Hello F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Aniket, Dipti and myself were planning to visit Anandwan and Hemalkasa right from December 2014. We missed the Feb 2015 batch with Unnayan Tours because the tour was already full. Mid June, we got the confirmation of seats for the Nov 15 batch. Finally it was November and we all were already excited about the unique experience awaiting us. We were booked in the 20:15 Duranto Express from Mumbai to Nagpur on 7th Nov. I was supposed to reach Mumbai at Aniket's place for lunch. Old habits die hard. I started from Pune at noon in a non stop Purple bus to Borivali. Thankfully Aniket's mom still allowed me to use my lunch coupon at 16:30. ;) As a bonus I got a tea coupon too at the same time :) We managed to reach CST 15 minutes before the departure time. 5 of us (out of 23) tour members were booked in Three Tier non AC coach, while the others were in the AC one. At night I realized that we have been cheated badly. Our coach got colder than any AC compartment can ever be. :) Even with a jacket and two blankets, I was not able to sleep seamless because of the cold.
We reached Nagpur station at around 7 a.m. We had our bus waiting for us right in front of the station, where we met the rest of the crew. Moving around the station area, I felt that Nagpur is more like Pune. The infrastructure and the weather makes you feel you are roaming around the core areas of Pune. But they really need to work on the sign boards as 6 out of 10 boards seen had serious grammatical crisis. They play with the apostorphe a bit too much. :) 
The crispy medhu wada and idlis at GaneshSagar south indian restaurant gave us energy and we were quickly on our way to Anandwan. The youngistan took the lead to break the ice with the help of card games, antakshari and dumbsharads. Better late than never as I learned mendhicoat from them. I am sure the seniors had a tough time initially but they too got used to it and few of them actually joined us too. It was almost 3 hours journey as we reached approx at 11 a.m. The first view of Anandwan was pleasant and beyond our expectations. The lawn in the middle of the rooms was well pruned and clean. 
The cleanliness of the room and the basic facilities were nothing less than any city home. We settled our luggage in our rooms and immediately went to Atithi bhojanalay at around 11. The food is cooked by the local youngsters and they do it with a lot of love for the people who come to visit them, which reflects in the taste. Fresh vegetable directly from the farms make the food a rare experience. I liked the custom of cleaning your own utensils after every meal.
The crispy medhu wada and idlis at GaneshSagar south indian restaurant gave us energy and we were quickly on our way to Anandwan. The youngistan took the lead to break the ice with the help of card games, antakshari and dumbsharads. Better late than never as I learned mendhicoat from them. I am sure the seniors had a tough time initially but they too got used to it and few of them actually joined us too. It was almost 3 hours journey as we reached approx at 11 a.m. The first view of Anandwan was pleasant and beyond our expectations. The lawn in the middle of the rooms was well pruned and clean. 
The cleanliness of the room and the basic facilities were nothing less than any city home. We settled our luggage in our rooms and immediately went to Atithi bhojanalay at around 11. The food is cooked by the local youngsters and they do it with a lot of love for the people who come to visit them, which reflects in the taste. Fresh vegetable directly from the farms make the food a rare experience. I liked the custom of cleaning your own utensils after every meal.
After a hearty meal, we took a bit of rest and after a 2 o'clock tea, we were on our way to see what Anandwan is all about. We started with the small workshops where the local artisans spend their time creatively. Being a weekend after Diwali, most of the workshops were not having their full quorum. But still we were able to see some live action on the floor. 
It was difficult 
to grasp the fact that none of these craftsmen are given any special training. They learn on their own and show their creativity in forms of greeting cards, landscapes, celebrity portraits and showpieces all made out of dry grass, tree barks, dried banana leaves, bottle caps, recycled tyres, plastic wrappers, cigarette boxes, Xray films, etc. They don't use colors but use these naturally available shades to pour life in most of their art forms. The man-made waste of plastic and paper too are put to their best reuse. Another room had a display of beautiful woodcraft, some with articles placed/ woven inside corked bottles. We shifted to the Tin-Can project, which was inaugurated and initially funded by a Swiss Ambassador. Here they mould every type of utensils, cupboards, racks, even the hand driven tricycle for the differently abled members of their village. 
They even have a dedicated space, where the villagers are trained 
to build slabs, beams and other construction related work. This was originally initiated by L&T, where they would train the youth for such civil works. Later on demand, they even placed many such trained youngsters into their company. These youths had to move out to the desired sites. 
