Day one
17th March, 2012
distance of 150 kms from Ahmedabad, the bus left the city at around 4.15 and at 8.30 we were received and welcomed by Mr.Ayubh at the Halvad bus stand. The CEE Campus where we had to put up for the next3 days was about 3 kms from the Halvad bus stand. On arrival at the CEE campus and having just stepped out our jeep I had barely gazed up when I saw thousands of stars peeping out from the sky. It was a sight, a sight breathtaking to see. We settled in at our provided CEE lodging, the campus very well maintained and clean. I could hardly wait for the morning to come and start my survey of the salt pans.
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| The CEE Campus at Halvad, Gujarat |
Day two
18th March, 2012
We started early in the morning around 8.30 for the saltpans accompanied by Mr. Ayubh. We spotted the lonely wild ass on our way, a moment early for us to capture the endangered animal native to southern Asia. We made our next stop at Devji Bhai’s camp for Ecotourism. Devji Bhai, a learned old man hails from the
family of agariyas and claims to know the Little Rann of Kutch extremely well. He has been involved in taking tourists both domestic and international for jeep rides in the desert, a spokesman of the land for many years. Over the years, he feels human ethics has taken a marked change for the worse. Travellers come, take
photographs, run the jeep behind the wild asses and leave! He is terribly upset at such incidents and wants to inculcate how an ecotourist should actually behave, look to appreciate the land/environment for it is. He feels there should clearly be an increase in sensitivity towards the flora and fauna of the place, a basic concern
as expressed. He felt there should be sense of humility and a need to live in sustainability. His primary purpose is to arouse respect for Nature in the hearts of those whom he meets. His words quite simply put were extremely touching.
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| Mr. Devji Bhai Dharmecha |
Gradually as we entered the Little Rann, nature was on with its tricks. Far into the distances all that I could see was how the sky seemed to kiss the earth. It was just spectacular. Mr. Ayubh told us that there would be more promising sights to be experienced as we delved deeper into the desert. While Nachiket and Ruchita worked their cameras Mr. Ayubh went on to explain me the formation of the terrain of Little Rann of Kutch. It was due to tectonic movements that the Gulf of Kutch which was earlier a part of another landmass and not the Indian subcontinent got pushed between the Gulf of Khambat and the western coast forcing the sea which existed between them to disappear and thus form what today is the landmass of Saurashtra in Gujarat.
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| The Little Rann of Kutch |
He also suggested we discuss the questionnaire I had prepared previously for the salt pan workers to get a more one on one perspective of their lives. It was a general questionnaire that I had made, aimed mostly to probe into their life, their occupation and to know if they were satisfied with the way they were living and whether the promotion of tourism would help them in any way.
It was amidst this scorching landmass with it severe-increasing temperatures where our country’s 70% salt was being manufactured. I made my first stop at the pan of a labourer whose wife too was toiling along with him. They had a small makeshift shelter where I could scarcely see any objects. Mr. Ayubh called the labourer’s 17 year old brother whose occupation too had been marked by his birth. We sat at the threshold of their tiny shelter and soon Andubha and Balwan Singh, the elderly salt pan workers joined in. I asked them some basic questions on how they were doing, whether basic amenities were accessible to them? Their responses were unsatisfactory and quite negatory. They said that they were not happy and that government was not helping either sending a health check van only once a week. Having to toil for almost 14 hours a day under the unbearable sun, they felt they needed more help. If any occupational or a health related mishap was to occur these people would be rendered helpless. I asked them about what they wanted of their children. They told me that the children were at home and didn’t go to school because they did not have sufficient money to pay their fees. Their occupation presumably was to follow in their parent’s footsteps, work as bonded laborers in the pans.
Then came the scariest of calculations of my lifetime, the computation of their expenses towards working in salt pans and what is paid to them in return. I fond out that these labourers sell their salt for around 25 paisa per kilo at the start of the consumer chain and we buy it for 15 rupees for the same weight. The remaining 14 rupees 75 paisa gets lost amongst the intermediaries. A lack of education has depleted them of essential marketing skills and thereby their educated traders exploit them day in and day out. For a few moments I had nothing to say. The women too were in a pitiable condition. Having to work in the field all day, they had to go home, cook and also be with their children. I was realizing that the conditions these workers were living in were extremely intolerable and yet they were compelled to make salt and a livelihood.
