Awakening the Alternate

"Buddha doesn't refer to a person, but a state of mind which we all are innately equipped with. Buddha means awakening..."

~ Rinzin Dorjee,
Writer & scholar, Dehradun.

Vikalp Sangam is a platform for groups and individuals working on alternatives to the currently dominant model of development and governance, in various spheres of life. Its major activity is the convening of regional and thematic Confluences across India to facilitate networking of these groups.

The briefing note on the ideologies of this Alternates Confluence read much like a theoretical module from my University degree! We were hosted at Prakriti Sadhana Kendra, Vidya Bhawan. Barely 15 km from the city, the Ashram is cocooned in the dry forests of the Aravallis. The crisp, cold air of Rajasthan was radically different from the lush, tropical Goa.

Ninety or so social activists, healers, herbalists, teachers, trainers, farmers, khojis, feminists, social media entrepreneurs, daily wage labourers, alternate media practitioners, professors, un-schoolers, intellectuals, documentary film makers, and environmentalists snuggled together in cozy, warm dormitories. We’d wake up before the sun, to heated discussions conducted in quiet whispers, amongst the early risers. They’d usually be arguing about ‘corporatization’ of social activism, or the reality of feminism in people’s movements. The trick to bathing was to have the courage to throw the first mug of cold water on oneself. Start with the toes. Remind yourself Rajasthan is drought prone. Stop shivering by doing all of the above by 6am, to be in time for the steaming herbal tea. Our lungs were thankful the ashram rules that prohibited smoking, especially whenever we were forced to catch short breaks climbing the uneven rocks.

We spent the last three days of November, in the sun-shadowed grove of the ‘Bamboo Cathedral’. Lost in fascination, as people told stories of the Sangam. Long-drawn discussions on the Alternatives Framework, many easy conversations on Sangams gone by… Most of the people there were already living lives I’d only imagined as distant dreams. Evenings were spent warming my toes by the bonfire, as Vijay Bhai told us tales of how the Chipko Andolan radically changed the articulation around environmental conservation. Abha, of Jagori, shared a story of some women she’d interviewed for a film. The women had been arrested for their participation in protests against felling of forests. The women had told Abha all about how the Himalayan forests feel like home to them, that every time they forage, they return with gifts the forest bestows upon them…to be arrested was initially a terrifying experience…once they went to jail, they realised the value of the time they now had available, away from family chores and duties! They were given soap, and clean clothes, and now could indulge in scrubbing their hard heels, cracked and blackened by walking in the forests or fields. John D’Souza and Bablu Ganguly told ribald tales of how they studied Marxist theory and mobilized communities around agitations in their youth. Sometimes Shankar, of Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan, sang songs from the time MKSS was demanding the Right to Information, and often, Ashish, co-founder of Kalpavriksh would gently remind us which birds were adding to our tunes.

Shivering under the stars, as I listened to these stories of these amazing people, I wondered about this savage duality presented by this senseless world, this crisis of capitalist consumerism, destructive development. The people who have embraced the values of social justice and environmental conservation are struggling to engage the masses. The masses are currently enthralled by the idea of a giant statue in the sea. The most gigantic statue you can think of. It will be the biggest, best statue ever.

Here were people using farming, nomadism, gift economy and appreciative enquiry to explore alternate strategies, influence political ideologies, people and policies. And there, people prefer giant statues to sustainable development.

***

Note: You can read Rinzin's original post here.