The 'WADI' culture. perfect example of local self government>

hello all,
each village in india has a gram panchayat. ( the village's governing council, following the Panchayat raj concept given to India by mahatma Gandhi.)

in the kokan region of maharashtra where i practice each village is divided into small hamlets of around 20 to 30 houses, known as a WADI, all under the aegis of the gram panshayat.

if u peep into their social structure , you will find the concept of Local self government exmplified beautifully>

here are a few examples:

1) a marriage is decided by the consent of all the elders of the wadi. the whole wadi celebrates the marriage and acts as an event management body. there are no caterers, no pandal contractors, no halls or marriage palaces booked! the marriage is solemnised in the courtyard of the brides house. each house hold in the wadi is given a specified duty.
for example: if one group is looking after decoration, the other is looking after cooking the food, while another group is busy arranging accomodation for the guests ( which is done in the different houses of the wadi itself ).

it is a social obligation that every house hold HAS to follow. if any house hold does not do so, they are declared out cast.

marriages within the WADI are discouraged

the best thing: compulsory HIV and HBSAG ( hepatitis B) testing is imposed on the bride and groom befor marriage. The tests are conducted in the local government hospital.

2) nearly each members owns some farm land, which is traditionally cultivated to grow rice in the monsoons. all the work is done in a group.

a time table is made, and accordingly one member from each house is selected. the whole team goes to one farm and finishes the work in one day. next day its someone anothers farm, so on and so forth!

3) one to two members from each house work in mumbai or pune. its compulsory for atleast one outstation member to be present for major festivals like Ganpati, Holi etc, as these are celebrated within the WADI as a group, apart from individual celebrations. again there are strict work protocols and timetables to be followed and targets to be achieved.

4) most of the times the disputes are settled in the monthly WADI meeting. the decision of the council of elders is binding, and the erring party is asked to pay a fine which goes to the WADI developement fund, thru which monet is spent for things like festivals, get to gethers and necessary public works.

i have seen this working for the last 6 years.

recently, in the wake of the swine flu epidemics, all the WADIS in all the villages of the DAPOLI tehsil have met and decided on the following:

1) relatives, family members coming from outside dapoli, will not be allowed to come home if they have symptoms, and they will be subjected to quarantine and testing at the government hospital

2) all hotels, resorts and individual tourist businesses ( there are many, as dapoli is a fast developing tourist spot), will be kept absolutely closed till the 30th of august.

allthis has been decided without the authorities asking to do so. it has been a spontaneous decision.

hats offf!!!

see you soon