My dad sent a reporter from a popular media to a traditional village and I tagged along with them.
“Information, it’s an era where it travels in a second.” That song is pretty cool as well as “Deja Vu”. I was listening to songs from Initial D while the car was moving on mountain roads. On mountain curves, although the car was not drifting, I could feel it in my imagination. It was an amazing feeling. Eurobeat is really something.
It took about two hours and we arrived in the village. I think there are more than fifty houses in the village. To be frank, there is nothing significant here. But, one of the nine ethnic groups in the state lives here. The purpose of the reporter is to interview about the tradition and culture.
The reporter’s friend was shooting a video of a woman changing into ethnic clothing. Does it sound naughty? Well, I mean the ethnic cloth is a bit complicated and it needs to do step by step. When they were busy shooting video, I roamed around the village.
There is nothing here except for houses. Not even a single shop. I wondered what do they do for a living since there was no sign of businesses. Then, I saw a woman picking fruits from a tree on the road. I understood why there is no sign of shops. They grow various vegetables in their yard. They also raise pigs and chickens.
As a place where nature is the only resource available, they collect firewood and they even make the roof of the house themselves. Children have nothing to play with. They have to create something themselves if they want to play. They were building a small house with bamboo. Seeing them, some kind of nostalgic feeling flowed through me.
The reporter was interviewing. A woman answered, “The younger generations do not value tradition anymore. I am afraid that the tradition will be lost in the coming future. I don’t want it to happen.” Indeed, while interviewing, a neighboring house was playing EDM with a loudspeaker. When the woman was asked what aspects of the village could be improved, she replied, “If possible, I want the government to build a school and a hospital for the village and provide electricity for every house.” Then, the interview went on.
The interview finished earlier than we expected. So, we returned home. On our way back, I asked my dad, “If a state is considered underdeveloped, is it because the state does not have great infrastructures?” He replied, “Yep! As for that village, in my opinion, rather than a school and a hospital, it needs good transportation and communication first. Without good transportation, it is difficult to move the necessary materials to build buildings. Without good communication, there will be many troubles carrying the tasks.” And then, he added, “Roads are the foundation of a place.”
Paddy fields, blue sky, and gentle wind made a perfect combination. And, our trip ended.
July 3, 2020
