My Experience at Maholel Village

Introduction

Why and how I entered the field study: “Experience is the best teacher” they say. The theological courses taught in classrooms would carry no meaning if they are not experienced in deeds in the real space and time, in the here and now situation. Therefore the programme called CTP – Contextual Theological Programme, is organised for a span of two weeks. The main purpose of CTP is to have the experiential knowledge, apart from textual knowledge, of the present situation in the context of Central Gujarat. This programme is conducted in order to become aware of and to know the reality in a particular context of Gujarat. It includes the learning of the past and present, history and geography of the context in terms of rites of passage, customs, rituals, traditions, popular religious behaviour patterns, value system, and the past and present of the Catholics in the present context. Moreover, the purpose of the field study is to gain affective knowledge, to learn to reflect theologically on the context to get into the shoes of the people of Gujarat, and the human society of the world at large.

“The people of that village are really very loving, caring and compassionate towards guests and visitors. You will have a great experience of being in that village.” This was the instant comment I received from a scholastic who had previously stayed there in that village. I smiled at him and said to myself that I am surely going to have a fruitful and meaningful stay in that village. I was quite confident as I had already got a positive note even before the experiment began.

I reached Salun along with my companion at 10:30 am on 21^st November, 2016. Fr. Francis, the Parish Priest and Fr. Martin, the assistant Parish Priest, gave us a warm welcome to Salun mission. I was told by Fr. Martin that a young man, Nixit, would come and pick me up from the Parish at 5:30 in the evening. Meanwhile we visited the Parish School and Convent nearby. Later in the afternoon, I along with Fr. Martin went to drop my companion to Manghroli which is just about 3 kilometres away from Maholel. Later, I sat with Fr. Martin for a few hours and listened quite patiently to his stories and anecdotes from his experiences of life and ministry. Around 5:45 pm the young man arrived and picked me up on his scooty. We reached the village within 15 minutes. I was given a warm welcome with a cup of hot tea by Nixit’s family which included his parents and elder sister along with her young kid. After initial chit chats and introduction I went for the daily evening prayer in the village chapel where I met Timothybhai, the Catechist of the village. Later I was asked to settle down in the next vacant room along with Nixit. Late at night I was served steamy hot kadi-Khichdi coupled with some chicken bites.

Methodology: I followed the methodology of interviews, participant observer, visiting families, data collection and case study. Most of the information and data collection was acquired through interviews with a few elders both men and women of the village, school and Anganwadi teachers, Gram Panchayat Sabhya, farmers, shepherds, youth, students, etc. Besides, I got all sorts of information about the multicolour situation and circumstances of the village while visiting different families. Visit to schools, Gram Panchayat office, PHC, temples, marketplace, dairy, fields, etc. also provided me with the valuable data. Moreover, moving about with the gang of children simply provided me with a bundle of colourful descriptions of the village. I had become an insider to some extent that helped me to be one with and like a villager among them.

Village Profile

History and Origin of the village: Around 1000 years ago a Vanjara Vepari from Rajasthan, namely, Mala Vanjara, came to this village along with his caravan of bulls (not camels) carrying sand bags.  The huge pond in the east of the village is named after him as Malvan Talav. The village also got its name as Molel or Morel which finally changed into Maholel later on. Mala Vanjara built a Mahadev Temple in the eastern region which is known as Van. The popular stories say that this Van is mentioned in the Ramayana as Tadaka Van where demons or Rakshasas used to live. Another myth says that Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, built a temple for her son Bhima in the village when he was hungry.

In a patriotic note, an elderly person also told me that two men from the Patel community had taken part in the freedom struggle along with Sardar Patel. Their descendents are still alive and are staying abroad since many years.

