K S S Pillai
Though I was visiting my native village in Kerala after a long gap, I had not expected such a transformation there. With several educated youth migrating to other parts of the country and outside, it is natural that they wanted their village to be a modern one.
The village had become a city with the latest technology. The thatched or tile-roofed buildings were replaced with concrete ones. Those that still had tiles were placed on concrete roofs for beautification. Most of them had cars in the garages, while the entire village had only one car, a taxi, in the past. Its driver was treated as a VIP. There were compound walls around most properties, some with warnings not to disfigure them by pasting posters or writing slogans.
Most houses had fans and some even air-conditioners. The wells from which water was drawn physically had disappeared, and every house had piped water. Mobile phones were the constant companions of people, including children. They visited one another rarely as video calls served the purpose without any wastage of time.
The children did not go out in the evenings to play, as they played games on smartphones. They were surprised to hear we used to make balls with coconut leaves or play games with other children, which left us exhausted.
Most paddy fields and compounds looked barren, as agriculture had mostly been given up due to the high wages of labourers. The traditional coconut tree climber no longer visited houses, as the young ones had migrated to other places, leaving their place to the 'guest workers' from other states. One had to pay for each tree climbed, irrespective of the nuts harvested.
The river on the northern side of the village had a bridge over it now. The water was usually stagnant, as there was a dam upstream. The bathing ghat that buzzed with people had disappeared as all bathed in their bathrooms and washed clothes in washing machines.
As there were many modern shops, the evening market from where we used to buy our daily requirements had disappeared, and a housing colony stood there. While there was only one primary school and a high school in the past where all children studied, there were several schools with names like 'international', 'global', and 'public' now, that charged exorbitant fees. While we attended schools in whatever dress we had, children went to schools in uniforms. Nobody went to the church on the other side of the river on Sundays as there was one in the village.
I could not find any old teashops, where the workers were the owner's family members. Their place had been taken over by restaurants with uniformed workers, offering different dishes mentioned in the printed menu. While black tea or coffee was popular in the past because of the low price, some drank 'green tea' now that cost a fortune. The traditional 'dosas' and 'idlis' with sambar and coconut chutney were replaced in many places with beef and paratha.
Though the village had undergone many changes, most families did not change their political affiliation. They supported the same parties their grandfathers had supported. All read newspapers in the mornings and discussed political developments with others.