An Unforgettable trip to Burugguputtu: May 20-May23, 2011

In our quest to understanding different cultures, Anil and I set out to spend some time with Vanavaasis of the Eastern Ghat Region in the Visakhapatnam District. 109 Kms from Vizag City, Burugguputtu is a remote Tribal Hamlet set amongst rolling meadows and a mountainous backdrop.

Vanavaasi Kalyan Aashram organized this trip for us and we are indebted to Sudhakar Ji, Vanavaasi Kalyan Aashram Eastern AP Pramukh who took time off his punishing schedule to accompany us for a day at the tribal Hamlet.

Vanavaasi Kalyaan Seva Kendra is an Organization rendering a yeoman service to our not to privileged brethren dwelling in the forests.

The Mission of the Organization was simple – to let our Vanvaasi Brethern feel one amongst us and contribute to the cause of Nation Building. What Anil and I were going to be doing was to spend some time at the tribal hamlets, mingle with them, understand their aspirations in life and hear them speak about their perspectives about a lot of things – Governance, Education, Healthcare, the threat of Christian Missionaries and so on.

We’d arrived at Vizag on Thursday (20th May) and met Sudhakar ji in the afternoon. Sudhakar Ji is one of those folks with whom you connect almost instantly. In no time did we feel that SudhakarJi was a familiar person and we were talking on range of subjects – Politics, Nationalism, RSS, Tribal Welfare, Life of an Average Vanvaasi and so on. Sudhakar Ji was eloquent and his surefootedness was inspiring.

We woke up to a wet Friday morning. We had plans to start by 9AM so that we could reach Paderu by lunch time. We had to delay our program by a couple of hours, owing to rains.

Nevertheless, We started at 1130 hours after the rains had subsided. Overnight Rains had changed the landscape into a lush, green kaleidoscope that was a treat to the eyes. We soaked up those sights with our camera.