Growing up in an industrial township, we kids took for granted light and fan and running water. 24x7, as we say now. We kids forgetting to switch fans and lights off was common, much to our parents' displeasure. Bathing was a pleasure that we indulged in, using buckets and buckets and buckets of water.
We couldn't behave that way when we visited grandmas' homes in Pattamadai and Sengottai.
There was no 24x7 electricity powering the villages. Even when the electrons flowed, the voltage was often terribly low. The dim incandescent bulbs and flickering fluorescent lamps made rooms eerier than darkness would.
Because of the low voltage, the fans wouldn't run. Sometimes, we would manually start the fans by pushing the blades, and the low voltage was enough to keep them running--but at such low speeds that it made no difference to the sweating bodies that were surrounded by bloodthirsty mosquitoes.
Even so, we loved going to grandmas' villages every summer.
As we look back on our lives, my siblings and I are unanimous that those were some of the most joyful times of our growing up years. Laughter. Great food. Feeling loved. Life was good in the village.
Over the decades, Sengottai and Pattamadai have changed a lot. The last time that I was there, homes were brightly lit, and yet it seemed like there was no life in the residential streets because electricity tempted people to stay inside and watch television. Cable TV with a gazillion channels.
A night view of a Sengottai street in 2010
That last visit was just about when smartphones were debuting in villages. By now, with WhatsApp being used even in the remotest corners of India, I assume that there are more and more incentives for people even in Pattamadai and Sengottai to keep to themselves in order to watch TV or stare at their smartphones. You know, like how all we urban folk do all over the world.
At least one village in India is not happy about such a "development." No, it is not Pattamadai. Nor is it Sengottai. It is a village in Maharashtra.
A siren goes off at 7pm every evening in Vadgaon village in Sangli district, an indication to all residents to switch off their TV sets and mobile phones.
The two instruments of "addiction" can be switched on when the village council sounds the siren again at 8.30pm.
What caused the village to take such action?
Children and adults alike were watching TV or smartphones, and not talking with each other. A life that is completely unlike how villagers lived until very recently. A life that is unlike how humanity lived until very recently.
The de-addiction siren came into effect because of the women in the village. As always, men are useless and stand in the way of anything useful!
[When] the council discussed the issue and a proposal was taken to the villagers, men scoffed at the idea.
The council then gathered the village women, who were open enough to admit that they could get drawn into watching a lot of TV serials and agreed that the entire village should shut down television and mobiles for a few hours.
I applaud their effort to remind each other of what it means to be human. And how real world human interaction plays a critical role in how we behave as humans. Unfortunately, it will be a losing effort. We have traded in humanity for such virtual entertainment.
India still has plenty of villages that do not have 24x7 electricity supply. In seeking renewable energy, which is the correct thing to do, India is setting up huge solar power plants in the deserts of Rajasthan, and transforming villages in a hurry. As we continue our journey into "modernity," we will need more electricity for all the gadgets that we do not need, all of which will keep us away from spending time with each other in the real world!
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