13 May,2011 08:38 AM IST | | Tushar Joshi
Priyanka goes green with a vengeance. While learning of village life, revisits a farm activity, spends time in pitch dark and distributes lanterns
As a part of a green initiative she's associated with, Priyanka Chopra paid a visit to Manawas, a remote village in Rajasthan.
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She wanted to follow up on the distribution of solar lanterns in villages that don't have access to electricity.
Apart from surveying the progress she also interacted with the village folk and spent a day, living as they did. Here are excerpts from our chat after her return..
How was the experience of living in a village?
It was a huge learning experience. We seem to be so comfortable in our own everyday lives that we forget what hardships such a large part of our country faces.... No light, no electricity, water shortages etc. It's amazing that in spite of having to deal with all this, they were so warm and welcoming. It was a great experience to talk to the kids, the ladies of the various households, the sarpanch, etc, and get a perspective on their lives.
We heard you milked a buffalo. How did that go?
Yes, I had tried my hand at it a long long time ago. It was not as easy as the villagers made it seem. I was most afraid of hurting the buffalo. I managed to collect a little bit of milk but it was not proportionate to the effort and time! I have a lot more to learn about the art of milking buffalos!
Share with us some eye opening experience that will stay with you forever...
One of the most poignant memories was standing in the village in pitch dark and actually understanding that this was their everyday life. If it weren't for the solar lanterns that they received from the folks at Greenathon, they would have no light at all. I saw firsthand how a lantern had improved their lives in so many ways. From studying to delivering a baby, they could now do these with more ease and not have to deal with the fumes and heat generated by the kerosene lamps that they used before. I was glad that the solar lanterns were able to bring a perceptible difference to their lives.
When do you plan to visit the villages again?
The team and I are charting out plans to visit more such villages over the course of the year and I am looking forward to it.
Have you spoken to any other celeb friend of yours to join the initiative?
I did last year and was overwhelmed by the immediate support and generous pledges that each one of them made to the cause. I plan to reach out to them this year as well for the third edition of the NDTV Greenathon, which takes place on June 4 and 5.
