Thesathirku Thol Kodu - First-hand account by Santhakumari

Our member Santhakumari gives an account of Elango na’s speech during Thesathirku Thol Kodu

I was very much inspired by Mr.Elango Rangaswamy's speech.

He inspired one and all using the story of his life. He talked about the topics

1) How he became a Panchayat leader?

2) What were the factors which affected him?

3) Who all inspired him?

His speech was very uplifting. To put in the words of Parthi anna, Elango anna is a "Yatharthawathi" (Practical person). He is a real hero. Gandhi's dream of village development has been achieved in Kuthambakkam by Elango Anna. Each and every cell in his body talks about strengthening the panchyats (local self governance). If someone really wants to do something for this society, he/she has to start from the bottom. Without developing/working in the villages, we cannot bring the changes in India.

Kuthambakkam --- the name itself contains "Kuttram" due to liquor addiction of men. Around 95% of men in this village were addicted to alcohol. The main job of men in this village was "sarayam kaachuthal" or 'distilling illicit liquor'. Most of them regularly beat their wife and children. There is also a rigid caste system in the village. This scenario affected anna's heart very deeply. After Anna's hard work in the village, around 85% men have come out of that work.

Anna is a B.E graduate and got a good job as a scientist (He first worked in ONGC and later CSIR). He quit his job in 1993and came to the village. He contested in Panchayat election in 1996 and won. He then started planning his schemes and working towards them. Now in Kuthambakkam, each house has toilet facility, good water, roads and other basic needs for life. There is great progress on rain water harvesting also. He did not stop here. The above things were not enough for the people of the village. There had to be a constant source of family income to run their lives.

Elango anna started small economical activities in village like a rice mill (Kuthambakkam - 3 pogam nellu vilayum bhoomi. i.e. harvest takes place thrice a year), weaving, burner unit, soap unit, oil unit etc. All this generated employment especially for women who also handled heavy machines. Anna made the people develop with "dignity”. The school he started there is running smoothly. It is a middle school and teachers are very happy to work there.

Samathuvapuram - This idea was proposed by Elango anna. Mr.Karunanidhi, the then chief minister of Tamilnadu liked this concept very much and extended this idea to all of Tamilnadu. (Thesathirku Thol Kodu took place in the Samathuvapuram only).

Now his prime focus is development of students, women empowerment, solid waste management and tree plantation. He has made Kuthambakkam a model village. One of the most noticeable outcomes of his work is the Panchayat academy. It’s a training centre for Panchayat leaders, women's self help groups etc

Anna expressed some interesting thoughts about the program "Thesathirku thol kodu". The majority of participants were vibrant youth. The average of people age is around 30.

I want to tell in his words:

'Oru village or town or city nu illama Desathiku thol kodu kka nu teams vanthu irukkanga.Desam engira periya visaythukkaga work panna youth people Entha alavukku commitment oda irukka poreenga?' At what level you are ready to sacrifice? Sacrificing your job, your parents and your loved ones?

Anna told one good folk story, which we all know, but don’t introspect.

பறவைகள் சில இரை தேடச் சென்றன.
வேடன் ஒருவன் வலை விரித்துக் காத்திருந்தான்.
பறவைகளுக்கு இரைகள் தெரிந்தது, வலை தெரியவில்லை.
இரை தின்பதற்கு முயன்றப் பொழுது வலையில் சிக்கிக் கொண்டன அவை.
வலை விரிக்கிப்பட்டது விதி, மாட்டிக்கொண்டதும் விதி.

எப்படி மீண்டெழுவது? நமது நாட்டின் நிலமையும் இது தான் அன்றோ?

பறைவகளின் தலைவன் சொன்னது, "கால்கள் தானே அகப்பட்டுக் கொண்டன, சிறகுகள் இல்லையே?"

பறைவகளுக்கு தெளிவு பிறந்தது, பறந்தன், நன்றாய் வாழ்ந்தன.

நாம்?

Reg. commitment anna told one good sentence:

Vidhai(seed) entha alavukku thannai mannil pinaithu kolkiratho antha alavukku maramaga marugirathu.(The tree is as strong as the bond created by the seed with the soil) how much committed are we? On the second day of the program Anna stressed that ‘if you are working towards your goals, it’s well and good. Do not be too much concerned about the success of your efforts’.

All in all each and every minute spent with Elango anna was a liberal education on a gamut of topics ranging from grassroots development to rural empowerment. We were very fortunate to hear the first hand experiences of such a pioneer in rural governance. And it has certainly rubbed a lot of positive energy into all of us.