Where on Earth is Gadchandur?

Back in Mumbai, in the college campus, I still find it hard to explain to people where I was, for the better part of the year, and where this entire blog's story is situated.

Gadchandur is still Gadanooor or Gadachooor for people...and some just presume that it is Gadchiroli. In fact the most common response to my speaking about being there is, 'koi naxalite dikhe?' (did you see any naxalites); as one would ask a Tiger-spotting tourist returning from the Corbett.

Well, for geographical context, the place is called Gadchandur and it is situated in the Chandrapur District of Maharashtra, part of the Vidharba region, and bordering Andhra Pradesh. This confluence of cultures is reflected in the language, mannerisms, dress and jewelry, and the food of the place. 


To reach the town (or village,depending upon perspective!), of Gadchandur, one can either spend about 21 hours in train from Mumbai to Ballarshah, the nearest rail head, in a passenger train that is nearly almost late by several hours, and follow this up with a 2 hour journey by road over a track that is more dirt and soul-shaking potholes than concrete;  OR  alternatively, one can spend about 14 hours in a train to Nagpur from Mumbai and then take a Video coach (read headache bus), for a 7 hour torturous journey over some of the worst roads in the state! 


Thus, as one may notice, getting there is half the battle won! 


The stories already on this blog, and the ones that will follow, are all situated in three 'talukas' of the Chandrapur District, i.e., Korpana, Rajura, and Jivati, where I got the opportunity to study and work across a space of 7 months. 

Gadchandur itself is within the Rajura Taluka, and is at a distance of about 3 hours from the District Headquarters at Chandrapur. 


Now that we are on the same page about the whereabouts of Gadchandur, the Scooty Diaries  shall continue......

The Gadchandur-ed Me

So, field practicum placement over, report submitted, even grade received. 


Back in the campus and in the city that never pauses, Gadchandur seems a far far distance away, another world almost. A world that feels almost like a dream one woke up from...with the edges of detail blurred and smudged a bit. 


And why not, the love and warmth, the endless cups of tea offered and consumed, the innocent, soul-baring smiles and laughter of Gadchandur cannot be in the same age and time as the constant push and pull of life, the mutual distrust of people, and the dirty looks from co-passengers in the local trains of this great metropolis. 


An eye-opener and a turning point, the time spent in and around Gadchandur, is by far, one of the most cherished and most exciting memories of my 28 years on the planet. 


Never once falling short of love or goodwill, cooperation or trust, emotion or friendliness; I was in Gadchandur, happier than I was as a rent-paying vermin in Mumbai, and that changed me forever. I think it messed with my head in ways I don't understand fully now, but that have Gadchandur-ed me in to something better, happier, and more thankful for life and all its myriad and colorful gifts that make my life unbelievably amazing!! 


A supari (betelnut) trader and tobacco products supplier who would hide his 'kharra' (chewing tobacco) packets when he saw me, for a landlord; a Maharashtrian woman, who would cook and relish rajma (kidney beans) for the Punjabi in me, for a landlady;  endless kids with runny noses and ready homework questions for the 'doctor didi' for neighbours; enthusiastic men and women who would drop off food, snacks, and sometimes even me from the bus stand, for colleagues; what a blessed time!! 

Some of the pictures (as uploaded above) manage to just take me back to some place in time that I left a part of me at.....It is difficult to say which one is more difficult..to take away Gadchandur from me or me from Gadchandur but one thing's for sure...some 'jodis' (couples) truly are made in the heavens above :)

A Gadchandur Goodbye

I asked where, they said, Gadchandur,

I stared, thinking, 'must be pretty दूर';

Cribbed all the way, cried and fought,

It was the last place, I expected to be brought;

Language, food, culture, everything was new,

Friends, movies, hanging-out, were bye-bye, I knew;

First few days were all a pain,

Kept wishing I could take the very next train;

One week went by, and then another,

Slowly things became less of a bother;  

Scooty, बैल बंडी, sometimes the walk,

Learnt the world through hearing people talk; 

The stories were crazy, sometimes insane,

Realized the world has so much pain; 

Understood public health like never before,

Found my calling, never gonna run after that crore; 

Laughed, joked, argued, sometimes shed tears,

With the women, men, children, and even the peers; 

Field-work became the reason of my being,

Forgot the wheels of time.........whirring; 

5 months, was it? Went by in a flash,

Just remember the first day, unpacking the stash; 

A cluttered room, half-stuffed still-open bags,

Behind the brain, the heart still lags; 

What to take, what to leave behind,

People, culture, smiles, and love, clogging my mind;

One more photograph clicked, another cup of tea,

Anything to keep the thought of tomorrow, away from me;

Gadchandur has become so much, a part of I, 

It feels almost unnatural to say Goodbye;

But moving on in life is a must,

For what is life, but for newer adventures, an endless lust......