Viewing Tribal Life of Jharkhand through the lens of 54th Shodh Yatra

Photo copyright © Satyabrata Maiti

Disclaimer: This blog is not to talk about the three NGOs’ contribution in the Shodh Yatra which, one can get from their websites. It is only to let the people know about how is the life in our villages and more so in the tribal villages of Jharkhand and , their cultures. Make your own opening on the basis of photos that I shall be providing in the blog.  The photos are mainly on people, landscape, felicitation of grass root innovators, biodiversity and culture.

I was attending a workshop on TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) on Agriculture organized by the CSIR in CSIR-Central Leather Research in Institute  during  January, 2026. Dr. Viswajanani, Head, TKDL gave me information on Shodh Yatra and its activities which is regularly organized by Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta of IIM-A through his three NGOs namely Honey bee, Gyan and Shrishti. She also motivated me to join the forthcoming Shodh Yatra to be held during   6-Feb -2026 to 12-Feb -2026  in Jharkhand. Man is curious by nature and I am not an exception. Hence, I filled the registration form using the link shared by Dr. Viswajanani. Within in a day or two, I got the confirmation and also a writeup about the does and do nots of the Shodh Yatra.

I booked my air ticket to reach Ranchi. I reached Ahmedabad airport and travelled to Ranchi airport with Prof. Anil K. Gupta of Indian Institute of Manangment-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). At Ranchi airport another friend of Prof. Gupta, Prof. Abhiraman joined with us who was travelling from USA-Chennai-Ranchi. Prof. Abhiraman came on time at 7:00 pm and we three went to a Home stay fixed by Prof. Gupta at about 7:45 pm. After reaching the home stay and checking in our rooms, we had our dinner in a nearby modest pure vegetarian hotel and retired to our respective rooms by 9:00 pm.

Before starting the journey let me say a few words about the event:

What Is Shodh Yatra

Shodh Yatra is a journey in search of knowledge, creativity and innovations at grassroot levels. It is an attempt by SRISTI (NGO) in collaboration with Gian (NGO) and Honey bee (NGO) to reach out to the remotest part of the country with a belief that necessity is the mother of invention; hardship and challenges of natural surroundings are the prime motivators of creativity and innovations. Shodh Yatra aims at bringing such innovations and traditional knowledge into the limelight  that would not only simplify the lives of men and women under the limited resources they live but  also provide remarkable contributions towards the conservation of bio-diversity per se.

OBJECTIVES OF SHODH YATRA

1. Learning from Farmers’ experience
2. Encouraging the curiosity of the children
3. Felicitating people who are the torch bearers of grassroot innovations in any field of life.
4. Compiling and disseminating  the fast feed-out knowledge by establishing a bridge between the old and new generations

February 6, 2026 (Day 1)

After breakfast we three started our journey to reach our starting point AURAPAT of Shodh Yatra at 10:00 am by the car sent by Mr Chetan, Co-ordinator.  I started humming a song of Kabiguri Rabindranath Tagore “আমাদের যাত্রা হলো শুরু , এখন ও গো  কর্ণধার , তোমারে করি নমস্কার I  এখন বাতাস উঠুক তুফান উঠুক  ফিরবো নাকো  আর I  (Our journey has begun, now be the leader, I greet you. Now,  let the wind rise, let the storm rise, we will not return, no matter what-so-ever.)

We reached the destination after a brief break for lunch in a Haat (Local weekly market) and for some photography at about 3:30 pm. There was a meeting organized with the villagers at 4:15 pm. It went about an hour.  Stay arrangement was in a primary school where three rooms were available,  two for male and one for female  participants to be slept on floor. We were altogether 40 participants out of which 7 were females. Interestingly, the group comprised of 4 senior citizens of age  between 65 and 78 years to young students including 13-PGDM students and Ph.D. students of age 16 to 25 years; by profession, there were practicing organic farmers; professors; academicians, agricultural research manager, local artists, business professionals, journalists, etc.

