During my recent trip to Kumbakonam in South India, my wife
and I took the opportunity of visiting many rural areas around. It was one of
the most satisfying vacations that we ever had.
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| Picture of a Poster |
In this trip, my
objective was not merely to visit the temples but to learn more about
the lifestyle of people in the villages. What’s most interesting is to observe how the rural people make a living and how happy they are given the poverty in their lives. In
pursuit of my mission, I went trekking on the narrow Mangudi-Konakkarai road close to
the banks of Cauvery river. The rough clumsy road had clutters of huts lined on either
side surrounded by dense trees almost like a rain forest. The journey provided me opportunities to meet with many rural folks. They seemed very happy, merrily engaged in weaving, picking flowers, drying
coconuts and doing such mundane jobs. None complained about life. Some of the kids playing around were
wearing only their beautiful smiles. A lady was carrying several cut stems of
banana trees. I bought from her four pieces and gave her Rs.20. She declined
the Rs 20 note and said 'Please give me Rs.10 only. It is more than enough and
I do not want more.' Her words left me stunned. It reflected a code of conduct
and supreme contentment. How exactly she had inherited such a code of conduct
and contentment?
The clue came from a poster that I saw on the walls of one of
the huts (see picture). It was an announcement of the 1341st birthday of a king
called the third suvaramara muthraiyer. The local people said that they
belonged to a community called 'Muthraiyar' and were followers of the great
tradition set by a King Mutharaja, a renowned chieftain who lived sometime in
5th or 6th century A.D. This king himself was believed to be a descendant of
Kannappa Nayanar, a great devotee of Lord Shiva, who offered his own eyes to
replace the bleeding eyes on the Shivalingam (see right corner of picture). The
code of conduct set by this king included honesty, truth, and service to others.
I was told that the community living there was very peaceful, contented and the
incidence of thefts or other crimes was negligible.
Think about it! How different are our urban attitudes, and
how indifferent are the most educated people?
Having a personal code of conduct is a powerful source of
contentment to help you respond to challenging life situations. Judging by Western or Urban standards, the poor rural
folks I saw near Kumbakonam had really no reasons to be happy. Yet they were supremely happy and lived on their own terms! Is there a lesson for us to learn from them?
