A recent visit to my village with family in Tamil Nadu made me reflect on the life of us urbanites, who are far removed from the calm and apparently ‘lazy’ style of our rural folks. When in the village, you almost don’t feel a part of a life which we in cities aspire for – the quietness, lack of hustle and an intrinsic urgency to get things done. The irony is that we want to get away to our roots just for a while to calm ourselves within, yet once there, we crave for the chaos, the meaningless pace and ‘comfort’ of city life.
The greenery that greeted us reminded us of the emotionless concrete jungles that greet us at every corner in our cities. Nature wanted us to embrace and carry the remnants with us back home. Yet, the mind felt bewildered at the sight of being surrounded by such serenity. We city dwellers are gripped by the fear of serenity, as we know once our flight touches down, we’ll be immediately greeted by familiar traffic, dusty roads, honking and the urgency to outdo one another to reach yet another chaotic destination. Not being in a competitive space, however meaningless, robs us of a sense of identity.
The question is whether our ruthlessness comes from our rootlessness? We are fascinated by the scenes of fields, a quiet village life, simple folks who have the time to converse with you at leisure, large dwellings, yet, when presented with an opportunity to experience those ways, we feel turbulently pulled towards the chaos we so desire to get away from.
At best, city dwellers like me who have been brought up and nurtured in gross urban settings can hope for is some connection to our roots. Villages are a reminder of the fundamental calmness that life is structured on, but due to our aspirations and conditioning, we have embraced an existence that promises much but delivers little. In contrast, village life is about contentment, based upon limited needs and a trust on God’s ways to protect and make them prosper in their own ways. Whereas cities are stretched for resources, and we pride on being resourceful, villagers seem to make do with what they have without necessarily seeking anytime soon greater facilities and leverage.
Once a city person, always a city person is the fate of many people. However, a connection to your roots will probably help temper the ruthless and achievement-oriented streak within us. A visit to your village – and we all have a rural identity – if not regularly, but once in a while, does let you drift away from the madness of urban life and let your mind roam, albeit temporarily, in calmer terrain, energising us to resume battle on the streets of city life with greater purpose, gusto and meaning.
(Hariharan Iyer is a seasoned Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Author of multiple management books. His latest release is Off Stump – Life And Management Lessons From Cricket. He is the Founder-Creator of Hariharan’s School Of Success Education (HSSE) - www.thehsse.com. He is popularly referred to as The Enter-Trainer®. He can be reached on hariharan@thehsse.com).
