A typical Indian village
Naresh’s grandparents live in village of Karnataka. The name of the village is Kondajji which is in Harihar taluk of Davanagere District.
There is no railway station at Kondajji. So when Naresh wants to visit is grandparents he has travel by bus or train from Hubli to Bangalore. He gets off the train at Davanagere which is about 13 km from the roadside village of Kondajji, on the Davanagere –Kondajji –Kurubarahalli road. The bus to Kondajji runs every one hours from Davanagere and back. A bus also runs in the opposite direction from Kondajji to another industrial town, Harihar, about 15 km away. The bus service to this town, too, runs once in two hours. There is no bus-stand in this village. The buses stop at a circle where the two main roads meet.
This village is 530 km above sea level. It enjoys as easy approach by virtue of its location. It has a flat land terrain with wet and dry lands on either side of the road. Paddy, sugarcane and ragi are the main crops grown in the area. The cash crops are sugarcane and sunflower seeds. Jowar is also grown in this area. A tank provided water for the wet crops.
The average rainfall in this area is 89 cm per year. The village gets the monsoon rain from July to October. The monthly rainfall and daily temperature vary from one season to the other. It has a modern climate throughout the year with temperatures raging from 32 degree cilices to about 29 degree cilices.
There is a luxuriant growth of trees around the village. Hone, mango, neem and tamarind trees are scattered here and there. The green crops add beauty to the landscape.
But rather sadly the trees outside the village are being cut down for firewood at an alarming rate.
It is evident that Kondajji is essentially a residential village. There are about 2,500 Kannada –speaking people living there. Of them about 660 people can read and write. Thus nearly two-thirds of the population is illiterate. There is one government higher primary Boy’s school in the village. The people are predominantly Hindu. There are only three Muslims households here. Nearly half the people are engaged in cultivating their own lands and Naresh’s grandfather is one of these. Other earns their wages by working on other people farms. There are about eleven families only who are engaged in business like shop –keeping.
Every family has an average of six month members and most of the people live in their own hoses. The rest live in rented houses. Most of the houses are built of sun-dried bricks or mud, with mud flooring. The roofs are made of thatch or tiles. The houses are mostly single –roomed with no separate kitchen. No household has proper drainage facilities. The houses suffer from leaky roofs, improper light and ventilation. They do not have even proper latrines or sanitation. During the rainy seasons the storm water stagnates in pools and breeds mosquitoes.
Nearly half the number of families in this village own cattle. There are over 1000 cattle in the village. The cow re used for milk and the bulls used for plugging or pulling of carts. There is only one veterinary centre to look after all these animals.
There are only two dispensaries for all the people in the village. Emergency cases have to be taken to Davanagere or Harihar.
The polluted air from the Harihar poly fibers factory sometimes blows past this village causing a bad smell.
People of all ages need recreation or entertainment of some sort or the other. But in the Kondajji village there are no parks or playing grounds. The only recreation available is at the circle where the buses stop. There are four hotels and three old temples here. But there are no other places of worship. There is one co-operative society run by the village itself one youth club which is in dilapidated condition.
Water is one of the prime essentials for human habitation. Wells are the chief sources of water in the villages. There are five wells and four bore wells. 15 km south of Kondajji runs the river Tungabhadra, while the two grassy hills to the north are noted for their scenic beauty. The Bharat Scouts and Guides have their camp site here. A large tank lies between these two hills. The water is used by the villagers to irrigate their fields. The fisheries department also has their nursery and office there. A motor boat plies across the tank from hill to another.
Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.