Thar A Backword Territory

Thar

A Backword Territory

Zahra Khuzema

In my view , Thar is a place composed of traditions, customs, rituals, poverty, illiteracy and moreover the place is fully underdeveloped. But when i was'nt aware of it i thought it would be like a place full of castles and forts, kings and their soldiers, because i did'nt had an idea about what would Thar look like. It was a December morning when i was about to leave for Thar with my college mates, carrying alot of fantacies in mind left for Thar. It was around 12pm when we reached our destination, the time duration between Thar and Hyderabad was around 4 and half hour and the distance is 345 km. Thar is the 18th largest subcontinental desert.

When i stepped out of the bus, my all fantacies were in ruins !, i only saw desert & desert uptill my sight could reach. It was so sweltering that it was hard to say that it was december !. The dry weather and on top of that the scorching beams of sun made me wanted to go back home. As my instructor were originated from Thar so he knew everything about it, he monitored us towards a school, he wanted us to see that how students studies there in vile conditions.

After taking a long distance on foot finally we reached to a shoddy structure, inheriting just two classes, each class comprising a charpai (A cane bedsted) and so called blackboard which actually was'nt a blackboard but a part of the wall painted black. Inadequate strength of students as well as teachers. No bathrooms, proper water supply, electricity, the main assets were defficient. It was an alleged school where students were only taught to read and write their names properly. The inhabitants there were very welcoming, they did their best to satisfy and comfort us, we also had our lunch in that school, ate while sitting on the floor it was an entirely different experience of my life.

After completing our lunch we headed to meet the residents and to see the way of their living. When we touched there, it was not a house but huts where almost 5 to 6 families resided, there were a total of 3 huts, one had a charpai and a rough kind of a blanket to shield them from cold, i was stunned to see that how uncomfortable and bristly that blanket was. The next hut was a kitchen where they had a wooden stove, chakki (wheat grounder), some cooking utensils and a walled fridge that kept things cool, it was made inside the wall by digging it a bit hollow it also had a door to keep the eatables safe. We were amazed to see a fridge working without electricity.

We were surprised to see that how these people survived without the essential needs. It was time to return after capturing some unforgettable snaps, we also had brought some chocolates and toys from Hyderabad for the kids, the kids did'nt know what these things were, they started eating chocolates along with wrappers, and the toys which had a proper way to play they started throwing it at eachother not knowing how they work.

The thing which appealed me the most was the concord and amity in their lifestyle. Apart from the fact that they were illiterate and emblematic kind of people, in urban areas people have got high standards of living but have got no peace !

2013 - Un-edited

Practical work done under supervision of sir Sohail Sangi