We went on ahead where I was introduced to Premji Bhai. He has 6 panels of solar cells installed. The energy tapped by them is used to run apump that pulls out water essential for these pans. He also has a few pans on which other people work. I got a chance to meet them and see what they were doing. Their main task was in segregating the salt crystals from the water, water that was extremely rich in magnesium chloride. Both the salt and water are sold quite so at marginalized rates.I tried my hand at pulling the salt apart with the help of a shaft and realized that it was not such an easy task. After a few pulls I felt a strain on my back. If I were to do it for an hour under the grueling heat it would be a nightmare and these men had do it for hours, months and years. Such was the plight!
We then decided to head back to the CEE campus. On our way back we stopped at a village Mr. Ayubh had some work at. I noticed the enthusiasm he had to meet people, sit with them and listen to how their life was going. There was a deep concern in him as he went around meeting people. Finally when we reached the campus, Mr. Ayubh and me sat down to discuss our further plan of action. I told him how overwhelmed I was after experiencing what I had today and how I wanted others to come and see this as well. I realized that somewhere down the line the awareness regarding one’s own history and geography was really missing.
How something as basic as how salt is produced and that too in such harsh conditions? These incidents have to be an eye opener for all of us who take the rich gifts of god for granted, who are so consumed by the greed to consume and consume.
I strongly feel that the children while being educated should also be exposed to the practical domain of such activities. They should see what and how and where things happen. There are basic scientific experiments we all encounter as kids, something as simple as to how to grow plants. We take a seed and sow it and then observe its growth over time. But what about other basic essentials? Are we too scared to see the truth or are we being too ignorant and just don’t care. Because if we don’t we should!
Children of the age group 12 to 15 could be taken to these salt pans as a part of study tours so that they can see for themselves the plight of these workers. They should develop concern for how things work and grow up as conscious citizens leading their land to a better place. For this purpose I think that a travel kit can be designed for these children. These travel kits supplemented with information of the place would help generate among the children and at the same time their parents, an interest and a sense of awareness of the place. If every unit of society becomes familiar with the situation, possible steps can be taken against their exploitation. Mr. Ayubh then showed me a presentation on how the Center for Environment Education works, its various environmental and social programs.
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| Sitting with the agariyas and sharing their concern |
Day Three
19th March, 2012
As we were to head back to Ahmedabad today we decided to set off for the salt pans one more time. We first stopped at a pan where the trucks had tanks loaded onto them pulling in the magnesium chlo- ride rich water. Meeting another worker at his salt pan, I briefly asked him about his alternative skills but he said all that he knew was the job of “majdoori”.
Mr. Ayubh also had his companion Mr. Shamad accompanying us today. We took our jeep further into the desert. The land got hotter and I could spot mirages into the distance. I couldn’t quite comprehend the diversity of the environment, the mystique of nature. I felt I experienced heaven on earth. It was something so
unforgettable. Nothing could be seen save the parched land opening up its cracked lips begging for some respite. But everything happens on its own time. Before I got further lost in my thoughts, we concluded that we had seen enough of the desert and decided to set off for a school located at a distance of 15 kms from the desert. As we were touring back we encountered a family living in the desert. Their house seemed like a bundle of ragged clothes, worn out. One could feel nothing in them inspite of the clutter of utensils and their essentials, the only marked items of the household.
We reached the primary school where I met its principal and explained to him the reason why I was there. I seeked his permission to speak to a few children of the school. The children in their sixth standard seemed quite elated to get an unexpected break from there on going science class. After a brief interaction with them I figured that they all were aware of the desert but they hadn’t really been there. They knew that salt was produced there but they dint know how.
All these factors compel me to create something that will lead to the spread of knowledge of the Little Rann and the plight of the workers there. I want to take upon the role of being able to sensitize people all around the Little Rann as well as in the towns and cities of Gujarat and
India.
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| Interacting with the children at a primary school |
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| From left: Nachiket, Ruchita, Mr. Ayubh, Mr. Shamad and myself |
