Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Springs Of Namje By Rajeev Goyal

Rajeev Goyals's easy command of the language reels you in at first. Then the real life story with its cast of characters gets through.  Rajeev Goyal, born to wealthy, immigrant, Indian parents in America is embarking on his first stint as a Peace Corps volunteer to Nepal. The first quarter of the book gives us a glimpse of the political turmoil in Nepal around 2001with the eventual abolishment of its Monarchy. Rajeev's first assignment was to teach English at the remote village of Baitadi. There he eye-witnessed the caste system in action. He was an astute observer of the general life of villagers. Goyal's stay in Baitadi was made unfeasible by the ongoing political unrest and before he had time to wonder about his role there he was pulled into another little village and its school. The village of Namje. The second quarter of the book is all about Rajeev's life in Namje and what he did immediately after getting back to the U.S. from there. He is humble about his role in Namje's water supply project and attributes all credit to the villagers. For him it is all about the valuable life lessons he was able to learn while living with them. Lessons he was able to apply to his efforts back in Capitol Hill that lead to a $60  million increase in funding for Peace Corps. The largest of its kind in the history of the organization! The third quarter is all about his efforts in this regard and the fourth quarter brings him back to Namje on a project to build a road to Namje. This time around he witnessed how progress can change a way of life and not all for the right reasons. He thinks aloud about the need to bring progress in a sustainable way that is friendly to the basic spirit of wherever it is being implemented. Rajeev had spent so much time among the people of Namje that he ends up identifying himself more as a Namje guy than anyone else. The pragmatic Tanka Sir and other cast of characters from the village comes alive in Rajeev's inspiring book.

Namje's water project is much reminiscent of the movie Swades. However according to wikipedia, this story is not one of the many inspirations for the movie. I was heartened to see that many such activities are going on this way. Very remarkable! I am hoping my son will go for a stint in the Peace Corps as he grows older. In the end Rajeev harks back on the relevance of Peace Corps in todays' world and the importance of keeping it strictly apolitical. Rajeev's ambivalence in what the development meant for the community is to be noted. It was not all roses and petals after the parched village got a steady supply of water. He surmises that instead of filling an obvious need blindly, it is better to study and offer one that is more beneficial in the long term. Sustainable and eco-friendly seems to be the keywords.

Zeus has developed an eclectic palate. He is into flowers now as you can see - barely- in the picture below! Not sure if he had a chance to look at Goyal's book in the process:-)

4 comments:

Reflections said...

Nice review, the book sounds really, really interesting Lan...am going to write it down so tht i wont forget. Agree with u, I too wd love to enroll my children in service-oriented projects where there can gain a lot more than their education in schools can give them.

lan said...

It is a good book nance. yes i agree that the benefits of conventional education is over-rated but we are all stuck with it. I hope the kids will a get a chance at something different..thanks nance!

soulsearchingdays said...

I really liked the review. Now let me go and have a look at the other books you read... take care

lan said...

Thanks ss!. See my latest update with Krishna Key from you.