Geography: Maholel is a village situated in Nadiad Taluka in Kheda District of Gujarat State. It is located at 33 km from Kheda and 13 kilometres eastwards from Nadiad. It is around 75 km away from the State Capital, Gandhinagar. It is surrounded or bordered by several villages, namely, Javol, Palaiya, Monghroli, Arajanpur, Sodpur, Paladi, etc. There are a good number of buses and auto rickshaws plying through the village upto Salun, Nadiad, and other places.

Demography: The population of the village is 9000 plus according to the census 2011. The village accommodates people of various backgrounds. They are the following: Thakors, Patels, Darbars, Brahmins, Vaniyas, Vankars/Khristis, Waghris, Muslims, Bharwads, Harijans, Rohits, Potters, Carpenters, Barbers, Nayaks, Ravals, Bhois. Rathwas have migrated from Chotaudaipur region for works. Waghri, Vankar, Thakor, Muslims, Potters, Carpenters, Barbers, Nayaks, and Ravals belong to the OBC category. Whereas Rohits, Harijans, and some of the Waghris belong to the BC category. Patels, Vaniyas, Darbars, some Thakors, Brahmins, Bharwads are considered as belonging to the General category. Thakors constitute the majority of 60%. Patels are around 15%. Darbars are around 7%. Waghris are around 5%. Bharwads are around 3% of the total population of the village. The remaining 10% are Brahmins, Vaniyas, Christians, Muslims, Harijans, Rohits, Potters, Carpenters, Barbers, and the migrated Rathwas, etc. Thakors are the majority in the village.

Medical Facility: There is a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in the village. It has got 3 Doctors who come from Nadiad. There are 10 nurses engaged in the PHC. There are all the basic facilities available there mainly for those who cannot afford to go to a big hospital in another town. There is a Medical Officer from Nadiad who visits the PHC once a month to keep a check on the service provided to the poor. Many of the well-to-do families go to Nadiad hospitals for different reasons. Besides, there are 9 Asha Workers for different wards in the village working for the PHC. Their job is to keep a check on the facilities provided to the people of different areas in the village. Besides, they are supposed to carry out surveys of the respective wards every month to update the information related to number of families, births and deaths, increase and decrease of members in families, health and hygiene, etc. of the respective wards.

In terms of health and hygiene, the village seems quite alright. However, the village streets, gutter lines, and common dumping areas look quite messy. In other words, the real sense of cleanliness is yet to get into the minds of the common people. Even the Gram Panchayat and other social institutions feel helpless sometimes. There is no major perennial sickness or disease among the villagers. However, some of them cannot escape the common malaria. There are a few individuals who are mentally unstable and need the care of their family members. One or two of such individuals have been sent to care houses for treatment. Otherwise, the overall health of the village population is quite good.

Occupation: Agriculture has been the main occupation of the Patels, Thakors, Darbars ever since their existence in the village. Shops are owned by the Vaniyas (very few Vaniya families are left in the village) and by some Patels and Brahmins. Cattles (Buffaloes, Cows, and Goats) are reared by the Bharwads and Waghris. Most of the Christian families have at least one member with a job in the nearby town (Nadiad, Vidhyanagar, Anand, etc.). Some are daily labourers in the fields owned by Patels and Darbars. Harijans (around 10 families) work as cleaners.

In the course of time, even at present Bharwads keep to the same occupation of rearing cows and buffaloes. Thakors also keep to agriculture and some sort of labour. Christians were Vankars who originally worked as weavers, but later on turned to various jobs and services like lawyer, PHC, teachers, etc. Though Patels keep agricultural land and are still cultivating, they have turned towards jobs and services along with business in the village as well as in the nearby towns and cities. Some of them are NRIs as well. Darbars keep to the same tradition of cultivation. Rohits after education have got into the Police, Postal, Army, small business, etc. Harijans who did cleaning work in the village have also progressed to some extent and are working in hospitals, schools, and nearby towns as cleaners. Most of the Rohits have got various jobs in the Gram Panchayat office, Taluka office and also work elsewhere as clerks, talatis, etc. Some have small business in the village itself. Most of them have left the works related to dead skins. Only a few of them still continue as cobblers. Waghris keep sheep and goats. Besides, they have taken to distil liquor at home and run a business out of it. They have earned a lot through the liquor business and have constructed concrete houses. There is milk co-operative dairy in the village which was established in 1964 and is running quite well for years. All those who keep cows and buffaloes sell milk in the dairy and get a good amount. Practically all the families buy milk from the dairy for their daily use. Rathwas, Bhois, etc. engage as daily labourers in the village. Brahmins, Shrimalis to be specific, carry out the job of a Pujari in their respective temples. They also have a few shops, Printing Cards and a Xerox shop to be exact, in the village. A few men have become lawyers too.

