Knackered Of Urban Life?

After growing up in a second-tier city for almost eighteen years, I still dream about living a life in lush green village, where I can hear the sounds of birds every morning instead of mobile alarms, no more skimmed or stored milk for my morning coffee, and yeah most importantly no bread/cereals for my breakfast.

 

For the past eight years, I have lived my life in the proper city and still I feel, I do lack something, which can seemingly be a minuscule. However, a drop of glue is something that keeps the whole large stuff together.

 

So, ask anyone in the city, who lives a very modern and lavish lifestyle. Do they really have inner peace?

If it was me, I would say a big "NO". Here is what, I would want my typical life to be like:

 

Let's start the journey with a mountain, rising sun and birds chirping and tweeting - a typical filmy opening, which is very much a reality though!

 

My house built of bricks, but still, do have proper ventilation. The rising sun rays knock out my sleep with a natural healthy brisk dosage of Vitamin D. I wake and come out to the backyard that is buzzing with activities. I will have a glimpse at the coconut trees and do tend to count if some of the coconuts has fallen. Neem stick my favourite toothbrush, charcoal my best paste! And then I move to take a mug made of bronze and fill water to wash my face with (do not expect a soap or face wash) clay/bean powder. Yes, I am done freshening up, let’s move to the kitchen.

 

A very big old styled kitchen. My grandmother sitting on the floor peeling the garlic and asking my mom to make the breakfast as my dad has to farming early. On the other side, my aunt is making chutney, I just see the kitchen is busy, but still, I do ask for a coffee. Myself a pet of my grandparents and hence my grandma shouts at my mom to give me a coffee (big smiles of mine!).

 

There are small holes against the stove area for the smoke to vent out of the kitchen, via which my mom calls the milk boy of our house to get me fresh milk from the cow for the coffee. It just takes 20 min to get your coffee from the order time, it's always worth the wait! The best day started like this. The next would be bathing and moving on to the breakfast area.

 

No separate dining hall, we have an open area outside the kitchen, where we sit on the floor to take our food. The eldest of the family is already out for their work, now the rest is us (my mom, grandma, aunt, and four siblings (two cousins and two my own). Yes, We are a big family, joint family.

 

If it’s a weekday, we go to school and younger siblings stay at home play with goats, chickens, and hens, pampered and guarded by all the three ladies of the family. Lunch is bought to us to the school either by my aunt or mother, which freshly cooked and hot. Remember, all the ingredients used the food is own land grown (No pesticides and Insecticides). Whatsoever, it might be for the lunch, it's always yummy and healthy (mouth-watering right?)

 

School time is over, back to home happy home by walk. Since it is evening every house sweeps their entrance and mop with cow dung, finally, a beautiful drawing called KOLAM is put on the entrance of each and every home to welcome the warm evening!

 

Reach home, mom is already ready with tea and evening snack. Snacks are definitely not any junk items. It would be traditional healthy snack items like rice flour muruku, soybean snack, vada (both deep and shallow fry) made out of homemade groundnut and coconut oil. Completely healthy right? Yes, off course it is! no compromise on taking as well. The next two hours would be study time, no TV, no mobile, No video games, No laptops. Just books and you, healthy and sound study time!

 

So, now the time is 8.30 PM. Dad, uncle, and grandfather are back home. They never come back home with empty hands, it would be either flowers, some grains or eatables grown in land or bought on the way. Once they reach home, they get freshen up and spend time with us talking about the whole day happenings in the school and what we are up to. Post which they discuss on other kinds of stuff with the ladies in the family.

 

Most importantly, no decision is taken without the opinion or interest of women. In fact, they are the decision-makers!!

 

This is how a typical day would literally go in a village life, which is more soothing and sustainable. We live in synergies of love, care, pamper, boredom, nature, and a healthy lifestyle. This ecosystem makes out culture long live. "Village" would be the backbone of any economy and lifestyle.