Studying the Heart of India: Recounting the Rural Immersion Experience by Hardeek Shah (PGDM-C 2014-16) – MICA

What’s this brief write-up all about?

MICA has this unique ‘Rural Immersion Programme’ for us students in the second year of PGDM-C. It involves staying in a remote Indian village for at least seven days to observe and experience life in rural India from their own point of view. Along with three other friends in my research group, I went to this village called Dhanori in Navsari district of Gujarat. Though words wouldn’t justify our one-of-a-kind experience, I’m just trying to give you a taste of the juicy Kesar mangoes that Dhanori natures in abundance.

Why did we go to Dhanori village?

For all the groups who go to remote villages in different parts of India, the objective is two-fold – one is to help us prepare a communication strategy that would meet the communication needs of the village; other important objective is to identify potential marketing opportunities in the village that can be a win-win for both the village and brand(s).

We were keen to study the cultivation of mangoes in Dhanori and the life of farmers as it revolved around farming. Studying the mango business from a farmer’s perspective seemed to be an apt start to then think about terms like ‘export’ and ‘organic cultivation. Along with this goal, we also became one among the many young boys and girls in Dhanori and tried to understand their aspirations in the context they lived in. 

So how was our experience at the village?

Our experience was no less exciting than a Bollywood masala movie set up in an Indian village. Every night as we sat to write down our personal reflections on that day, the speed of our pen was nowhere near the pace at which the mind poured out its emotions. We did not have any point of contact inside the village. Every morning we would just set out, not even knowing where we would get our lunch for that day. Luckily, we’re hosted by a relatively rich farmer family for 2 days; at first it was embarrassing to ask for help, but as days went by, we had become quite shameless when it came to asking for food and shelter!

 The village was clearly divided on the basis of different castes and sub-castes. Both the rich and the poor had their own set of problems and perspectives. The mango farmer belonged to the rich and ‘higher’ caste and employed the ‘lower’ caste Majoors and paid them Rs 120-140 for a day’s labour.  The rich farmer complained about traders giving them low prices, and Majoors coming to work in a drunken state. The Majoors made pleas for a higher wage. When there was no work at farm, both the farmer and the Majoors had nothing to do throughout the day. Unemployment was rampant among the young who in turn had no aspiration for growth (as we call it). They were happy to meet at the ‘society Fadia’, watch videos on mobile, smoke in a specially designated corner, catch snakes (their definition of public service), and organize Pandals for gatherings.

The problems of the Patel community are not just restricted to caste as Hardik Patel puts it. The Patel boy does not get to marry a ‘good’ girl in the village because her parents want an NRI Patel to marry her. We did not know how to react when this was narrated to us by several 28-31 year old men.  As far as the mangoes are concerned, none of the farmers recommended organic farming or export. They considered both of it too ‘risky’, especially when mangoes were their only source of income. Yes, we did see a business opportunity in what they called risk, but this was only after we had come out of their shoes and were on our way back home. 

What did we learn?

1. Seeking help is a brilliant way to build rapport. At 2:00pm, when you have been walking under the sun for six hours and do not know where you lunch is going to come from, asking for help is not that difficult.

2. Your perspective changes 180 degrees when you see things at and from the grass-root level.

3. Imagining about ‘organic’ mango cultivation and export is easier when sitting in a MICA classroom than in a farmer’s room.