Socio-religio-cultural Scenario: There are three main religions that the people of the village practice, which are, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Majority are Hindus consisting of Patels, Thakors, Darbars, Brahmins, Vaniyas, Waghris and Rohits. There are twenty families who practice Christianity. Muslim Families are only two or three as most of the Muslim families left the village after the Godhara incident.

There are around 25 big and small temples in the village. Swaminarayana Temple is the biggest in the village. Other famous temples are the historic Mahavev Temple, Badiyadev Temple, Gayatri Temple, Meladi Mata Temple, Chamunda Mata Temple, etc. There is a Mosque and a Church (Village Chapel) also in the village. The present church was earlier used as a Primary School from 1^st to 5^th standards in the early years of Christianity in the village. Now the newly built church is used for prayers and Holy Eucharistic services as well as meetings for social and religious purposes. Mahadev Temple is regarded as the oldest temple which was built almost a thousand years ago. It has been rebuilt in recent times though. Gayatri Temple still has a peculiarity of untouchability, in the sense that, some sections of people in the village are not supposed to drink water from the Temple premises. People continue to believe in the myth that the Meladi Mata Temple came to existence through the dirt of goddess Parvati’s body – worshiped by Thakors, Rohits and Waghris.

Festivals: Divali is the main festival of the village. The whole village is illuminated on the Divali night, in fact, for several nights. The village in the night is quite noisy because of the bursting of fire crackers. Holi-Dhuleti is also celebrated in the village, but with less intensity. Christmas is celebrated with much enthusiasm in the village, specifically, in the Khristi Faliyu (Christian Street). The youngsters perform skits, dances, and sing carols, etc. While imparting Christmas messages for the people gathered there. People of other faiths also come and enjoy the celebration. Especially children keep inquiring about the arrival of Christmas as they get lots of sweets on the occasion. Navaratri festival is yet another speciality of the village social-religio-cultural celebration. The nine nights Garba is organised by different Mandalis in different parts of the village. All are welcome to take part in any of the Garba venues in the village. Christians usually take part in the Garba only as spectators.

Educational Institutions: One of the village elders told me that Education has helped them tremendously to come up socially, economically, and otherwise. However, he mentioned that Education would have to be coupled with good luck in order to get into good jobs or services.

When I expressed my desire to visit the high school to the village catechist he asked me to take Himmatbhai along so as to make things easy. However, I decided to have my sort of experience by going to the school alone. As I entered the school premises and headed towards the school office, I was called by the Principal of the High School section. I greeted him and introduced myself as a student of theology from Sevasi. I expressed my intention of visiting the school as well. He was not impressed though. Meanwhile few students and parents came to see him for various purposes. I noticed that he was quite pleasant a person to deal with. Soon, I got a bit of necessary information about the school from him. At the same time he asked me to meet the Principal of the Higher Secondary section who was the overall in charge of the school. He seemed quite strict and after introducing myself I was told right away that outsiders and strangers are not entertained in the school premises for security reasons. However, after having got some information from him I excused myself and came out of the school campus.

