A Visit to Nareshwadi (Project Warli)

Two Somaiya Social Cell members – Vikram and Shruti- made a visit to Nareshwadi – the community under Project Warli. The visit was part of the exchange visit for the students from NOVA university (based in US), who are currently pursuing MBA. Rather than me telling the narration of the visit, it is better to hear form the horse’s mouth. Vikram writes about his experience and the experience of the foreign students who visited the Nareshwadi school.

“There is only one word...in fact two....for the trip to Nareshwadi..."Simply" amazing....an the emphasis on the word simple is because that is what Nareshwadi is all about and the experience was yet out of the world. Shruti and I accompanied the foreign students. The travel from Mumbai to Nareshwadi was endless. The bus took us four long hours as we got stuck up in a traffic jam on the highway. When we reached Nareshwadi, we were quite exhausted but the welcome by the students of Nareshwadi school was too overwhelming for us to remain tired. We had breakfast and we immediately set off for the market at Nareshwadi.The market was about 6 kilometers from the school. En route we caught a glimpse of tribal life - Huts, dry paddy fields, cows and tribal villagers. But the fact was that – that is the real India.

The market was more like a ‘Mela’. Everything was laid out on the ground on newspapers the product range varied from pirated CDs to locally made Jalebis, from Bindis to plastic toys. The foreign students were overwhelmed. They had seen the malls in their home land but never a rural market. But that never prevented them from shopping.We returned, had lunch and were off for a site visit. Inka Pibilova, a Czech who has been working extensively with the NGO along with Patricia madam, showed us around with the enthusiasm of a child. We went to the classes where the students were studying. The classrooms were open without any windows or doors - a system which Inka said was about fresh air, sunlight and improved learning. The students, as young as 8 years old, were overjoyed and were eagerly showcasing their talent by reciting poems and singing songs for us. We had tears in our eyes literally because of the startling fact that one of the largest growing economies of the world had such a poor side to it too. We then went to their hostels where the children stayed. Each hall accommodates around 30 students and all sleep on the floor on a clad mattress with just a trunk to hold their clothes and yet they strive for a better life and better education. I was reminded of my hostel and the cribbing I had about it and my cribbing was reduced to nothing. Nareshwadi school has 500 children, mostly from the tribes and a few from HIV affected parents - the harsh truth.

We saw the vocational training institute of Nareshwadi, which trains students in carpentry, building and painting. These were taught so that the same skills can be used inside the nareshwadi school and it was being implemented there. The vocational students have built their own water tanks and small houses inside the school.We had a cup of tea after which we visited the vegetable and fruit fields inside the premises. The most unbelievable part of the whole visit!!! Spread over a huge land, the fields hold all kinds of vegetables and fruits. You name it and they are there. These vegetables are grown and the same are used to cook food for the students. There is also a dairy which provides milk and also safeguards certain rare species of cows and buffaloes. Fermi compost is used for better growth of vegetables. Drip Irrigation is used for water supply across all fields. The foreigners were really startled and so were we. We then saw the biggest banyan tree ever inside the campus. It was a truly amazing experience.We then came back for another cup of tea and interacted with the school children. We had a chat with them for a long time and had real childlike fun. The joy in their eyes, in seeing and talking with us, moved us all.I can go on writing about Nareshwadi because it was an amazing experience for both me and Shruti. But the thought that really struck our minds was that the biggest joy in life is to make others feel they are cared for and I am really glad that I had an opportunity to experience that.

I personally suggest a visit to Nareshwadi with all the social cell members as a group. There are certain things in life which when we experience makes us think that Life is truly a gift and that experiences in life must be shared with.
- Vikram