So whenever I tell people that I am working out of
Koraput district of Odisha, I usually receive the following 2 reactions:
1)
OMG: how do you survive in such an
interior place?
2)
Do you meet Naxalites?
The
above 2 reactions ofcourse come after I have explained to people that Koraput
is in Odisha and not in Maharastra (mistaken for Kolhapur city).
The
irony in the above two statements/inquiries is that there are tens of thousands
of people who survive in Koraput, and no one seemed to have realised it till one
of the city dwellers travel there… and the 2nd, the sheer stupidity
of people inquiring about Naxalites. As if you expect them to wear their Naxal outfits,
shout the Red propaganda and wield their AK47s while roaming the streets… such
ridiculous questions had just stopped bothering me when I observed that there
is this third question which keeps cropping up in several discussions:
3)
Is Koraput nice? How beautiful is it?
So
like any sane person, my usual response would be, “course it is nice… infact it
is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to… it is serene, calm,
pristine and just heavenly….”
Response:
WOW, So how developed it tourism there? Why isn’t there any tourism happening?
Sadly,
I realise that more than a year back, even I would have asked the same question…
and I am yet to figure out the logical thought process behind this particular query…but
then it is a bit tragic…
Anything
good or great needs to be associated with the potential of how much money it
can make… anything beautiful needs to be commercialised and taken advantage of…
our own people, fellow citizens whom we call adivasis needs to be showcased and their “culture” needs to be part
of “rural tourism”…
Now, don’t be afraid, I am all for commercialisation, for income generation and for development. I believe in making profits out of a business opportunity and I believe that rural tourism is needed… but then I also believe in responsible commercialisation..
I am still
wondering why does everything beautiful needs to end up getting destroyed? Why
is it that our primitive Tribals need to be showcased to the world as if they
are colourful monkeys in a cage? Why our greed and desire cannot know their own
limits? Still looking for some answers…
