of the coronation of the Rajput king Maharana Pratap of Mewar, and also that of the battle of Haldi Ghati (where Maharana Pratap fought with the Mughals). The local Bhil population has played a significant role in protecting its motherland, along with the Rajputs, in the glorious past of the Mewar region. Thus, the settlement of Gogunda has proud descendants of the martial clans that fought the Mughals more than five centuries ago.