Our next stop, for our anniversary vacation, was at Olubedda village. It is one of the few tribal villages in Andhra, that has remained partially pristine, and retains age old tribal norms and ways of living. Tourists like us, visit the village and use it as a base for hiking to “Seethamma konda”, the highest peak in the Eastern ghats. Feb is the start of the harvest and a seed festival is held here every year.
The tribals in the village, follow a forgotten step farming practice. It is eco friendly, non GMO, organic, native to the hilly region and naturally pest resistant. Bees are a vital part of the agriculture. Everything they need, is grown in the hilly slopes of Eastern ghats. Check dams and network of water channels retain and supply rain water and water from small spring and streams. Dung from the farm animals, is converted to manure. Seeds are stored from prior harvests and reused. Everyone in the village is family. Building a home, repairing a road, tilling the land, building a check dam, or caring for kids is all done as a community. If you measure by happiness index, the village is extremely rich and serene.
Prior to lunch, the villagers invited us to join them for the seed ceremony. Seeds mixed with turmeric are smeared on each other faces ( almost like holi, the festival of colors). A prayer is conducted by a priest, followed by lunch cooked in a community kitchen.
After lunch we did a short hike to a nearby stream. A little boy joined us and our guide gave him the title of “chief tour guide”, which the boy accepted gleefully! He was mowgli incarnated, prancing around, leaping from rock to rock, jumping into the stream to grab a crab, play with it and throw it back into the stream. Before the blink of an eye, he scurried up a tree, urging us to climb up as it had the best view. Of course we refused to oblige. He helped us find mountain curry leaves, which were way more flavorful than what we get in the market. He brought to us a leaf that has powder to create a temporary tattoo. He is probably the most happy and content kid I ever saw. Shantan ofcourse joined the kid in climbing the tree and having fun. As we said good bye to our own mowgli, our guide said, this is how life should be! Shantan turned to me and smiled as if to say - This is “how”, I want to live.
Next day morning, we visited a beautiful waterfall. Inspired by mowgli Shantan climbed a tree. He jumped into the cold pond with a camera in one hand, to capture a pic of us with the waterfall in the background. Sipping chai with the water gushing below and cascading down was therapeutic.
By lunch time, we made our way back to the village to join our guide for the main hike. As we hiked up to the next halt, the village became a small dot, hidden somewhere in the rolling hills of the eastern ghats. No wonder they were able to stay pristine, living a peaceful life insulated from the advancements in the modern world.
We halted at a tribal farm house, which the guide uses for storing tents and supplies needed for the overnight camping. As we trudged uphill, we came to a stream where the guide filled up with fresh water (better that bottled mineral water). The sun was slowing fading away creating a tapestry of hues both in the clouds and multiple peaks all around. By the time we reached our camp site, it was dark. The camp site was a flat rock with a some large boulders to protect us from the winds. We climbed to the top of one of boulders to lay down, soak in the twilight and watch the stars slowly emerging and dotting the sky.
Our guide taught us how to lite a camp fire with dry palm leaves and wood picked from the forest. Soon we had our dinner, seated around the camp fire surrounded by hills and the clear sky above. We snuggled into the sleeping bags and slept like babies, tired from the long hike, but with a smile on our face.
Morning sunrise was spectacular! While we was busy admiring the ever changing scenery, our guide made maggi on the camp fire. He served on eco friendly, banana leaves with wooden chop sticks made from twigs in the forest. Satisfied, we began our hike to Seethamma konda, the highest peak in eastern ghats. The views from the peak were stunning and gave each out a pat on the back for scaling the peak. Goal accomplished !!. But certainly the experiences during the hike and in the village was very much better than the peak.
On the hike back to the village, Shantan words, “I want to live”, kept coming back to me. The rational person in me, started to look for logic and reasoning in Shantan’s words. So what is it about “I want to live”, is bothering me? As a business leader, i have doled out cliche advises and guidances, to build a purpose statement, setting goals and objectives, tracking progress metrics and so on... But then, didn’t I just move back to India, after a long successful career in the USA, to live life on my terms? I was reminded of my Harvard professor’s advice on work-life balance and being “centered”.
We finished our hike at the village, bid farewell and packed our stuff. Our little mowgli, came running down to bid us goodbye. He had an entourage of 4 kids in tow. He was super excited about our car and asked for a ride to bottom of the hill. So off we went, five adults and 5 kids, in a five seater car (almost 4 seater with a small middle seat). The kids just sat on to our laps laughing at our discomfort. During the banter, we found out, that mowgli has dropped out from school. Our guide started giving him brotherly advice on the virtues of education. How he could become a doctor or engineer and live in a big city and enjoy. Mowgli looked at us incredulously. So you study hard, work like a donkey and live in a big dirty city but you come here, to be like me, to be “happy”?. Nah, i am happy with my life.
What did you accomplish by studying? ( “Emme Pekayvu” in Telugu or “Kay ukhad liya” in Hindi.
Our Eastern ghats adventure was a memorable one, but more importantly, I began to understand a little better what it means by “I want to live”.