In the evening there was an introduction cum briefing meeting. The objectives of the 54^th Shodh yatra was explained by Prof Gupta and logistic details were expressed by Chetan. Thereafter a few teams were created for day to day activities. Obviously, I opted for photography, Shivam and Prakhar were the two other members in our team. After the briefing session, we went to bed in our bed-rolls distributed in the two rooms.  However, it was a nightmare for me since one of the participants who was sleeping next to next to me was snoring like a tiger’s roaring. (may be victim of obstructive sleep apnea). The person between us left the room at one point of time since he also could not sleep. And I remained awake till 3:00 am and thereafter, I went outside and started walking in the moonlight. I could also see the dawn and sunrise to be photographed.

February 7, 2026 (Day 2)

We left the place at about 7:00 am for the place named UDNI  Panchayet Bhawan where our breakfast was arranged. We reached the place between  8:30 to 9:00 am and our breakfast was prepared by the Gram Shava members. Breakfast was simple, yet local form of Idli and plain dosha made of finger millet and local rice. I also interacted with some local primary students who were going for picnic and could feel their vibrating energy for group activities. Prof. Gupta felicitated one teacher from ASUR (a primitive tribe) who was engaged in preparing a dictionary of local dialect. While discussion with the members of Gram Sabha, Prof. Gupta set the tone of the discussion for the next seven days to be followed  in our Gram Sabha meetings which were mainly on product diversification; utilization of discarded fruit (Mango, Jack-fruit, Jamun, etc) waste  material  in health and  as an additional source of income; importance of schooling and how to give additional support to dropouts; health benefits of  local seasonal forest based vegetables; importance of using cast iron utensils for cooking and how it helps in correcting anaemia in women; preserving local artifacts and selling as gift material; preparation of pesticides with the locally available poisonous plants,   etc.  The same issues would be  dealt in all the seven villages also and the knowledge would be spread among the villagers.

We left the place and moved for KUTLU village and from there went to JAIRAGI  Panchayat Bhawan  where we had our lunch served in locally made bowl- plate  (called DONA)  prepared from Sal tree leaves (Shorea robusta). Rice, dal and sabji were served in the bowl and one would get the mixed taste of various items rather than the individual taste.  It reminded me the alms bowl (Pali patta; Sanksrit patra) which is one of the simplest but most important objects in the daily lives of Buddhist monks.  After food we left for RAJAWAL Gram Sabha where ORAON tribal dance was performed. Our night stay was also arranged in a school, where three class rooms were given for us to night stay. I could  not take the risk of sleeping   in the same room with my previous night’s partner and went outside, below the staircases  and put my bed roll to get my sleep that I could not enjoy last night. It was a chilly night in that open place; even then I could get a sound sleep, may be due to last night’s exhaustion.  I could find a dog also sleeping beside me when I got up at 4:00 am. He was also enjoying the warmth of my bedroll.

Walked on 7-Feb-2026: 27.93 km

February 8, 2026 (Day 3)

We left  by 7:00 am and reached BHAGITOLI where our breakfast was arranged.  After breakfast with local preparations, we had our Gram Sabha to discuss about their problems and also our solutions, if any. We also felicitated some of the extraordinary individuals who were keeping their culture alive with their knowledge.

We did similar Gram Sabhas in in Majhgaon Tanginath, Bandhua, Dumri, Mandharia and Rata silly villages. We had our lunch in Bandhuwa  folowed by moved to SANKHSARDHI Gram Shabha for meeting. We moved further to  Rata Silli village for our night stay.  To our surprise  a grand welcome was organized in our honour.   We reached the village late but could found that the entire village was waiting on road for our arrival. With welcome songs and band they took us to the venue. It was really a grand reception with their traditional custom of receiving the guest by washing our hands and legs (padya and arghya) followed by patting with dry towels. They also arranged an exhibition of agricultural tools they use; various artifacts they prepare and about 50 various food dishes    sourced from their cultivation and forest biodiversity. They served the same food to all the participants in dinner. I missed the test since now-a-days I stopped taking food after sunset.  We also felicitated a 110+ aged women in the village along with nearly 40 persons for their excellent work..