High School: Sardar Patel Vinay Mandir, Maholel, a co-ed school, is managed by Shri Kelavani Mandal, Maholel. The school was established by Patels in 1952 to begin with 1^st to 8^th standards. Standards 9^th to 12^th were added later on as the demand arose. This school is affiliated to GSEB Board. At present, there are three different Principals for the Primary, the High School and the Higher Secondary Sections respectively. All belong to the Patel Community from Nadiad. The school staff comprises 40 teachers, mostly belonging to the Patel community coming from Nadiad. There are around 1500 students in the school. The students are mostly from Maholel, but there are many students coming from the nearby villages also. A few students told me that the Principals and the staff along with the students give their best effort to bring up the status of the school academically along with growth of social and cultural values in the students. They have all the basic facilities required for the students as well as teachers in a school set up. Besides, a huge playground in front of the school and the cleanliness in the campus makes it appear appealing.

Primary Schools: There are two Primary Schools for boys and girls in the village respectively. Both schools were established in 1966 by the Jilla Gram Panchayat. They have standards from 1^st to 8^th. The Principal of Kanya Shala is Vijay S. Prajapati, the only male teacher among the staff. The staff comprises 9 female teachers. Three teachers are from Maholel itself and the rest come from Nadiad. All are appointed by the government. The number of Kanya Shala students is 255. Kumar Shala has 10 staff including the Principal. There are three lady teachers in the teaching staff. There are 235 students. The students are provided with all the study materials from government. They get the money in their bank accounts to purchase uniform clothing. Almost all the basic facilities are provided in both the schools. A midday meal is available on a regular basis. Drinking water, sanitary, electricity, etc. are easily made available for the students and teachers.  However, since Kanya Shala has no playground as such, the playground of Kumar Shala is used for both the schools for outdoor events. The schools organise Baal Melo, Festivals, Gauri Vrat, National celebrations, Ramatotsav, Baal Adalat, Gunotsav, Quiz and Essay Competitions, Picnic and Outing, etc. Pranita Shah, a lady teacher from Nadiad, was indeed quite open, welcoming and willing to share all the necessary details about the school. There are some students in the village who go to other schools at Salun and Nadiad.

Anganwadi: There are 9 anganwadis situated in different areas in the whole of Maholel village. 9 anganwadi teachers belonging to different social groups are taking care of their anganwadis quite efficiently. They are paid by the Gram Panchayat.

Political Scenario: Politically speaking, the village population seems to be divided in terms of their support to the two leading national political parties. Patels, and to some extent, some darbars and few thakors, on one hand, favour BJP as their favourite political party. On the other hand, majority of the village folks go for Congress led rule. Since Thakors are the majority in the village, it is they who are the deciding factor for the formation of the governing body of the village Gram Panchayat. There have been Patel Sarpanches in the village in the past few years. But it is the Thakors who have been Sarpanches most of the time. The present Sarpanch also has been elected from among the Thakors, namely, Smt. Ramilaben Natwarsinh Solanki. There have been two lady Sarpanches so far. The history of Maholel village has so far witnessed two lady Sarpanches, namely, Smt. Ullasben Mahobatbhai Raj and the present one.  In both the cases, they say, they are elected just for namesake, just to fulfil the women quota system. Most of the Gram Panchayat works and schemes are looked after by their husbands. There is a catholic man, namely, Macwan Chandubhai, in the Gram Panchayat Office as a sabhya. He has been a member of the governing body of the Gram Panchayat for the last 20 years. He does quite a lot of good works along with others for those who are much in need.

Seasonal calendar: Patels, Thakors and Darbars are mainly the owners of the cultivable lands. Land is very fertile. Besides, they have good irrigation facility in the form of tube wells and canals. They cultivate two types of seasonal crops, namely, Kharip in the monsoon and Rabi in the winter season. Kharip crops include paddy, bajri, cotton, etc. and Rabi crops include wheat, tobacco, and a variety of vegetables. However, they usually grow cash crops, such as, tobacco and cotton. They get cheap labour from the village as well as from the villages nearby. Some of the Thakors, who do not have their own land, Waghris and a few Christians go to these fields as daily labourers. The owners of different companies and factories come to the village and make a deal with farmers to buy their crops every year. Thus, they do not have to go to market to sell their produce. And that is how they earn loads of money.