Next we visited the hand loom and power loom section, where women were weaving and knitting beautiful designs on the clothes/carpets/bedsheets. The dyed warp threads and the sound of the looms was something I witnessed for the first time. It was interesting to spend few minutes to see how the process actually takes place. Putting a design or color pattern on a cloth using the warp threads is a skillful job. While moving 
across the different projects, we came across the bus, which was used by Baba Amte during his Knit India (Bharat jodo Andolan) movement in 1980s. I wouldn't write much on this topic as it deserves a different blog on this topic rather than just a paragraph. Further we came across a banyan tree, which was planted by my favorite P. L. Deshpande a few decades ago. Any P.L. fan will get attached to this spot on the spot. 
It 
was a spot on. :) Many may not know that P. L. was closely associated with Baba Amte and Anandvan and would spend a lot of time here. He had written many articles to put light on Baba Amte's work and life. Both being strong opposers of orthodox rituals were bound to be close to each other. We then came across the hospital building of Anandvan which was simple and neat. They had an upcoming program for free of cost eye check ups, cataract and lens implantation procedures. Surgeries which can cost upto 25-35k in any city hospital are provided free of cost to the localities and that too from best of the doctors using latest surgical equipment. J.J. Hospital eye care trust was the organizer of this event. We even saw a unit, where they manufacture good quality artificial limbs. Such prosthetic limbs can easily cost between a lakh or two in any city and here they are provided free of cost to the patients who have lost their legs.
It was difficult 
to grasp the fact that none of these craftsmen are given any special training. They learn on their own and show their creativity in forms of greeting cards, landscapes, celebrity portraits and showpieces all made out of dry grass, tree barks, dried banana leaves, bottle caps, recycled tyres, plastic wrappers, cigarette boxes, Xray films, etc. They don't use colors but use these naturally available shades to pour life in most of their art forms. The man-made waste of plastic and paper too are put to their best reuse. Another room had a display of beautiful woodcraft, some with articles placed/ woven inside corked bottles. We shifted to the Tin-Can project, which was inaugurated and initially funded by a Swiss Ambassador. Here they mould every type of utensils, cupboards, racks, even the hand driven tricycle for the differently abled members of their village. 
They even have a dedicated space, where the villagers are trained 
to build slabs, beams and other construction related work. This was originally initiated by L&T, where they would train the youth for such civil works. Later on demand, they even placed many such trained youngsters into their company. These youths had to move out to the desired sites. 
Next we visited the hand loom and power loom section, where women were weaving and knitting beautiful designs on the clothes/carpets/bedsheets. The dyed warp threads and the sound of the looms was something I witnessed for the first time. It was interesting to spend few minutes to see how the process actually takes place. Putting a design or color pattern on a cloth using the warp threads is a skillful job. While moving 
across the different projects, we came across the bus, which was used by Baba Amte during his Knit India (Bharat jodo Andolan) movement in 1980s. I wouldn't write much on this topic as it deserves a different blog on this topic rather than just a paragraph. Further we came across a banyan tree, which was planted by my favorite P. L. Deshpande a few decades ago. Any P.L. fan will get attached to this spot on the spot. 
It 
was a spot on. :) Many may not know that P. L. was closely associated with Baba Amte and Anandvan and would spend a lot of time here. He had written many articles to put light on Baba Amte's work and life. Both being strong opposers of orthodox rituals were bound to be close to each other. We then came across the hospital building of Anandvan which was simple and neat. They had an upcoming program for free of cost eye check ups, cataract and lens implantation procedures. Surgeries which can cost upto 25-35k in any city hospital are provided free of cost to the localities and that too from best of the doctors using latest surgical equipment. J.J. Hospital eye care trust was the organizer of this event. We even saw a unit, where they manufacture good quality artificial limbs. Such prosthetic limbs can easily cost between a lakh or two in any city and here they are provided free of cost to the patients who have lost their legs.
It is very interesting to note that all these workshops mentioned, are not primarily meant for bread and butter. In fact The main intention is to keep the members busy as well as skilled. There are no specific production targets or working hours for any of the members. They do get salaries and incentives for the hours they put in. It can range from INR. 200 to 2500 a month. The output is available to the residents free of cost. The surplus is sold in the surrounding market areas. They have their own house, cultivate the land in front of their house. Use the agricultural output for home consumption and sell off the surplus for a good price in the nearby market. Having said that, the statistical figures below, highlighting the massive output are sure to blow your mind away.
FY 2005-06
- handloom and powerloom units produced nearly 100,000 meters of
cloth valued at 35 lakh.
- Anandwan produced 24916 square feet of mattresses and carpets worth over Rs. 5 lakhs.
- 60000 greeting cards were made and sold contributing Rs. 6 lakhs
FY 1999-2000
- Anandwan completed printing orders worth close to Rs. 1.5 million (approximately $32,000).