Our night stay was like in a grand hotel since one newly built hospital was in our possession. Myself and Prof Abhiraman got a room. I slept like a dead wood and got up at 4:00 am.

Walked on 8-Feb-2026: 34.82 km

February 9, 2026 (Day 4)

We left Rata Silli after breakfast   for Tetertolly village for meeting. After having breakfast again with some new local grains and finger millet. We had some kind of sweet porridge (Paysam) made out of some small local grains. It was my first experience of having such a taste. I am a well-travelled man in India yet I missed this item which reminded me again and again “ বিপুলা এই  পৃথিবীর কত টুকু জানি “ meaning  How much do I know about this vast world? With this feeling I moved   to   Jarda/Bandotolly  followed by Hariharpur Gram Sabha. After the meeting with the Hariharpur villagers we had our lunch and thereafter moved to BHIKAMPUR Gram Sabha followed by Jari Gram Sabha which was the village of Paramvir Albert Ekka who sacrificed his life in India-Pak war in 1971. It was already late hence we had Gram Sabha with the villagers and went to residence of the Lady Gram Panchayat where food and stay arrangements were made.  There were two half constructed rooms which were given to the male members and the women participants were accommodated in their house.

Walked on 9-Feb-2026: 20.91 km

February 10, 2026 (Day 5)

As usual I got up at 4:00 am and everybody in the room was sleeping. This space of course gave me enough time to get ready for the day. I went outside and enjoyed the coolness of the weather. We left the place  by 7:30 am  to Zari Gram Sabha, again to pay homage to Paramvir Albert Ekka by visiting his statue and   also to the ‘cemetery’.

After paying floral respect in both the places, we started our journey to Srinagar village where our breakfast was waiting for us. Breakfast, to be mentioned,  was great with local grains and also some kind of Kheer with local grains. We all enjoyed the breakfast in Sal leaf  plates. Our next destination was Chainpur Gram Sabha. We hand our lunch in the same Gram Shabha  and after meeting with the villagers. We moved to Duhudar-gaon through a beautiful scenic track of river and forest. We also cross a sub-divisional place where schools were available. We spent some time in the school interacting  with the children.  At Duhadur-gaon, we had meeting first with the villagers and thereafter had our simple lunch; rice, dal and a vegetable in Sal leaf plate. We moved to next village Jaipur/Tilbar and from there Malam panchayat. It was late evening,  yet  villagers were waiting for us. We had our meeting first and then retired for the day after having modest dinner. We were accommodated in three rooms of Gram Sabha meeting hall.

Walked on 10-Feb-2026: 30.34 km

February 11, 2026 (Day 6)

As usual we left the Malam panchayat by 7:30 am. I was told that today we might had to walk more distance than the previous days. We reached  Ratu Gamoriya village  for  breakfast and after it was over, we moved to Tigawal Gram Sabha where we had our meeting and after that we moved to Lalganj Gram Sabha for another meeting and Hara/Tin nagar for meeting. Our lunch was arranged in DATRA (Bendora Panchayat Bhawan). We had meeting first.  Baton of discussion was passed to young people to participate in the village discussion. Some of them did extremely well in placing the information convincingly. After lunch we left for  Chattarpur/Bodora which was a long route. We passed through some of the very prosperous villages. It was noticeable that wherever water was available, farmers were using it for varieties of vegetable crops, cash crop, etc.  We also encountered an accident in the late evening while walking in the dark. Prof. Gupta got hit by a motor cycle and got his left hand dislocated. He was sent to the nearest hospital and from there transferred to Ranchi in the night. With this shock we walked further 10-15 km to reach TEEN TANGAR Gram Sabha  followed by BENDORA Panchayat Bhawan where our night stay was also arranged. We first had our meeting and thereafter dinner was served. There was only one big meeting room available for all the male members and one small room for the ladies for night stay.