Trend analysis: There are a variety of things which have undergone transformation – the traditional practices, use of various things, sale and purchase, agriculture, use of electronic gadgets, and so on. Farmers have been using tractors to plough their fields instead of bullocks. Earlier the farmers had to sell their produce in the market and now the buyers come to them for purchase of the whole lot. Though there is not much change in the traditional practices of ceremonies like birth, marriage and death, there is a little change in the approach. With the entry of electronic media and gadgets there seems to be a kind of revolution in the society in terms of communication. Practically all the houses have a television set, mostly colour TV sets, with cable or set top box facilities. Landline telephones have been replaced by cell phones, mostly smart phones of different brands. Many privileged families have a two-wheeler and some of them even have a four-wheeler. There is a Bank and ATM in the village which has eased out tension of money transactions. Now, people have easy access to shops for vegetables, grains, milk, and other household materials, and even for clothes and footwear, and other materials of daily use in the village itself. With the flow of jobs and services in the nearby towns and some having shops in the village marketplace most of the people have concrete houses with better facilities. There has also been a trend, among the Patels, of going abroad for business purpose. Quite many Patel families are NRIs.

Past and Present of Christianity:

History of Christianity: The seed of Christianity was sown in Maholel in 1920s by the German Missionaries, namely, Fr. Mangot, Fr. Zurhausen, and later nurtured and nourished by the Spanish Jesuits, namely, Fr. Croner, and Fr. Figuera. Many villagers were baptized by these missionaries. The first set of Catechists comprised Daud Bhavan, Philip Anton, Simon Anton; and the second lot of Catechists consisted Basil Benedict and William Yohan. At Present there is one catechist, namely, Timothy William who has been giving honorary service since quite many years. The Spaniards built a small chapel at the entrance of the Khristi Faliyu which was meant for both education and prayer. The catechist would gather people in the chapel and conduct prayer and Holy Eucharist on Sundays. The Fathers, accompanied by the catechist, would visit each family in the Faliyu before the Mass. Since there was no separate room for school, they ran the school from 1^st to 5^th standard in the same mud chapel. Thus catechism of the new Christians and education continued for quite many years. Later on the school was shifted to Salun. Now they have a new and beautiful chapel which was built in 2005. The church is named after St. Joseph. There is a regular evening prayer and Rosary in the church. At times evening prayers are conducted in the families of the sick or the ones who invite all for a special prayer. The Khristi Faliyu is known as Loyola Khristi Mohallo, Maholel. It is located at the entrance of the village, in the southern part of the village. Number of Catholic Villages around Maholel: Salun, Kanjoda, Valla, Monghroli, Pallaiya, Vansol, Chalali.

Families in the Khristi Faliyu: There are 18 Catholic Families, 1 Methodist, 5 Hindu – Shrimali families in the Khristi Faliyu. Catholics are around a hundred in number there. Macwan Ignasbhai is the President of the Parish Council Salun. Timothybhai, the Catechist, and two women, namely, Kokilaben, wife of Naginbhai, and Shobhaben are also members in the Parish Council. The Parish Council helps out the Priests in terms of Eucharistic Celebration, Prayer Services, Adoration, First Friday Services, and Festive Celebrations of Christmas and Easter in the Parish as well as in different villages. Most of the families, fathers and mothers, youth and children, are well aware of their religious duties and practices. Some of them are regular for Sunday Holy Eucharist at Salun Parish. However, most of them cannot go to attend the Holy Eucharist in the Parish every week because of poor financial situation. And that is why the Priests come to the village twice a month to organise Holy Eucharist in the village itself. The daily evening prayer along with reciting of Holy Rosary is attended by a sizable number of people, mainly the school going children and some youth. However, the festive celebrations like Christmas and Easter increase the size of the faithful in the village as well as at the parish level. Nevertheless, the basic Christian values can be easily noticed in the faithful of the Khristi Faliyu Maholel.

