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to feel real India? Come to an Indian village where soul of India resides. Far from the
hustle-bustle and pollution of metropolitan cities you are invited to a
different world full of nature, simple lifestyles, colourful dresses, rich
culture & traditions, high family values and over all refreshing air- a
complete rejuvenation package!
Over 70% of India's population lives in villages. Every villager in
India manifest a deep loyalty to their village, identifying themselves to
strangers as residents of a particular village or harking back to
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family residence in
the village that typically extends into the distant past. A family rooted in a
particular village does not easily move to another, and even people who have
lived in a city for a generation or two refer to their ancestral village as
"our village."
The economy of an Indian village depends mainly on agriculture, as
occupation of most of the villagers is farming. Some of them have their own
fields while some of them work in the fields on the daily wages. Life in
villages starts very early in the morning. After daily chores almost all the
male members of a family move to the fields to work hard till dusk. Evening
brings them wonderful moments of relaxation and enjoyment when they sit
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together in Chaupals (common place) for gossiping, card playing,
singing folksongs, and even sharing knowledge of their common origin, often
going back generations.
Indian Villagers share use of common village facilities, such as the village
pond (known in India as Talao), grazing grounds, temples and shrines,
cremation grounds, schools, chaupals, wells, and |
wastelands. Interdependence
in rural life provides a sense of unity among residents of a village.
A great many observances emphasize village unity. Typically, each village
recognizes a deity deemed the village protector or protectress,
and villagers unite in regular worship of this deity, which is considered
essential to village prosperity. They may |
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cooperate in constructing
temples and shrines important to the village as a whole.
Hindu
festivals
such as Diwali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Durga
Puja bring villagers together. During Holi (festival of
colours) celebrations, even Muslims may join in the friendly
splashing of coloured water on fellow villagers, village-wide
singing, dancing, and joking. People of all castes within
a village address each other by kinship terms, reflecting
the fictive kinship relationships recognized within each
settlement.
Traditionally, in every Indian village five important men from the village's
major castes are elected to form Village Panchayat. One of these five
members is elected as Sarpanch (headman). The role of the Panchayat is
to solve the legal matters or disputes among the villagers and
give decisions. It is the duty of every villager to respect to the decisions
of the Panchayat. Panchayat has the power |
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to levy fines and exclude
transgressors from village social life. Mostly disputes are decided within
the village precincts as much as possible, with infrequent recourse to the
police or court system.
In present-day India, most of the villages are well connected by road
with the major towns. Electricity has also reached to even remote
villages, which has opened the doors for media, in form of |
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televisions and
radios. The advent of media has enabled the innocent villagers to know
the world beyond their small territory. They have started learning new
farming techniques, family planning, and importance of education for their
children, etc. This in turn has improved the lifestyles of villagers
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