- metal furniture workshop produced output more than Rs. 21 Lakh.
It was almost 5 pm and we had finished seeing most of the workshops. We were expecting the most interesting session of the day soon as we were being told that 
Dr. Vikas Amte himself would be interacting with us that evening. We understood that Dr. Bharati tai (his wife) was not keeping well that week and thus he will wrap up the session in 10 -15 minutes. We as a group, mutually felt that it was not really necessary for him to give us that time. But being Dr. Vikas, he ended up spending 3 hours with us. Our tour in charge Vaibhav, had correctly described Dr. Vikas a waterfall. He has so much information pouring out. We usually like to sit next to a waterfall and keep looking it. Keep listening to the sound and enjoy the cold breeze generated from it. Same was with Dr. Vikas. We could keep listening to him as much as we want. He can talk about so many things simultaneously. In fact, you have to really attentive when he speaks as he has the nack to divulge on simultaneous topics and weave all the points together in the end. We had gathered in a small meeting room with over 50 people eager to listen to him (3-4 tour groups were reconcilied for this meet). He started with us introducing ourselfs, about where are we from, what we do and what we want to pursue. Here we got to know one of his many traits, his impeccable memory. During our conversations, he called many of us by our names and recollected our work areas and place of stay. It is merely impossible to narrate all the things he spoke about in these three hours. But he surely gave us a glimpse of his father Murlidhar Devidas Amte (Baba Amte may sound familiar), his mother Sadhana Amte and what it takes to be the eldest prodigy of these two 'human beings'. His words represented their struggle, their ambitions, their success. At moments, he even expressed the personal bond between his parents, the toughest decisions Baba took during his Narmada bachao andolan and how this effected his family. Understanding Baba Amte as a whole, must have been tough even for his close ones. I doubt if there is any one, other than his family, who has completely understood what Baba Amte was made of. We generalize him with two equations. Baba Amte = Anandwan = A person who helped leprosy patients. But he had achieved much more that just that. What I could gain from all that I heard, is that he started an epidemic of prosperity. Prosperity in real sense. Self dependency and growth of self through growth of others. This not only has infected his next two generations, but also the people who were around him. I felt this among all the people, who were associated with him and with whom we interacted during the next three days. Dr. Vikas mentioned that Baba had told his accomplices, not to depend on any government machinery. You are not helping because the people have asked for it. Some one of them didn't even think they need help. You have yourself decided to bring about the change and you work towards it. That thought process is not easy to digest, let alone implementation. But that is what has made Dr. Vikas a silent hero. His contribution is not much heard of or showcased. But over the next three days, we saw his piece of brain and work in every project in Anandwan and Somnath. Even while building up Hemalkasa, Dr. Vikas played from behind the scene. He used to drive the material trucks, 200 kms every day from Anandwan to Hemalkasa, in the initial stage of building hemalkasa. Not denying the unparalleled contribution of Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte, but Dr. Vikas literally drove Hemalkasa to its current state of success. Just like a waterfall which slowly takes a toll on the rock beneath, the bitter experiences have a left few scars on him too.
Dr. Vikas Amte himself would be interacting with us that evening. We understood that Dr. Bharati tai (his wife) was not keeping well that week and thus he will wrap up the session in 10 -15 minutes. We as a group, mutually felt that it was not really necessary for him to give us that time. But being Dr. Vikas, he ended up spending 3 hours with us. Our tour in charge Vaibhav, had correctly described Dr. Vikas a waterfall. He has so much information pouring out. We usually like to sit next to a waterfall and keep looking it. Keep listening to the sound and enjoy the cold breeze generated from it. Same was with Dr. Vikas. We could keep listening to him as much as we want. He can talk about so many things simultaneously. In fact, you have to really attentive when he speaks as he has the nack to divulge on simultaneous topics and weave all the points together in the end. We had gathered in a small meeting room with over 50 people eager to listen to him (3-4 tour groups were reconcilied for this meet). He started with us introducing ourselfs, about where are we from, what we do and what we want to pursue. Here we got to know one of his many traits, his impeccable memory. During our conversations, he called many of us by our names and recollected our work areas and place of stay. It is merely impossible to narrate all the things he spoke about in these three hours. But he surely gave us a glimpse of his father Murlidhar Devidas Amte (Baba Amte may sound familiar), his mother Sadhana Amte and what it takes to be the eldest prodigy of these two 'human beings'. His words represented their struggle, their ambitions, their success. At moments, he even expressed the personal bond between his parents, the toughest decisions Baba took during his Narmada bachao andolan and how this effected his family. Understanding Baba Amte as a whole, must have been tough even for his close ones. I doubt if there is any one, other than his family, who has completely understood what Baba Amte was made of. We generalize him with two equations. Baba Amte = Anandwan = A person who helped leprosy patients. But he had achieved much more that just that. What I could gain from all that I heard, is that he started an epidemic of prosperity. Prosperity in real sense. Self dependency and growth of self through growth of others. This not only has infected his next two generations, but also the people who were around him. I felt this among all the people, who were associated with him and with whom we interacted during the next three days. Dr. Vikas mentioned that Baba had told his accomplices, not to depend on any government machinery. You are not helping because the people have asked for it. Some one of them didn't even think they need help. You have yourself decided to bring about the change and you work towards it. That thought process is not easy to digest, let alone implementation. But that is what has made Dr. Vikas a silent hero. His contribution is not much heard of or showcased. But over the next three days, we saw his piece of brain and work in every project in Anandwan and Somnath. Even while building up Hemalkasa, Dr. Vikas played from behind the scene. He used to drive the material trucks, 200 kms every day from Anandwan to Hemalkasa, in the initial stage of building hemalkasa. Not denying the unparalleled contribution of Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte, but Dr. Vikas literally drove Hemalkasa to its current state of success. Just like a waterfall which slowly takes a toll on the rock beneath, the bitter experiences have a left few scars on him too. 