Loyola Bhajan Mandali Maholel: There is a Bhajan Mandali in the village. Macwan Nixitbhai Ignasbhai is the leader as well as lead singer of the team of around 25-30 including elders, youth and children. The Bhajan Mandali team has its origin in the late 1960s. In the early days the team performed bhajans in the open and they had to be quite audible as the sound system was not available then. They had to stay overnight in far away villages and were served with Bajri no Rotlo. On the way back they were offered a sack full of grains. At present they are well equipped with quality sound and music system along with all the required musical instruments. The Bhajan Mandali is invited by different groups of people in and around the village as well as other villages and towns nearby. They perform Bhajan Mandali on various occasions with different purposes as per the demand of the host, such as thanksgiving, birthdays, besna, First Holy Communion, anniversaries, etc. As the Bhajan Mandali goes on, the children of the team break into impromptu dance to tunes of devotional bhajans. Such an act makes the atmosphere more joyful and devotional, much to the happiness of the audience. It goes on for three hours with a tea and snacks break in between, and usually it goes past midnight. I too had the grace of taking part in a Bhajan Mandali at Jol village of Vadtal Parish. As a part of the team I too wore a T-shirt with Loyola Bhajan Mandali printed at the back and played the Manjira. It was an awesome experience for me. It is a usual custom that the host family offers Rs. 1001/- along with some more amount for Bhaadu or fuel expense at the end of the program.

Loyola Baal Bhajan Mandali: Quite interestingly, there is a Bhajan Mandali of kids too. They belong to the age group of 10 – 15 years old. We organised a Baal Bhajan Mandali in the courtyard of Parsottambhai on 30^th November at night. Around 20 – 25 children and youth participated in it. The youth members played Harmonium, Dholak and Manjira, a few children assisted them with Manjira, and the rest of the group sang bhajans with loads of enthusiasm and electrifying energy. It was indeed a refreshing, graceful and memorable experience for me.

Youth: There is a youth group in the village. Though there are 16 girls and 8 boys who are in standard 10 and beyond, only some of them are part of the village youth group. Macwan Nixit Ignas is the youth leader as well as a teacher at an NGO, Nadiad. Most of the boys and girls have got jobs in the nearby towns and cities. Few of them are doing college studies. The youth engage themselves mainly in the Bhajan Mandalis, preparation and organisation of various festive celebrations, such as, Christmas and Easter, few of them participate in the Parish Choir on Sundays, First Fridays and other festive occasions. They take the responsibility of cleaning in and around the village chapel. Some of them volunteer to take part in youth conventions of ICYM at the Parish, Deanery and Diocese levels. However, there is no youth activity in the Parish as such.

Main area of study: Rites of passage

Birth: When a woman is pregnant with a baby and has completed 6 months, she goes to her parents’ house, piyar. She stays there till the delivery is done and goes on to stay there for 4 – 5 months more. When a baby girl is born, the family distributes Jalebi to all the neighbours. Whereas when there is a baby boy, they distribute Penda.

Marriage: Endogamy is practiced by the people of the village just as in most parts of the state of Gujarat and India. When a Match has been fixed by the elders they organise the Engagement of the couple, whereupon they fix certain amount of money as Bride’s Price and some material household things are promised to be given to the Bridegroom’s family. There is a special ceremony called Haldi or Pithi before the marriage takes place. Turmeric lotion is applied on the Bodies of the Bride and the Bridegroom. The ladies, specifically the Bhabhis, also apply turmeric on each other playfully. Marriage takes place in a Mandap in the Bride’s place, most preferably in the courtyard. The Bridegroom’s party is well treated by the hosts mainly to safeguard the image and dignity of the family as well as of the village. In fact, both the parties shell out a hefty amount on marriage ceremony for the same reason cited above, for the sake of the respect and dignity of their respective villages.

