‘We assume a lot...'
Nagpur-based Shomira Sanyal, who got to spend a month’s time with social activist Aruna Roy as part of SPIC MACAY scholarship, shares her experience

By Shubhdarshani Mitra
She is young, vibrant, energetic and oozing with confidence. A bubbly teenager, who not only loves to do what girls of her age usually do like reading, writing ,singing, etc, 14-year-old Shomira Sanyal, a student of class IX, also has a lot to say about social issues like child marriage and corruption Sanyal, who got a chance to be with Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy, made the best of the opportunity to learn the ropes of social work. From visiting villages in Rajasthan to participating in public hearings and learning the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of public speaking, Sanyal feels that the situation is quite grim in rural India.

While corruption really bogs her down, especially those who suffer from its ill-effects and don’t have age and means to fight against it, Sanyal feels strongly for them. A month of living in rural patches of the country not only taught her how to cook and wash her own clothes, which she says, she had never done before, it also gave her an insight into various issues that affect the common man.

A complete book lover, Sanyal enjoys books on space and loves to write poetry as well.

Sanyal got this lifetime opportunity due to SPIC MACAY, that seeks to conserve, and promote an awareness about our rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry amongst the youth of this nation with the help of classical arts, rituals, mythology, philosophy and aims to facilitate an awareness of their deeper and subtler values.

Initially hesitant about the living conditions in a desert village with no electricity, she is now proud to be able to live in those conditions.

At an age when children struggle with career choice and marks and peer pressure, Sanyal is eager to learn about real India. Excerpts form an interview.

Tell us about SPIC MACAY scholarship that gave you the opportunity to meet Aruna Roy?
SPIC MACAY tries to bring to the youth of India the various cultures that are prevalent across the country, basically to those who are heavily influenced by the western culture. I got the scholarship through my school because our school has been associated with SPIC MACAY for a long time. I am also interested in music and so I wanted to explore more. Those who are interested become members. Recently they have started something called a gurukul system. In the gurukul system they make the students experience the guru-shishya relationship. They want the children to spend some time with their guru to take in the values of the guru.

What did you do avail the scholarship?
SPIC MACAY holds conventions every year. There are state conventions and there are national conventions. The national convention will start from 15th of June (when the magazine went to print, Sanyal had already attended the national convention in Kohima). I attended a Pune convention where I got the forms for different chapters, like Nagpur is called Nagpur chapter. There are gurus who are willing to take shishyas every year. While filling your form you need to mention the reason as to why do you want to go for a particular guru. Based on your biodata and your reason for choosing a guru, you are selected. You have to give three preferences. Then there is an interview with your city coordinator. Approximately 20 students from all over India got chosen. Five of us got selected for the scholarships . I chose my guru as Aruna Roy.

Why did you choose Aruna Roy as your guru?
It’s because I felt I will inculcate better values. Her compassion for people and her work is amazing. I saw the condition of the people living there. The girls are forcefully married off, and then are there is corruption problem. People don’t get proper wages. The situation is very bad and this opportunity gave me a chance to see the true India. We don’t get to see the true India over here in cities. I felt this was one thing I would really like to explore.

Do you feel concerned about certain social issues?
Issues like child marriage, corruption make me feel bad. People often say that the labourers don’t work properly but the level of work they were doing there was fabulous. They work so hard and are so committed to their work but the level of corruption there made me feel so disheartened. They don’t get the wages on time; moreover it is lesser than what is due to them.

How did you come to know about all this?
We knew about Right to Information Act, we knew what the clauses were. They told us more about it. We visited National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (nrega) sites. There we were given forms to see whether these villagers were getting water, tent, and crèche for the children, and we had to find out whether the facilities were adequate. We had to see whether they were being paid. We also had to do a survey.

How often did you get to interact with Aruna Roy?
It was really good because she taught us what to speak in front of villagers. If a child marriage is taking place, you can’t just burst in and say “Look! Child marriages shouldn’t go on,” since they have certain compulsions behind doing it. It’s money that forces them. In one of the health camps that we attended, one of my group members on being asked about caste system, said, “I don’t think there should be any jati (caste system)”. So, 70 per cent of the audience got up and went. Roy told us that we should be careful about what we say in front of the villagers. We also had debates on freedom of press, freedom of expression, intercaste marriages, and untouchability. We used to go to her house in Tilonia and there we used to have a lot of discussions. Our eyes were left open because we assume a lot of things in cities. But we got to know why things like this actually happen.

What did you learn from this experience?
They say learning starts at home. I learnt how to cook and wash my clothes for the first time. Besides that, there is no electricity there. I learnt to stay in those conditions, in a hut, without electricity. I also learnt a lot about corruption over there, how it goes on.

We went in six villages in Vijayapura, close to Dev Dongi, where we were staying. It was in Rajasthan. We went to each one of the house and we had a set of 12 questions which we were supposed to ask the villagers. We told people, what their right was and how to ask for it. In certain places, we faced resistance where the villagers were prevented from coming out in the open. Some were very scared to speak.

And the worst part was how the old people have to suffer because of corruption. They have nothing; they live in such dilapidated houses, in such bad conditions. All that was very sad. We put all these findings together later.

We went through more than 2,000 pension slips of these people who are sometimes ticked off as dead even when they are alive.

And then there are people who are supposed to be dead long time back but they are alive on papers. So, it is really bad.