Anegundi: a small village at a distance of 5 kilometres from the grandiose boulder-strewn land called Hampi renowned for its eloquent architectures of which most are ruined yet astounding and recognised by UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hampi, known for the ruins and culture, is rich in architectural and natural exquisite. Here natural beauty doesn’t mean like a place with greenery, it’s a place cladded in strewn boulders. In some places, mankind crafted marvels on the stones while in the rest of the places nature itself has designed it to entice humankind. The monuments and rivers in there are in a perfect combination and one who could climb to the rock piled hills would definitely visit Hampi again and again, one thing to not to miss is the sunset and sunrise from the hilltop, of that the best is to look at the sun that slips smoothly into the rocks behind the Virupaksha temple.
As a UNESCO-recognized destination, every year lakhs of people visit Hampi. But, beyond that globally recognized place there lies a small village called Anegundi which can be reached by crossing the river Tungabhadra. I found this village while surfing on the Hampi map, the place name gave an urge to know more and internet data attracted me to go there. The place was very near and similar to Hampi but with a different vibe. It was clean, felt pristine humanity, equality, and happiness in the breeze and the greens added calmness. I walked into a street shop, one best way to know a place is from its street foods and the chaiwallah’s words.
After a few minutes chat with a chaiwallah, I decided to walk around the village. It was an eye-opener, each step through the street urged to walk more to know more, the most astonishing fact is that the small village has an area used for well-planned solid waste management! That’s not all, they had few craft workshops, a medical store, library, schools, grounds, and an open stage! Basically, everything a person can find in a city was there in Anegundi but, in its own style keeping the basic aesthetic and sanitation. Another thing about this place is, everyone was always engaged and are connected to each other, and this is a view that is scarce in cities.
There is tourism, there are arts and crafts, there is business, there are women empowerment, there is community enhancement, and still, there is sustainability, humanity, and togetherness. So there should be a group or organization that works on the ground as a part of the village with the villagers. To make such a glaring transformation in a village the backstage need to be really involved and committed and not in a conventional way like instructing others while sitting in a room and conducting ‘n’ number of conferences and meeting also the latest trend ‘webinars’, it just doesn’t work that way, to make changes in the society one has to be practical oriented and not just concept-oriented. Anegundi also has such an organization in the backstage called Kishkinda Trust.
Kishkinda Trust is an organization founded by Mrs. Shama Pawar, and have been working in this village since 1996. It was an awe-inspiring moment. A stroll through the village and conversation with Shama Pawar is the best motivation a person can ever find.
A place with open defecation, inequalities (women were not allowed to walk on the streets) to a place with a proper waste management system and empowerments entails a strong, dedicated, persistent, and passionate hand as this transformation is a process. Almost every woman in the village has a job, some work at the craft workshop while some work from home itself. The people here are taught about different arts and crafts by students from different colleges and other youth, they volunteer with Kishkinda Trust and teaches the community people about different crafts, the community produces those things in the required quantity for sale and makes an earning.
Tourism is an activity that happened to this place. It is true, we don’t have to design and develop a place for tourism we just have to develop a place to conserve the culture, heritage, livelihood, and environment. If a place is planned and developed with tourism in focus, mass tourism happens and results in unsustainable activities. As tourists are people who travel to experience different atmosphere, maintaining the authenticity of a place aesthetically attracts the right tourist. The old buildings and houses were transformed to homestay without altering the structure, this gave the guests a feeling of living in the village as part of that community, and the earning from guests went to the community people itself. Every activity in the village was done by the villagers itself rather than outsourcing.
Arts and crafts of Anegundi is yet another awe-inspiring activity, the locally available materials are considered as resources, one example is banana fiber craft, currently, they have 3 banana fiber production unit and supports the livelihood of around 200 women. These activities support the villagers to earn an independent income while creating an atmosphere to foster togetherness by working together, sharing experiences and learning from each other.
The marketing of Anegundi is by ‘word-of-mouth’ and hence they have the right tourist. The right tourists and sustainable settings are the perfect blendings for any sustainable tourism model. Although we have destinations planning for sustainable activities many of them faced adverse effects, for such destinations Anegundi’s sustainable etiquette can be a model to learn from. Also, every other place can learn from this small village which is efficiently running rural tourism in the utmost sustainable and responsible manner.
PS: This is written from my own experience and hence used no references. If interested to know further, please take a virtual-visit to Kishkinda Trust or the Confederation of Tourism Students, India (CTS2), we did an interview with Mrs. Shama Pawar and it was published in our online platform.
1 http://tktkishkinda.org/
2 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thectsindia_interviews-that-inspire-a-conversation-with-activity-6677926101408354305-2U7D
Author:
E JOSHU AJOON
ejoshuajoon@gmail.com
