I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Roldih project during months of March and April of 2009. This was truly the most wonderful experience of my life. Following are some details of my time at the project. Please feel free to contact me directly if you need any additional information. I have posted some photos here and additional photos are available on Facebook.
A little background on how I got involved with Dakshinayan - I was born in New Delhi and moved to US 16 years ago. In US I have been working in corporate settings in New York for the past 12+ years. In January of 2009, I decided to leave my current position, take advantage of the bad financial/job markets and travel to India to get involved with some volunteer projects. I had been researching volunteer opportunities in India for past few years that provide a chance to work directly with rural villages. Initially, I was mostly disappointed by the web presence many of the NGO/volunteer organizations have setup that seem like a money making scheme and don’t highlight the nature of work or their mission or objectives. It was just pure chance that I stumbled upon Dakshinayan’s web site. I was mostly impressed with the simple description of the project’s goals and scope of Dakshinayan’s projects. I also found the background of Dakshinayan’s director Siddharth Sanyal particularly impressive. I didn’t have any volunteering experience let aside teaching primary school children but I felt comfortable enough after a few e-mail exchanges with Siddharth to visit the project. I wish this volunteer blog site was setup before I went to Jharkhand as I think the posts from ex volunteers will be very helpful to future volunteers.
Initial reaction from everyone when I mentioned going to Jharkhand was that the area is not safe and there are other projects in other parts of India that will be a lot more “comfortable”. I was warned repeatedly about the journey to Jharkhand and the instability in the area in general. A majority (approx. 80%) of Jharkhand is inhabited by some of the most underdeveloped tribes of India. Jharkhand’s demographics both introduce the obvious concerns but also provide an opportunity for someone interested in learning about the social, political, and economic issues that face Indian society today. Journey to the project was an adventure which included a 16 hour train ride from Delhi to Jasidih and a 3 hour Jeep ride from Jasidih to Roldih. I found the travel to/from Jharkhand and my time in Roldih completely safe and I cannot imagine any issues for anyone just following some common sense precautions.
The project setting was surprisingly pleasant. Being accustomed to the big city life and comforts it takes a few days to get settled into the basic amenities and all that wilderness has to offer. There are very comfortable bedrooms and bathrooms (English style) available. I carried a sleeping bag, sheets, and eating utensils but found everything was available at the project. I still recommend checking with Siddharth before getting to the project as I went during summer days when no other volunteers were visiting. Food is basic vegetarian yet tasteful. Suman always cooks with a smile on his face and all members dine together as a big happy family which is enjoyable. The scenery is truly picturesque - I have never enjoyed such beautiful nights and mornings in the cities or other places I have visited. I really enjoyed walking around the project watching sun rising over the mountains, reading during the day in shade of the 100+ year old Banyan tree that towers in the project territory, and having conversations with Siddharth after dinner just appreciating amazing skies on most nights.
Daily routine is at a slow pace yet the days aren’t a drag. Main focus of the project is of course is education but there is a great opportunity to start other initiatives for overall community development. After hearing about the sad state of education system in the area, I must say the work that Dakshinayan is doing even with 100 students is truly remarkable. I heard some horrible stories of corruption in the education system. Some of these stories have been documented by Siddharth on the project blog. Working with children was really a rewarding experience for me. Children are respectful, loving, and very enthusiastic about learning. I was teaching Social Science, English, and Living Science to class II and class III, and mathematics to class 4. Knowing Hindi definitely worked to my advantage as most of the children and villagers understand basic Hindi. School timings are from 8:30 AM to 12:00 which allows for a lot of free time during the day to do additional reading, water the plants on project premises, and just enjoy the surroundings. I enjoyed playing games with the students, flying kites, working on puzzles with them. It was difficult to build context around many things related to city life and outside world as the children have never been exposed to life outside their villages. But the children have an amazing sense of wonder and were amused by my stories of city life. I was fortunate enough to visit at a time when daily village visits were starting. I learned much about village life from our daily visits to students’ homes. We all agreed that daily village visits as a first phase of building community contact will be beneficial to the students and to our understanding of issues and problems in the area. Even after a month we were starting to build a good rep with the villagers and they were appreciative of our routine contact and willingness to get involved in resolving their issues.
Spending time with project’s director Siddharth Sanyal was truly a privilege for me. I really cannot be thankful enough that Siddharth was on the project and gave me enough of his time and shared his knowledge and experiences with me. Siddharth has dedicated his entire life to the development of this area and the people. The first hand knowledge that Siddharth has gained from being associated with the Santhals for past three decades is truly remarkable. From conversations with Siddharth I learned a lot about the history of the region, the social and economic issues, and the sad state of political, medical and education system. I requested Siddharth to document his experiences and thoughts as I think he can provide great insight into the issues and development needs of the people. It really takes a lot of patience and understanding of the deep rooted cultural issues in the area to understand and appreciate the day to day operations of the project and the approach Siddharth takes towards handling relations with the villagers. Some might consider the project’s involvement in community affairs a bit passive at times. In my opinion, a neutral stand is probably the only way to survive and to be successful in this area. It would be naïve to expect an overnight change when the issues and factors have existed for many centuries.
Unfortunately, Siddharth has had a difficult time finding people in the area who would genuinely be interested in these projects and build upon the platform that has been established. I completely understood Siddharth’s frustrations just watching attitudes of the some folks on the project and general apathy towards the cause and vision of the project. It is really is unfortunate, as I think Siddharth has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share and he can provide guidance for development of the Santhal people.
There is a lot more that I learned and could share even after a month on this project but I think the above summarizes my experience for anyone interested. Overall, I was very impressed by the commitment of Dakshinayan organization and will definitely support the project for as long as I can to the best of my abilities. I strongly recommend a visit to this project for anyone looking to learn about rural societies and development needs. Please feel free to contact me at Sharad_Dutta@Hotmail.com if you need any additional information.
