Chinnakool Pickles.

Having lived in city for over 50 years my wife and myself moved to a village 57 km from Bangalore and it took us 7 months to settle down with our bag and baggage.The Idea of shifting to a small village was pure accident in our life.We lived in one house for over 30 years and like lightening we moved to a village.My wife never thought nor I thought what it be like to stay and live in a village where the people we thought were just like us.We found out as day's went by how difficult it will be to live in a village in India.We had no drinking water but bore well water,the power was supplied only when there was surplus in the city.We had difficulty in getting domestic helper,driver,gardener and to people of the village to whom we could talk in our language.All the population of the village was around 200 people including children.There was no pre school for kids below 5 years or Primary School for kids over 5 years.The road with heavy trucks carrying jelly stones in a 20 feet road had no space for walkers.There was no walking space at all in some parts of the road.Even Buses and Trucks would go in 20 feet with 2 wheels on the road and 2 wheels on the mud by the sides of the road.

Yet to come here from the village 6 km away from the town of Hosur was difficult in a stretch of 40 kilometers wide as the transport problems are a headache with one Govt Bus heavily crowded coming at break neck speed in a 20 feet wide asphalted road with patches of pot holes and mud roads from HOSUR to CHINNAKOOL starting at 5.30 am and coming at HOSUR at 6.15 am,7.30 am,8:30 am,9:30 am,10:30 am,11:30 am,12,30 am and 1:30 am, The Bus will again start at 2:30 pm,3:30 pm.4:30 pn,5:30 pm,6:30 pm,7:30 pm and the last BUS from Village going to HOSUR at 8.15 pm.No more Bus from 8.15 pm to 5.30.Only one Govt and 1 Private Bus is permitted by the authorities

However my wife does cooking and is quite good with excuses for not cooking and going out for Lunch or Dinner.Dinner is only few Dosa or IDLY or both.There are good hotels here in HOSUR a leading small scale Industry center which has grown rapidly.Thanks to Bangalore as its overgrown and congested every where.People who are fed up with living in Bangalore are taking up vacant plots to build their homes here after they retire.

To spend time in a village is very very difficult as you cannot meet people with whom you can converse easily.You can smile and they smile back.Not all are difficult to talk you can meet the President of the village panchayit who will be pleased to meet you.It took me over 6 months to get a maid and a driver.This village has only 50 families no news paper,no Internet (Broadband ) though the telecom minister who is in JAIL on charges of corruption if he had wished to connect the people all over Tamil Nadu to out side world he could have done it and be in his home now.That is another story to be told.

There were so many vegetable growers in the village working in the fields to supply vegetables to other states. In the whole village all the homes belong to farmers no house is for sale or for rent.I came to the village through a land developer who acquired the farmers land and converted in to a compounded layout with security and no infrastructure.To spend my time I did add to my hobby that I had earlier which was PICKLE making.There are hundreds of pickle makers in India who sell all kind of pickles but I never liked any ready made pickle since it tasted synthetic with chemical preservatives .My wife made excellent pickles and had lost interest in making.I took her help and started making pickle from all the vegetables that were available fresh and free in the village.Giving me a kg of any of their crop from out of lorry load of vegetables was no big deal to the few farmers.

Wastage during picking of vegetables from plants is another major weakness with the farmers who do not know what to do with all the leftover of their hard labor to go in to manure.This happens to all vegetables that are not accepted by the middle man who pay in advance to the vegetables and refuse the lot if the size of the vegetables are smaller than the size that was ordered.Every farmers cannot go to market to sell huge quantity they grow.Only those who are small farmers take their harvest to a local Farmer's Market a place provided by the local govt which opens at 6:00 AM and closes at 1:30 PM Once the market is closed and if the vegetables that were of substandard size is not sold the farmer has to take the vegetables he could not sell to his home which is a waste of money in transport.All he does is to push them in a corner to rot and use it as manure for the next crop.If only there was a PICKLE INDUSTRY near his farm it would have gone in to pickles but there is no such rural cottage industries to help these farmers.I thought of starting one but there was no farmer who thought it was a good idea..

You can collect a bottle free if you come here to my home in chinnakool Village - T N.

Ever since India got Freedom from the mighty British rulers.It was a mess that happened after we got our freedom.India was divided in to 2 countries.One being India and other being Pakistan.The leaders of those days told the Muslims in India can go and settle down in Pakistan and Pakistan told the Hindu's they can go to India and settle down.All their property would be valued and both countries would reimburse the money to them.What happened was blood bath.There was War between the two countries.People died in many ways.The leaders of India some how managed to suppress the entire mess and worked to construct the country.India progressed and it was with a snail's pace the leader of the country was more interested in his image globally and left a legacy of bureaucratic rule which worked so long this leader was the the Executive of the Nation.He passed away but his daughter ruled the nation with a iron hand.She was murdered.Her son took over and he was assassinated.Then it was another mess which cleared itself and a bureaucrat took over by back door by being elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha not Lok Sabha from a tribal place which he had not seen earlier.

With the above introduction and background it is very funny that our villages are as they were prior to the present people who hold offices as Rural Development Ministers exhibiting a sign board.as long and as wide stating what are the plans for rural development in Hindi which I could not read.I would like to tell and ask this minister the following and to take steps to make our rural people a change that they would never dream of having the facilities:-

• Do you know how many villages in India are not having Drinking Water.
• If you know how many then how many villages you have provided safe drinking water.
• Do you know how many villages in India is not having 24x7 electric power.
• If you know then how many Villages you have given 24X7 Electric Power.
• Do you know that children in remote villages Eat Rats as they have no food.
• If you have visited those villages what arrangements you have made to supply food.
• Do you know that every year Wheat gets rotted in Punjab.
• If you know have you transported the wheat to the Rat eating parts in remote rural areas.
• Do you know how many Primary Health Centers are there in villages all over India.
• If you know how many you have set up or initiated action to set up.
• Do you know the corruption that is going on in Revenue Depts in Tasildar's Office for providing land documents to people in rural areas for their homes.
• Do you know how many villages have canal water year round.
• If you know how many you have made ever since you took over your glass office so that every one can see what you are doing.which is not seen as the glass partition is far away.you should install CCTV over your table.
• Can you tell every NGO and Temple to take up one to 5 villages as model Villages and pay these temples.
• TVS Motor Co is maintaining temples.Why not schools.
• Do you have the power to grant funds to Ramakrishna Ashram to start schools.
• Do you have the power to tell ART OF LIVING foundation to build primary Health Centers in every village at least in areas that are neglected.
• Do you have the power to take over all Gurukuls maintained by Swami.Asram Bapu.
• How many villages have no good roads do you know.
• You know everything tell me how many Kilometers of Roads you have built in how many villages and what sort of roads you have built and if it is built by hand driven cement mixers or modren machines.
• How many Road Making Machines you have do you know.
• How many Villages have BSNL Land Line and Broad Band Connectivity.
• Do you know how difficult it is to get a ration Card for a Village.
• Have you checked how many files are pending with Village Officers and Revenue Dept.
• I request you to start a Yatra to every village and not sit in your office to move files some smart young graduate will do your work honestly.You must meet the officers of every village to carry out all these whether they are local Govt or central Govt.
• Mr.Minister for Rural Development how many Corrupt Tasildars you have put in jail who swindle the poor villagers for just a slip of paper that they own a house is not issued even after 2 years.
• Will you ever read these lines?..