India dwells in her villages- Gandhi
Scattered throughout India are approximately 500,000 villages. The Census of India regards most settlements of fewer than 5,000 as a village. These settlements range from tiny hamlets of thatched huts to larger settlements of tile-roofed stone and brick houses. Most Indian villages are small; nearly 80 percent have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, according to the 1991 census. Most are nucleated settlements, while others are more dispersed. It is in villages that India's most basic business--agriculture--takes place. Here, in the face of vicissitudes of all kinds, farmers follow time-tested as well as innovative methods of growing wheat, rice, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and many other crops in order to accomplish the challenging task of feeding themselves and the nation. Here, too, flourish many of India's most valued cultural forms.
Viewed from a distance, an Indian village may appear deceptively simple. A cluster of mud-plastered walls shaded by a few trees, set among a stretch of green
or dun-colored fields, with a few people slowly coming or going, oxcarts creaking, cattle lowing, and birds singing--all present an image of harmonious simplicity. Indian city dwellers often refer nostalgically to "simple village life." City artists portray colorfully garbed village women gracefully carrying water pots on their heads, and writers describe isolated rural settlements unsullied by the complexities of modern urban civilization. Social scientists of the past wrote of Indian villages as virtually self-sufficient communities with few ties to the outside world.
In actuality, Indian village life is far from simple. Each village is connected through a variety of crucial horizontal linkages with other villages and with urban areas both near and far. Most villages are characterized by a multiplicity of economic, caste, kinship, occupational, and even religious groups linked vertically within each settlement.
(The above article has been taken from Cyber Essays)
My friend Sita Henderson emailed me photos of the Siddhagiri Wax Museum depicting an Indian village in South India. I never knew India too had a wax museum and such a good one too. I found their website . You can read more about the museumHERE HERE.
Modernization has reached most Indian villages , so the methods of agriculture and living are not as ancient as seen here - although there are pockets of neglect and backwardness.
Modern machinery and farming expertise is freely available. The electrified villages have satilite television, Internet and mobile phone services. Agriculturists in the western part of my state are very wealthy.
At the same time progress and modernization has to reach everyone equally. There are many parts who have yet to see the sun of prosperity rise over them.
The figures of the wax museum are very life like and skillfully crafted. They show the cultural, social, religious and agricultural aspects of Indian villages.
Scattered throughout India are approximately 500,000 villages. The Census of India regards most settlements of fewer than 5,000 as a village. These settlements range from tiny hamlets of thatched huts to larger settlements of tile-roofed stone and brick houses. Most Indian villages are small; nearly 80 percent have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, according to the 1991 census. Most are nucleated settlements, while others are more dispersed. It is in villages that India's most basic business--agriculture--takes place. Here, in the face of vicissitudes of all kinds, farmers follow time-tested as well as innovative methods of growing wheat, rice, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and many other crops in order to accomplish the challenging task of feeding themselves and the nation. Here, too, flourish many of India's most valued cultural forms.
Viewed from a distance, an Indian village may appear deceptively simple. A cluster of mud-plastered walls shaded by a few trees, set among a stretch of green
or dun-colored fields, with a few people slowly coming or going, oxcarts creaking, cattle lowing, and birds singing--all present an image of harmonious simplicity. Indian city dwellers often refer nostalgically to "simple village life." City artists portray colorfully garbed village women gracefully carrying water pots on their heads, and writers describe isolated rural settlements unsullied by the complexities of modern urban civilization. Social scientists of the past wrote of Indian villages as virtually self-sufficient communities with few ties to the outside world.
In actuality, Indian village life is far from simple. Each village is connected through a variety of crucial horizontal linkages with other villages and with urban areas both near and far. Most villages are characterized by a multiplicity of economic, caste, kinship, occupational, and even religious groups linked vertically within each settlement.
(The above article has been taken from Cyber Essays)
My friend Sita Henderson emailed me photos of the Siddhagiri Wax Museum depicting an Indian village in South India. I never knew India too had a wax museum and such a good one too. I found their website . You can read more about the museumHERE HERE.
Modernization has reached most Indian villages , so the methods of agriculture and living are not as ancient as seen here - although there are pockets of neglect and backwardness.
Modern machinery and farming expertise is freely available. The electrified villages have satilite television, Internet and mobile phone services. Agriculturists in the western part of my state are very wealthy.
At the same time progress and modernization has to reach everyone equally. There are many parts who have yet to see the sun of prosperity rise over them.
The figures of the wax museum are very life like and skillfully crafted. They show the cultural, social, religious and agricultural aspects of Indian villages.
Ploughing a field.
Drawing water
Many areas have water scarcity.
Wells come in use.
Indian agriculture suffers quite a bit
as it depends on the monsoons
and natural rain for irrigation.
A village barber.
They are found in the city too.
A village astrologer or Pundit
is an important man to be
consulted about various activities of life.
Horoscopes and auspicious dates have to be
determined.
I am not sure but this one could
be showing the ancient oil press.
The oxen move round operating
the oil press.
Of course now we have the electric ones.
The bangle lady goes from house to house
selling her wares and putting on multi colored
glass bangles on ladies.
Married women must wear bangles.
Bare wrists are not considered nice.
This young woman nurses her baby
while the bangle lady obliges her.
The Potter
Hand operated machine.
I am not sure what is its purpose.
Someone can apprise me.
Cattle byre
Vegetable shop
Make stone ware objects and utensils
Basket weavers
Seamstress
A typical money lender.
They are very shrew d and ambitious men
and poor unsuspecting peasants are cheated by them.
A herbalist , apothecary or
ayurvedic physician.
They use various herbs,oils and massages
to treat their patients.
A gold and silver smith.
Gold and silver ornaments are
the pride an d joy of an Indian woman.
Even the poorest of the poor must have some
thing of value to boast of.
A grocery store.
A family relaxing together
Singing a religious song for a festival.
Iron forge
Farrier
Making metal utensils.
A visit to the temple
with articles of pooja.
A woman displaying her henna tattoos.
Its customary to have them applied for
festivals and weddings.
The village council or panchayat.
It plays a very important role
in keeping l;aw and order at the grass root level and
settling petty disputes.
Five village elders and voted into this governing body.
They are given judicial rights by the government.
This was a little glimpse of
an Indian village.
This museum ha s tried to preserve
the older traditional senario.
Hope you liked it.
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Thank you for your prayers for me and my church.
The Lord 's hand of grace and mercy is upon us.
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