The Jungle Courtyard"**A story woven from social fabric
**"The Jungle Courtyard"**
A story woven from social fabric
✍️ Presentation of Rana Culture Manjusha
Small villages nestled in the midst of dense forests, with mud houses, and people bound by their customs. This society is known for its patience and hard work, but the deep lines of poverty in their eyes often remain unsaid.
Kamala Devi's house was situated in a corner of the village. Kamala, who was now about thirty-five years old, was a hardworking woman. Her daily routine began with the sun and ended with the moon. She was the mother of four children, whose father had died of a severe fever many years ago. After her husband's death, Kamala had resolved that no matter how many difficulties come, she will try her best to feed her children and give them a better life.
Farming was the main source of income in the society, but Kamla's farm had now become barren. Like other people in the village, her family was also completely dependent on farming, but irregularity of rains, deforestation, and difficulties in reaching the market had made her small farm useless. That farm now provided only food grains, and sometimes not even that.
Kamala's children were growing up. The elder son Arjun was now thirteen years old. He had long since said goodbye to the dream of going to school. The condition of the village school was such that there was more struggle and less studies. Arjun now brought wood from the forest all day long, which Kamala tried to sell in the market. But there were many challenges in reaching the market - sometimes police restrictions, sometimes exploitation by middlemen.
Kamala's two daughters, Pinky and Sunita, were now ten and eight years old. All the household chores were now on their shoulders. Whether it was fetching water, cooking food, or taking care of their younger brother Raghu - everything was on them. Childhood had become just a dream for them. At the age when they should have been playing, they were bearing the burden of household responsibilities.
Lines of worry were always drawn on Kamla's face, but there was a hope in her heart. She was sure that her hard work would pay off one day, and her children would come out of this quagmire of poverty. Every day she would tell her daughters, "Even though our life is full of difficulties, you have to study. I will somehow arrange to send you to school."
But the poverty and ignorance prevalent in the society took a toll on her. The benefits of government schemes did not reach them, and even if any help came, it would get stuck in the hands of the village head or middlemen. Kamla knew that she would have to fight her own battle in this society.
Arjun was angry seeing his mother's condition. One day when he was returning from the forest with wood, some village boys teased him. "Will you spend your life in the forest? Or will you ever think of doing something big?" Arjun did not reply to those boys, but that night he told his mother that he would no longer work. He wanted to go to the city, where he might get better opportunities.
Kamala was shocked to hear this from her son, but she did not stop Arjun. She also felt that Arjun had grown up now and he had the right to take decisions about his life himself. But she was also afraid – life in the city is not easy. After Arjun left, the condition of the house became even more difficult. Now Kamala and her daughters had to work more.
As soon as he reached the city, Arjun realized that life here was completely different from the village. It was difficult to get work, and whatever work was available, the wages were very low. Arjun thought many times to return home, but remembering his mother's face, he stopped himself. One day he got a job of washing dishes in a small hotel. This work was very difficult, but Arjun saw a hope in it.
Kamala and Arjun's communication was now limited to letters only. Whenever Arjun wrote to his mother, his letter had only one thing in it - "Mother, I will soon do something big and take us out of this poverty." Kamala could not stop her tears after reading these letters. She was proud of her son, but her heart also broke after seeing her children in this condition.
One day Arjun wrote a letter to his mother, "Mother, I have got a promotion in the hotel. Now I work as a cook's assistant." Hearing this news, a ray of hope arose in Kamala's mind. This small change in Arjun's work could change his life. Kamala decided to prepare her farm again. She decided to bring together the women of her village so that they could grow vegetables on a small scale and sell them in the market.
Gradually awareness started increasing in the village. Kamla and other women formed a group where they started solving their problems together. Arjun's earnings also started helping a little. The children of the village had now started going to school again. The sting of poverty had still not been completely eradicated from their lives, but a wind of change had definitely started blowing.
The life of Kamala and Arjun is a story of poverty and struggle in the society, but there is also a hope in this story. This story shows that no matter how difficult the circumstances are, if there is courage and patience in the mind, then change is possible. The struggle of Kamala and Arjun is not only their own story, but the story of the entire Rana Tharu community, which is still trying to improve its life by fighting poverty every day.
Kamala still works in the fields, Arjun is trying to make a name for himself in the city, and Pinky and Sunita are now in school. The chains of poverty have not completely broken, but cracks have definitely appeared in them.
