Forget farmville

Instead of fertilising fields on Facebook, get your hands dirty as you work, and party, with locals AT this rural getaway.

Every day in Mumbai is an adventure. You brave death by suffocation getting on the local trains. You brave knee/ankle-deep water with who-knows-what floating in it through the monsoons. You brave narrow homes and narrow roads.

So when a weekend getaway lists “a spirit of adventure” as a must-have, you say “well, I’ll be...” and sign on.

And what an adventure it promises to be. For dull and tired Mumbaikars, their horizons perpetually hemmed in by concrete and traffic jams, retreating to Purushwadi is just what the doctor recommends. A thousand metres above sea level and 250 kilometres from Mumbai, this green getaway is easy on the eyes and the soul.

Of course, you do have to sign up for some token hard labour. It’s harvest time, and the farmers will take you into their fields to help reap what they have sown. This is the rice belt of the Sahyadri region, and bringing the crop home won’t be child’s play. But the harvest means festival time too. Navratri, which we celebrate in the cities with shopping frenzies and bumper-to-bumper traffic, is observed in Purushwadi in a much simpler, earthy manner.

Visitors will get to enjoy the community feast, with local specialties cooked by the ladies of the village. Expect to find on your plate Waal ka Varun (spicy chicken curry), Vade (spicy gravy of dried chana) and other dishes made of groundnuts and pumpkins. Accompanying the feast are the Kala and Lezim dances specific to the region. And of course the grand finale occurs when the idol of the Goddess Durga is sent to her inevitable, watery grave.

Weekends like this (defined by the Indian Ministry of Tourism as “experience-oriented” tourism) are an emerging back-to-basics recreation option for world-weary city-dwellers. But such tourism also opens up rural India to visitors and, most importantly, channelises employment and infrastructure to the villages. Not only does it authentically showcase a way of life to the visitors, it also inculcates in villagers a sense of pride in their lifestyle.

This particular rural getaway has been conceptualised by Grassroutes, an organisation committed to developing community-managed tourism in rural areas. Their aim is to empower villagers and enable them to earn a sustainable livelihood. Having “adopted” the Maharashtrian villages of Purushwadi and Kohane about two years ago, Grassroutes trained village volunteers as caretakers, hosts, guides and tour in-charge personnel. 

Initially, only three-four villagers volunteered to host tourists in their homes when they visited. But over time more have come forward, realising that it’s a good source of income, especially in lean harvest season.

John Nogueira, who joined Grassroutes after 15 years of corporate life, says there is a marked change in the villagers involved in this programme. They show greater self-confidence, can effectively communicate with tourists, and can afford to send children to school. The additional income also encourages them to prosper on home ground rather than migrate to the cities in search of uncertain employment. One young man has even enrolled for a B.Ed.

While Grassroutes tours to these two villages are a regular feature, visiting them in festival season is likely to be a novel experience for participants. To ensure greater choice and flexibility, Grassroutes has built a cottage for visiting guests as well, and offers tent-accommodation in dry weather, all in addition to the homestay option. This leads to a more equitable distribution of income from these trips for the people of Purushwadi.

So if your sense of adventure’s feeling a little under-utilised, get off Facebook and head out next weekend. Real people, real fields, and real life are calling you. 

(To register for the Rice Harvest and Navratri Festival getaway (16-17 October 2010), email info@grassroutes.co.in or call John on +91.9769784547)