What would a thriving rural space look like?
I consider myself really fortunate to have travelled to many parts of the country - deep travel and in some cases immersion. Our team at Youth Alliance just returned from Kanpur Dehat (rural) after having facilitated the 9th immersive journey of Gramya Manthan for 28 young people from all over the country. Let me give a quick context of the region - located in the heart of India’s largest (population-wise) state, about 20 kms off India’s oldest highway (Grand Trunk Road built in 1500s) and about 20 kms off India’s largest river (Ganga), the three villages - Kharagpur, Palia and Ganga Din Nevada are Hindu-dominated, caste-divided, mostly agriculture and animal husbandry dependent. Electricity and toilets have just made mere beginnings. Two of them do not have electricity at all. We have been utterly grateful for the people in these villages, to have given us so much love, acceptance and forgave us for our unconscious mistakes. Participants from 14 states came to Kanpur