Walked on 11-Feb-2026: 33.08 km 

Welcoming the Shodh Yatris

February 12, 2026 (Day 7)

We approached the lag end of the yatra and our day started leisurely since many participants would return to their respective places from there. It was decided that those who would be going to Ranchi may join Chetan for the briefing meeting arranged with Collector’s office at Gumla. Closing ceremony of the yatra started with sharing of expression of learning by various participants followed by certificate distribution by Chetan and Prof. Abhiraman and a group photo was taken. Thereafter we had a north Indian breakfast with puri and potato curry followed by tea.

We left for Gumla at about 10:30 am and reached the collector’s office by 11:30 am and there was some felicitation was also organised. After the ceremonial ending, we had our lunch and left the office by 2:00 pm. I shared a taxi with Prof. Abiraman and Chetan. We had  good tea in a Sadarji’s dhaba on the way and reached Ranchi via Gomla (about 140 km) by 4:00 pm. The taxi dropped me in the same home stay where I had been on the first day.

February 13, 2026 (Day 8)

Whole day I spent with one of my juniors who came from Hazaribagh to meet me. He took me to Patratu Valley where we spent time and had our lunch after that he dropped me in Ranchi airport at 4:30 pm. I reached Anand by train  at 00:15 hrs via Ahmedabad and went to bed with a dream to be followed “ এই সব মুড় ম্লান মুখে দিতে হবে ভাষা , এই সব  শান্ত শুস্ক ভগ্ন বুকে ভরিয়া তুলিতে হবে আশা “ Meaning:  Language must be given to these  pale faces, hope must be filled into these quiet, dry, broken hearts.

My Learning from the Yatra

1. Development and Destruction must be balanced. We need basic facilities in a village such as roads, light, potable water, schools, primary health care, etc. But we do not blindly adopt western culture through mobile, including their food habits like piza, noodles, ready to serve foods ignoring the local season-wise verities of food which contribute a lot of nutritional diversity in our diet.  Commercialization is also a means of destruction of local biodiversity. Therefore, advice must be given with measured consequences.
2. I could find that tribals are still maintaining their culture but I am afraid that brain-washing by social media would soon spoil their mind until unless a constant information is percolated down about the use and abuse of internet mobile viewing.
3. It was heartening to note that some of the local boys are giving free tuition to drop out school children, but they need some support which can easily be organized by crowd funding.
4. For developing business with local produce we need to help them to develop a collection chain in the villages, like marketing of jamun seed powder preparation. And a primary processing unit with solar drier, decorticator, grinder,   branding facility, etc will be provided as common facility in the village.
5. There is a need to scientifically identify the name of plants referred in local names.
6. Claim for treatment of snake bite needs to be looked into a greater prospective. EIGHTY percent of snakes are non-poisonous.  THEREFORE, if one is treating 10 patients, he may get 80% success without any treatment and gets name and fame.
7. Most of the panchayats are very sensitive and also receptive to education, hence a little hand-holding may yield profusely.
8. These people enjoy the biodiversity of the forest and assessment of resources available in their command should define the prospect of successful entrepreneur development in the village.
9. Small artifacts of tribal culture can commercially be sold as souvenir articles in various e-commerce digital platforms. SHG can be created for this purpose and fair trade practices may be introduced.
10. Primary health can be addressed well by local resources and with little hand-hold training.

Jai Bharat!

Satyabrata Maiti

Acknowledgement

1. Dr, Viswajananni, Head, TKDL, CSIR for igniting my desire to take up this journey;
2. Anil K. Gupta, IIM-A and Mr. Chetan Patel for including me in 54^th Shodh Yatra group.
3. Prof. Abhiraman for freely sharing his wisdom and experience during the course of my journey.
4. The young vibrating bunch of youths with whom I walked the path, discussed many things and learned from their perspectives. Their caring attitude towards me throughout the journey was also to be acknowledged.
5. I thank one and all participants including drivers who made our journey pleasurable by their care, love and helping-hands.
6. Dr. Geetha for going through the manuscript and suggesting many useful changes which brought the clarity of thoughts.