While choosing
People’s action for people in need(PAPN) in Andheri as the destination for my Internship one major thought that I had in mind was to observe and learn about
the lifestyle, culture and the general attitude of the hilly folk. I had been
pre informed by people who have visited Himachal Pradesh that the people there
are generally much nicer than here in the plains but I set out to Himachal with
my doubts, probably caused due to my experiences in an “every man for himself”
city like Delhi. But my doubts where set
aside long before I reached Andheri as throughout the journey I met people who
were way nicer and open than any I’ve
met .
Speaking about Andheri,
the small village lies hidden among the various mountains and hills of Himachal
Pradesh, a village where the entire colour palette of nature is on display with
Blue Mountains, lush green trees, crimson sunsets, and the occasional white
fogs. PAPN has been working here for decades for social welfare, child rights
and caste issues. As part of the internship I had to visit various villages for observational visits as well as to conduct surveys and studies. During the
field visits the one thing that always astonished me was the inexhaustible
hospitality of the village folk. Every household that I visited offer me tea
and biscuits and asked to have lunch with them. I noticed a genuineness in the
way they interacted with me, a stranger, something that is absent in the town
dwellers. Yet even with such nice people it was interesting to note that
castism was prevalent in these villages to the extent that the villages are
usually divided into two with the upper section consisting of the upper castes
and the lower section of the Dalits. Apart from the castism the major issues
the villagers faced were water crisis and the nuisance caused by monkeys. If
these were sorted out then we would be the happiest people in the world claims
the ever smiling 80 year young villager who spoke with us.
Overall the
internship was a really different and enriching experience, one that I will
remember for a long time. Thank you PAPN for this opportunity
Atul Krishna
M.A. Social work
Rajiv
Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development
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