When my friends from France and Spain wanted to visit my village in Bihar, Niraj Kumar, faculty of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar writes (Business Line, July 6, 2010) that he broke into a sweat. Why..?
All my efforts to dissuade them yielded little result. They insisted they would wrap up their India tour only after a trip to my native place. But, surprise of surprises, they had a great time. They were lost in the natural surroundings, spending hours under a banyan tree and listening to the tweeting and chirping of birds. They plucked unripe mangoes from the orchard and ate them with relish. They fed cows and enjoyed milking them.
Aloo paratha in desi ghee with coriander chutney became their preferred food. In the morning they fanned out to the sprawling fields and tried the plough. They fetched water from a well. “Oh! What a wonderful experience it is,” they would exclaim every time they came across something that was hard to find in their countries.
Sleeping under the open sky, a bullock cart ride in a dusty village road or a day in a farmhouse would surely be a pleasing experience for any visitor.
