Whoever said its not possible?
Let me take you down the memory lane,it was just as disturbing as you could imagine…water supply was something that came to them with great coxing and cajoling,may be once a week..all the men in the village knew how good or bad the alcohol tasted just by the face of it,it wasn’t important for them if they knew the alphabets right.Terrified by the state of affairs in this dreamy village of Kapsi,families started fleeing the village and started hounding the nearest towns and cities-solapur,ahmednagar,pune…Diseases?you name it and they had it.The only thing you would wish for after being there is,the slightest opportunity for getting out of that place.There were three things that could happen to you-You run off or you are chased out or you are shot at with n-number of requests from mothers to get their sons certain things called jobs,well it could be anything(atleast that much of it lay in your jurisdiction).
But did I tell you,all this was quite some time back..Today,however its different,its very different..Just as easily you believed its past,its present stands to be as unbelievably and beautifully true.So is the reason I have stuck pictures,real ones at that.Pictures,as it were and as it is today….So that you might somehow like to say-well,this is Amazing!
Would you be interested to know the hows and the whys of this story..
There I go again hitting the same note…The Art of Living…
Its so magically true that any reform or change has to first happen in the mind and then it actualizes into reality.So was the case with my little Kapsi.This village came to be adopted by the Art of Living Foundation and all for good.The instructors mobilized the village residents and made them undergo breathing,Yoga and employability enhancement workshops.Everybody relished the experience of Sudarshan Kriya(which is taught exclusively in the Art of Living workshops)!Well to put it in the words of Vaibhav,a resident of Kapsi, “Sudarshan Kriya was so powerful.In six days,I found something missing in me and that was my temper and I found my self belief.I
was peaceful and could work more.”
Another lady,well in her 60s, told me with an unusual glitter in her eyes, “My feet used to bleed.Nothing helped,but when I did this Art of Living,I was cured.I started smiling a lot.In our village,many babas used to come to teach us about God,but nobody healed our pains.But Art of Living changed my village and my life.Now we have water all the time,we don’t have to go out of our houses for using toilets.We have Chulhas which are smokeless.”As she went on,I could see she was utterly grateful and happy.
Almost at the risk of being called biased,I go on to say,for the first time I realized there is such an organization that has worked magic in the lives of people..You could see this magic in their smiles and in their eyes and in the utter faith they project.
Now coming back to where I was,after all the people had undergone these courses in the village,some of the youths from the village were chosen to spearhead this movement of transformation in the village,they were called Yuvacharyas.(Youth leaders)They were given special month long training that strengthened them into becoming Peace warriors.When I met these Yuvacharyas,I was dumbstruck by the amount of confidence,conviction and yet a sense of calmness,that pervaded their personalities.It was a duality which was new to me,you could be very enthusiastic and you could be as serene in your mind,at the same time.
These Yuvacharyas literally started an awakening in their village,about how they needed to stop expecting and start doing it on their own.They showed them the possibilities and empowered them with logic and love,that Kapsi belonged to them,they belonged to each other.
So to cut an already long story short,in the coming days they would be taking up huge community works and accompalishing them with great ease,Together as one village…Dams were built,as you see in the images,toilets were constructed,smokeless chulhas were installed,Chemical Free Farming(CFF) substituted chemical fertilizers and pesticide,.trees were planted like mad…Agricultural produce increased(look at the size of the cauliflowers) like a bull set free…and how this village got itself a Makeover of sorts..Now when you go there,the only thing you would wish is to stay back for just another day and another day and yet another day-Clean, Green,Happy and selfdependent Kapsi…
I just forgot to say something-Thanks Dr. Pol for giving your self to making this village the Adarsh Gram(Ideal Village)..A Village that we could only have imagined and wished for,if it were not for angels like you and the other yuvacharyas,who awakened a Village to its own Beauty and Splendour in The Masters Grace…
Friends,No matter how badly I might have tried to cut out the grandeur of my experience into right words,I guess I failed.Simply because,Certain things can only be experienced and to that extent less expressed.For those who have been to Kapsi post the changes that have come,would know what I mean and would be frantically nodding,Yes!Yes!she is right.She is right.So I thought let the pictures do a little bit of talking.
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