The Legacy I Inherited!
“The life you got in legacy was not in your control, but the life you will leave in legacy for the next generation is very much in your control”- Ram Raj
My father, a happy and self-contented farmer, was living in a remote village near the bank of Ghaghara River in district Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India. People used to call him Ram Sanehi. He was living in his hut along with his family of 3 kids, his brother and wife. I was not born at that time. He used to do farming work on his own land. Life was good. As such, there was no problem and no competition with others in the village. Everybody was doing subsistence agriculture, and farming work and survival was the aim of almost everyone in the village. There was almost zero connect with urban life. No TV, No news and radio at home. Therefore, there were not much high expectations and aspirations beyond meeting the basic need of the family, which my father was able to achieve through his hard work on his farmland. He was fascinated toward the education as he could himself not study beyond 5th class due to the sudden demise of his father. Also, he could not do much as there was no school nearby. Kids have to go on foot 7 to 8 km for schools crossing the canal without bridge through a boat. And it was worrying him for his kid’s future. However, the biggest worry for him was the frequent flood and river inundation which was approaching toward his farmland day by day. The periodic flood and submerging the hut was adding fuel to his life’s hurdle, and the possibilities of engulfing the farmland (Key Source of the lively hood) by the river was terrifying.
My father’s life took a turn when the river engulfed all his farmlands, and he became a farmer without farmland! Working on other people`s land and as a daily wager to survive was the sole aim at that time. But even this was becoming difficult due to recurring flood almost every year submerging his hut. He had to shift to other places during the flood temporarily and had to live without a home in the open air with no surety as to from where the next meal will come for him and his family members.
He was in search of some better place where he can shift his family permanently but could not collect the courage for quite some time due to lack of money and resources. But he was continually trying and finally moved to a better place around 7 to 8 KM away from the riverbank where there was no flooding problem. People in the new village were cooperative and helped my father to construct a home on land free of cost. He built hut and clay home in a village called Khemapur Vastauli in District Barabanki in an Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He started working as a daily wager, washerman and farming on other people’s farmland on a 50% basis. Life was somehow moving ahead. Meeting the basic needs to keep the body functional for self and family members were the biggest aim at that time for him. He was educated only up to 5th class, and he wanted his kids to get a good education, but poverty was engulfing everything! He was not able to think beyond survival for basic things. Since he lost all his farmland and farmer without farmland, he was worried about his four kids- What they will do in future, how they will survive? Buying a piece of land was appearing next to impossible as his earning capacity was even not sufficient to meet daily basic needs and survive. So, his wishful dream was, if he or his kids could succeed in purchasing a piece of land so that they can at least do farming on their land and survive without much hard work! Also, if the kids can get educated so that they can read and write, especially those who are recently born as the eldest three were already grown up. But the possibility of providing good education was next to impossible except getting an education in government primary school in the village which used to run in front head villager’s home in the absence of school building and secondary school around 2 to 3 km away from the village.
I was born when there were complete darkness and hopelessness around. Somehow, barely meeting basic needs to survive used to be the biggest success and achievement for my parents during that period. In fact, as such, there was no hope to progress beyond meeting basic needs like food, shelter and getting educated to such an extent so that one can read and write a letter if required.
It was the time of eighties when I came into this world. My father was a little bit settled and stable in the new village, Khemapur Vastauli district Barabanki Uttar Pradesh in terms of absence fear of flood which could devastate the hut! And India was going to celebrate its 35th independence and planning to celebrate the 36th Republic day. Resounding arrival of Indira Gandhi marred with her assassination and arrival of Rajiv Gandhi who was known as the first prime minister who knew what modern technology, market competition and private entrepreneurism could do to the country’s economic upliftment.
India’s economic policies were fundamentally transformed only in 1991, but Rajiv Gandhi sowed the seeds of change. He brought in a new set of market-oriented economic advisers and placed them in positions of power. He was assassinated before the reforms could be put in place. Still, when the foreign exchange crisis of 1991 arrived, the new economic team and ideas he had nurtured were already in place, ready to execute the new vision, propelling India towards the economic revolution unfolding before our eyes today. And, as part of his vision the quality education scheme, “Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya” In every district was introduced to transform the lives of poorest of the poor in rural India which is still acting as a catalyst to eradicate poverty in India through quality education.
But unaware of happening at the national and international level there was still darkness and hopelessness around in my family. Poverty was at its adolescent. Most people were living in hut or Clay made home. No electricity, No, TV no road, No transport. The traditional economy of agriculture and related activities like animal husbandry, caste-based professions like washerman, barber, milkman, etc. Society was divided into caste, and people were comfortable with the caste system status-quo and miseries inflicted and stereotypical assumptions, and perceptions about the people were a common phenomenon. Children will do what their father do was almost accepted norms. Those who were having land used consider themselves landlord despite many developments at the national level. People were living in their own secluded world away from the development happening around the at the national and international level. Somehow, barely meeting basic needs to survive used to be the biggest success and achievement for my parents at that time. “In fact, as such, there was no hope for my parents to progress beyond meeting basic needs like food, shelter and provide education to kids to such an extent so that they can read and write a letter if required.” And, this is the legacy I inherited when I open my eyes in this world!
But how certain selfless extraordinary people in ordinary attires helped me to write the seemingly implausible life story in that given context, how I have grabbed the opportunities without giving up, transformed my own life, fought with societal & perceptual myths, transform the mindset of people in my family and in the society around me over a period despite many odds and seemly unshakable web of adversities in life, My experiment with poverty eradication and my mission to help other people transform their lives without giving up as a tribute to all those who worked selflessly for the just cause for people like me who have inherited virtually nothing except all forms of adversities, and some selfless souls around me is what you will read in upcoming chapters!
“The world you got in legacy was not in your control but the world you will leave in legacy is very much in your control”- Ram Raj