Death: Upon death, they bathe the dead body and put on new clothes and make Tilak on the forehead. Majority of the Hindus cremate the dead bodies in the cremation ground located outside the village in the south. Most preferably, the son of the deceased offers Agni to the pyre. After four days of the cremation, relatives, mainly ladies, of other villages pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased. The family of the deceased do not cook food in their house; rather 1the neighbours feed them for a week or so. After 10 days Shok Sabha is organised. Finally, after 12 days Mishtaan-Bhojan is provided to all the villagers. This seems quite an expensive affair though.

Case Studies: Grains and other Grocery Items for the BPL families

There are 3 Ration Shops altogether in the village. The following items – wheat, rice, sugar, pulses, salt, kerosene oil, etc., can be collected from these shops every month. All the BPL Ration Card holders are entitled to these grocery items. The women whom I interacted with regarding rations told me that they feel grateful for what they get from the ration shops. At the same time they also speak out the reality that some grocery items, like sugar, pulse, salt and kerosene oil are not enough for a month. They require some more amounts of these items which would last for a month. In fact, since they get only this much they somehow manage to run the kitchen every month. Sometimes they have to shell out more money to purchase the grocery items in order to fulfil their basic needs. Besides, they also know that in the name of subsidised ration shops and in the name of the poor, the owners sell some items illegally for a greater profit.

Few Interviews

Macwan Thomasbhai is a 70 year old man of Maholel village. He studied only till 7^th standard at St. Mary’s School, Nadiad. Since he disliked staying in a hostel he discontinued his schooling. He has served in GEB as a wireman for 38 years. He started working in 1968 with Rs. 10 salary.  In the course of time, he impressed his boss and colleagues with his hard work, dedication, humility and generous service. He retired in 2006 at that time his salary was Rs. 28000. It was indeed very informative and a great learning experience for me to have hours of conversation with him.

Macwan Timothybhai is 78 year old man. His educational qualification reads as old SSC+PTC. He taught in a nearby school at Paladi village from 1968 onwards with Rs. 70 as his salary. They say, and he himself acknowledges, that he put his all efforts to improve upon the status of the school. He retired in 1997 at that time his salary was Rs. 8000. He has been working as a Catechist of Salun-Pallaiya Parish. Since there is no appointment by the priests as such, he has been giving an honorary service to the Parish and the village. I really felt comfortable being with him most often in the morning and evening hours of the day.

Macwan Himmatbhai is the only head of the family migrated from Manghroli, a nearby village. He has been a great teacher in his time. His educational qualification reads as old SSC+PTC. He taught in Kumar Shala, Maholel from 1969 onwards and retired in 1998 from the same institution. He seems quite approachable and helpful to all those who seek help. He is a knowledgeable wise man who thinks critically and always looks for solutions to different issues related to the daily life situation.

Vanabhai Bharwad belongs to Bharwad community. He is around 67 year of age. On the way to Van I had quite a long chat with him. He tells me that he has been keeping herds of cows and buffaloes for the past 25-30 years. Rearing a herd of cattle is not only their family business, but a passion, he says. He also added the reason behind their settlement in the outskirts of the village is that it helps them to take care of their herd of cattle better.

