Village Diary

Tea shop is the hub of social life in Parshapally. Everyone converges there, from elderly grandfathers to uncles to youngsters to outsiders on a visit.

If the shop is right in front of ones house, not being there will get noticed. One ‘thatha’ of mine remarked the other day: “We were thinking, ‘He went in yesterday afternoon. And he’s not out yet.’” I had not realised till then that it was so important to be there.

Once there, it feels great. The openness, the curiosity about everything and everyone, the general lightness of mood and the friendliness rival any University campus and are the things that one will seriously miss later.

Politics dominates the air. The chief minister’s series of unkept ‘promises’, the government’s priorities in granting crores of rupees to Batukamma festival, the ongoing road works in the village and the constant war of words between rival camps are staple topics.

There is some leisure and a sense of well-being in the village. People are not hard-pressed like before. Everyone, by and large, has work to do. Everyone has access to television and the world outside. Everyone seems to have a plan for life and, with it, a quiet excitement.

People appear to be highly aware (or fast learning) about the world around them. They discuss politicians, officials, their lives, official mechanisms, various schemes, and so on. It appears crops and weather are not the main topic any more.