It was almost the 8 p.m. we had our dinner and went back to our comfortable rooms. We had tried grapsing a lot that day and were ready to intake more the next day. Our energy levels must be the byproduct of our surroundings. Many of us were out in the corridor chit chatting and giggling all the way till 11 p.m. We finally called it a day and went to our respective rooms. We were accommodated in two huge rooms (one for ladies and one for all the gents).
Next morning, we began our day at 5 a.m. to get ready for the tea at 6 and breakfast at 7 
a.m. By far that was the healthiest routine that I have maintained personally. We even went for a small walk before breakfast to their dairy farm. We were in for a small bonus as most of us got to play with a one day old calf. The calf was fearless and enthusiastic. So were few of our younger members of the group. The mothers (from both sides) seemed a little possessive and protective over this situation. We continued our walk to a serene lake nearby. It was very soothing. This was one of the very few instances, where I greet the rising sun. I discovered that such things are best enjoyed only when they are not done frequently. I gladly agreed to myself and continued. ;) The lake was surrounded by thick trees. It is said that the local people bury their dead and plant a tree on top of it. Thus each tree planted gives an emotional attachment to the villagers hereby eradicating deforestation.  |
| The plastic crushing machine |
We soon
were back to our rooms and got ready to embark on the remainder of our journey. We had limited time and a lot more to expore. But then, spending even a few
weeks will be scarce to see Anandwan. We decided to gather whatever we can. We first saw the Recron Fibrefill Mattress unit.
Here they collect all the plastic waste, crush it in a very customized crushing machine and use the powder to create pillows, mattress and even bricks from it. A very interesting way of reusing plastic. We then moved onto their mega kitchen, which is a project by itself. This kitchen provides  |
| Mega Kitchen |
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| vegetation outside mega kitchen |
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| Mega Rotis |
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| Plastic Concrete bandhara |
Its a small construction sample flat made from
the very same bricks made here with the plastic and soil mixture. The speciality
of this brick is that it stays cold in the summer and gets warm
during winter. The construction quality is strong enough to bear heavy
earthquakes. With such cost effective solution, I wonder why we don't implement the
same technology in commercial constructions all over India. Finally it was time to see the heart of Anandwan. The old age home and the leprosy treatment hospital of the place. We first visited the old age home, which is know as Sneha Sawali. It was built in 1981 and sponsored by HelpAge India.
 |
| Samadhi |
But the
actual hands to literally build this place were of the cured leprosy patients
themselves. Even though cured, our society was and is still reluctant to accept them
into our lifes. Society in general is still a farther concept, their own families were not ready to accept them into their home. Marriages of the next generation faced
problems. The families feared many things, infection among the root of all. Leprosy was (read 'is') considered as a Maha rog, the most dreadful of diseases, a curse of God and the patients believed to be the lowest level sinners. Thus Baba Amte thought of building this home for the
cured, where they would still be loved, cared and most
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| Sneha Sawali |
of all treated like
human beings. Next we visited the hospital, where the actual leprosy
patients are being treated. They have cured over 1600 patients in all and now
there are no more than 35 to 40 patients in total taking the treatment. Thanks
to the attending Dr. Vijay Pol, who briefed us all about leprosy and mainly the misconceptions
we have built around it. Dr. Pol is associated with Anandwan since 1984. Very few know that he is the first doctor to come to Anandwan. Before that only Dr. Vikas was handling all the load. Only because of him, Dr. Vikas was able to concentrate on other projects in Anadwan and Somnath. Dr. Pol is son of Baba Amte's sister. We usually picture a patient with lost or severed
limbs as a leprosy patient. But leprosy never causes the deformation. Leprosy is
actually a bacteria, which damages the nerves, which in turn kills the sensation in the area to which the nerve provides blood to. Thus the organ fails to function (may it be leg, hand, fingers, eye lids, etc). Deformation is a result of the untreated (rather unrecognized)
wounds that happen in normal course of life.
