Inju
Thanks to the birth of my daughter and the support from my employer, Pulse Energy, I spent quite a bit of time in my village Bhattugudem, near Bibinagar, just outside Hyderabad. I saw something that made me stop and think about the life in city vs village.
Farms were being worked on, yes, but only by the elderly.
Construction sites were full of workers from Bihar and UP.
Shops in the village? Most of them now run by Marwadis from Gujarat and Rajasthan.
And the locals?
They are gone.
Moved to the cities, like I did, in search of a better life. But in the six months I spent in my village, I started to see that maybe this move is doing more harm than good.
Let me explain why I feel this way.
The Damage We Don’t Talk About
1. Social Structures Are Disintegrating
It’s hard to build a community in the city, especially if you’re from a middle or lower middle class family.
In the village, everyone is your uncle or aunt, cousin or sister, even without being blood-related.
You know your neighbors. You share food, water, problems, and joy.
More importantly, You don’t feel alone.
In cities, it’s the opposite.
Everyone’s in a hurry.
Everyone’s behind closed doors.
And Everyone’s afraid to trust. For instance, I spent more than 6 months in my previous flat without ever interacting with the people staying upstairs. And mind you, it was an independent building. Once my wife, Spandana, joined me, I only then knew more about them. Lucky for Spandana, they were from Andhra, so language wasn’t a problem.
But I felt this hits the children the most. In the three years I stayed in my previous flat, I barely saw kids play around or ride cycles together.
Most grow up without real friends or relationships.
No one to call their own, except their parents and maybe a school friend or two.
2. No Relationship With Food
In my childhood, I knew where our milk came from.
I knew which farm gave us the veggies and fruits.
That relationship is now lost.
City kids don’t even know if the milk they drink is real.
Few years down the line, I won’t be surprised if the answer is Swiggy Instamart or Blinkit when you ask a kid where milk and veggies come from.
They just eat what they get without a thought about where it’s coming from. This would open up dangers of synthetic food being served without their knowledge because they don’t have any connection with the process of growing food.
3. Culture is Fading
In villages, festivals have a purpose.
There’s one for every season. Every harvest. Every occasion.
They aren’t just days to wear a new Kurta Saree or eat sweets.
They bring people together and remind us that we’re part of a larger community.
But when we move to cities, we carry only the big ones — Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra.
What about the others?
Most people don’t even know the names of local village rituals.
And the next generation? They may never hear about them unless we make an effort to preserve and, more importantly, participate.
Folk songs, dances, and instruments are already disappearing.
Local languages and slang are dying.
No one teaches them, and no one speaks them anymore.
We are slowly letting go of things that made us unique.
What We Think Is a Luxury Is Nothing But That
We think moving to the city is about comfort and luxury.
But the real luxuries are back in the village.
- Clean air.
- Good food.
- Simple life.
- Real people.
- Music, art, stories.
- Space to breathe and be ourselves.
The cities are uninhabitable because so many people migrate to the cities. And then we indulge in meaningless activities just to keep ourselves engaged and entertained. We left so much behind for jobs and paychecks.
We take the money cities offer, but give up the life that truly matters.
What My Father Knew, I’ve Already Forgotten
My father knew most of the village rituals.
He understood why they happened, when, and how.
He carried the stories.
I don’t.
I only remember the big ones.
And even those are becoming just another holiday to rest or travel.
If I don’t change something now, my daughter may not remember even half of what I do.
And once we forget, it’s gone forever.
So, What Can We Do?
I believe there is still hope.
But it needs concrete action.
1. Make Villages Economically Strong
The number one reason people leave villages because there is no money or livelihood.
If we can create jobs or businesses in villages, people will stay.
And some might even return.
We need to look around and ask — what can our village offer?
What is special here?
It could be:
- A type of food
- A way of farming
- A festival
- A craft
- A style of music or dance
- A natural spot
We can build something around that.
A small program. A local product. A tourist experience.
Something that gives people pride and income.
2. Start With Organic Farming
Not every village will have something unique. That’s okay.
But every village has land and people who know how to grow.
So why not start with natural farming or permaculture-based farming?
This type of farming:
- Brings people together
- Protects the soil and water
- Doesn’t depend too much on machines or chemicals
- And creates healthier food for everybody.
When done right, this can be a great model. It can generate steady income throughout the year instead of the two-time spike in the current model.
It can become a model village and conduct farm tours to interested students and people alike.
And slowly, we can create a network of villages that are alive again — socially, culturally, and economically.
Final Thoughts On City Life vs Village Life
We all left our villages for a reason.
But maybe it’s time to return with a new purpose.
Not just to live there, but to rebuild.
Not to repeat the past, but to shape the future.
I don’t have all the answers.
But I know that the way we are going now — we are losing more than we are gaining.
Maybe it’s time we paused.
And looked back.
P.S: These thoughts triggered in my mind when I met Sumesh and the team from Suyatri. Suyatri is doing some amazing work in community-led tourism. The larger aim for the group is to bring sustainability IN tourism. So that everyone from local community members all the way to the tour operator can sustainably grow the itinerary in a meaningful way. Hit me up if you’d like to join the group.
What are your thoughts on the whole city vs village life? Share it in the comments or drop me a message on Instagram.
Let me know what your village is famous for.
Few of my other thoughts that might be of interest to you.
Fountainhead: The Book That Gave Me the Courage to Follow My Soul and Mana Valley – Places I wish I visited in my 20s