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- June 7, 2017
Morning Tea with the Shepherds
We are on the road at 6:30 am to meet our shepherd friends who are migrating back to their home village . This group passes close to Pune and we had promised to meet them on their journey . The rains are yet to come although it is grey and overcast . Vithal Padhalkar a wizened old shepherd is waiting for us by the side of the highway and hops into our vehicle and guides us to where the group is camped for the night. Beyond the railway tracks in a patch of open land surrounded by hills are seven shepherd families. Each household is marked by a hearth over which crouches a woman getting the morning meal ready. We sit on a felt mat near the stove of Vithal Padhalkar and his wife busies herself making tea for us .
It is peaceful and tranquil, almost as if we have stepped into a painting . A train hoots pasts on its way from Pune to Mumbai but it disturbs little. The sheep are quiet in the early morning , the horses are grazing at a distance , the dogs are asleep. Only the chicken, who have just been released are busy chasing each other . We slowly sip the tea, fragrant with spices and time for a moment stands still .
Our conversation is about the rains , the grass for the animals , impending marriages and other tidbits of information . The shepherds insist that we must visit them when they are back in their home village , when they have a roof above their heads , a floor below their feet , when civilisation and amenities are close at hand. However, getting away from the noise of the city , the clutter of urban existence , the chaos surrounding modern life, a few moments of peace shared with the shepherds and their animals over a cup of tea is a welcome break.