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| Hospital Building |
Example, if the patient looses the sensation in his/her leg and ends up cutting his/her leg with a thorn or stake (this happened as a usual case as the concerned were already living in a remote area, almost jungle). The
patient doesn’t realize any pain and thus does not know that he/she is actually
injured. The wound goes untreated till the infection reaches the bone and finally results
into deformation. Leprosy can now be 100% cured if treated or diagnosed in time.
Depending upon the stage of infection, it can be cured within 6-12 months with just a few injections and a
daily dose of medicine. But the same has to be treated before
the vein or nerve is completely damaged i.e. before the body organ looses
sensation. Although leprosy gets cured even after that, but the sensation of the organ can never be regained
as the nerve damage is permanent. There are few surgeries, where the nerve can
be bypassed e.g. a patient lost a nerve, which was responsible
for eye lid motion. The surgeon bypassed the nerve to make the blood reach
the eye lids again. But this may not be possible in case of hands/legs. Yes
leprosy is a infectious but not hereditary. Leprosy has not killed even a
single patient so far.
Malaria and dengue are far more furious than leprosy (Which is highly decorated negatively). There
were many patients, who were cured in time without any visible marks on body or
deformation. The medicines help remove the body marks too (if treated in initial stage). Few were even working as hospital staff in that building. No one can ever
make out that they were once infected (unless
told). It is still unclear what causes these bacteria or how it infect
humans, but unclean environments and lack of immunity are the two main reasons
for the wide spread. Thus it is found only in under developed or developing
countries, where an average child is still malnourished. If we spread these
facts more, maybe there would be a generation, which would be free from not
just leprosy but a more deadly virus called “misconceptions”.
Malaria and dengue are far more furious than leprosy (Which is highly decorated negatively). There
were many patients, who were cured in time without any visible marks on body or
deformation. The medicines help remove the body marks too (if treated in initial stage). Few were even working as hospital staff in that building. No one can ever
make out that they were once infected (unless
told). It is still unclear what causes these bacteria or how it infect
humans, but unclean environments and lack of immunity are the two main reasons
for the wide spread. Thus it is found only in under developed or developing
countries, where an average child is still malnourished. If we spread these
facts more, maybe there would be a generation, which would be free from not
just leprosy but a more deadly virus called “misconceptions”. | |
| Dr. Vikas Amte signed |
It was
almost noon and we had to return to our room for
packing. We visited the shop,
where most of the items from the workshops are kept for sale. They include bags,
shoes, purses and even book written by Dr. Vikas Amte, “Anandwan Prayogwan”.
All those who purchased the book were lucky to get the books personally
signed by Dr. Vikas. Credit goes to our tour in charge Vaibhav. We had our lunch
at the bhojanalay and were ready to move out of Anandwan at around 2:30 p.m. We had to reach the next place before it was too dark as the road goes through the core jungle. We started exactly as per schedule to reach our next destination 'Hemalkasa' at 6 pm.
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| Award collection at the Sales centre |
Imagine a
place, where you have to survive on your own. You learn to build your own house, learn to grow your own food and learn to make your own clothes. You cultivate the land in front of your house, utilize the output for your own and sell the surplus in near by market. You grow creative, start making more than just food, clothing and shelter. Make products, which are valuable in the market and are useful in our daily life. Earn while you learn. You do not incur any cost towards food, clothing, shelter and medication. And beyond all, you do not forget your debt to the society and start paying back by helping those who need you. You don't forget that you started at their stage and have come so far because there was a helping hand. If you can imagine all this, you have seen Anandwan.
Enjoy the pics of my Anandwan visit in the link below.
https://goo.gl/photos/
Official Website of Anandwan
http://www.anandwan.in/
Website for Unnayan tours
http://www.unnayan.net/
Official Website of Anandwan
http://www.anandwan.in/
Website for Unnayan tours
http://www.unnayan.net/
More details on the Hemalkasa visit are in my next blog.
Regards
Amol Potdar