My interaction with the people: Affective Dimension, Becoming Insider, and Personal Transformation: “Brother has been like an elder while interacting with the elderly men and women, like a youth while being and conversing with the youth, and like a child while having fun and making rounds of the village surroundings with the children.” This was the concluding remark of the youth leader who spoke at the final gathering in the village chapel. I do feel that while staying in the village for two weeks and interacting with the village folks I learned to a great extent to be like an adult, a youth, and a child at the same time. In the course of time I also learnt that people have a deep sense of respect for their guests, and more so in the case of a Priest, a Brother or a Sister. From day one onwards my host family took care of me very well and provided me with a separate room for my stay. Meanwhile my regular visits to different families gave me ample amount of time to interact with them at length. I was unable to say NO to them whenever they provided me some hot tea. Most of the time I had meals in different families which again gave me lot of opportunity to interact with and come closer to them. I could easily feel their care, love, and respect and a deep sense of gratitude simply flowed in me. I had practically become an insider I felt. In fact, I hardly came across a moment when I felt lonely or being far away from home. The hosts, the catechist and other people of the village poured out their parental love and care for me.

I was quite impressed by the fact that none of the children remained in the house during the day; rather the whole lot went to different schools. However, children would not leave me alone once they were back from schools. We would hit the village roads, have long walks through the green fields, play pranks on one another, and come back to the village with handful of vegetables and fruits. Indeed it was a great fun to be with such lively and cheerful lot of children.

The youth on the other hand, were simply amazing. I was quite impressed with their attitude and personality. Girls greeted me with a smile and asked me when I would become a priest. That is how they showed interest in me and let me feel that they care for me. Boys seemed very confident in dealing with me. Most of them had become friends from the very night we stood in the middle of the village and chatted for hours before sleep. It felt really good upon learning that most of them are educated and some of them have already got jobs in different places. I noticed and was deeply impressed upon learning that a few boys have a good habit of saying a prayer or reading a bible passage before they set out for work. The youth are very much aware of their worth and they take responsibility of their own life, a dignified life, in fact. Moreover, they have a great sense of respect and care for individuals, especially for the girls. They impressed me with the collective responsibility and initiative they take for the welfare and success of all events held in the village.

Theological and pastoral challenges: In the course of interaction with and visiting the Catholic men, women, youth and children, I have learned quite a lot in terms of faith-God experience. The faith experience of the faithful of the village has been rather inspirational for me. Their faith and confidence in God has made them peace loving and happy to a great extent. They feel indebted to the early and the recent missionaries for having made available to them the gift of faith in Jesus Christ along with the grace of education and health. They seem to have come a long way ever since the beginning of Christianity. This overwhelming faith experience of the village folks is easily noticeable in their day-to-day life style which is adorned with Christian values of love, compassion, kindness, respect and fellow feeling, responsibility, patience, honesty, contentment, gratitude, perseverance, humility, loyalty and commitment to their life as well as to their neighbours. Their lively participation, especially that of the youth and children, in the evening prayers, bhajan mandali, village and parish choir, cultural and religious celebrations, etc., is quite self evident in terms of their interest and enthusiasm in church activities and faith sharing experience. Even the Priests at the Parish are highly appreciative of their dedication and loyalty to the church and their faith.  They have a deep sense of belongingness to the church and human society at large.

Conclusion:

However, though the common faith experience of the Catholics of the village seems quite healthy, there are certain areas wherein they need to reboot themselves and make a little extra effort to shine out. The faith of people, as it were, can well be noticed through their life style, mutual behaviour, commitment to prayer and Holy Eucharist, socio-religio-cultural practices of rites and rituals. However, the number of people taking part in various religious practices, rites and rituals, is quite less. Those who are regular and faithful to such practices are hardly absent. But those who hardly take part in such practices, may be because of certain reasons, hardly bother to be present. Sometimes their cold attitude towards participation in religious practices betrays the good image they have got as Catholics. Yet by making such a statement I do not mean to negate the deep faith experience and gratitude the faithful have in Jesus Christ. Many a times people find it difficult to go to the parish to participate in the Sunday Holy Eucharist due to economic problems. Some other times the village Holy Eucharist is cancelled for certain reasons. Some of them feel that Priests do not visit them quite often enough. Even though they have huge respect for the Priests at the Parish, they sometimes feel neglected when there is a long gap of the Priests’ visits to the village. At present, the urgent need for the simple village folks is the regular visits of Priests and nuns.