ROOTS by VISHALA REDDY VUYYALA

It took almost 25 years for me to know what real luxury was. After travelling to exotic destinations, having stayed in most luxurious hotels, I understood the power of our roots.

I turned my head upon hearing this voice and saw a young boy with a chai tray in his hands. I said, ‘no thank you’ (as I gave up on tea & coffee with sugar). After a while, the guy turned up again and my friend Sridhar took two cups & passed one cup to me. Seeing me hesitating to drink it, he insisted… have it, it’s “Jaggery Chai”!

It was a gathering of riders, runners for the Pinkathon run promotion in Hyderabad. I overheard people discussing Milind Soman, Former India Super Model, Bollywood Actor, Producer & Brand Ambassador of Pinkathon & his lifestyle. I was amused to know, being such a big celebrity, how he chose to live a very simple lifestyle, running barefoot, eating jaggery, (bellam) and simple vegetables and fruits.

On my way back home, I started thinking of bellam, barefoot & their connection with my life!

Being born in the farming family, we used to live with very limited resources, and it was never a complaint. Few things my father used to buy for our home were like Soaps, Refined Sugar, Tea/Coffee powder and a few other things which we were not producing on our farms. My mother used to make the best use of all that comes from our farm. (as best as making our own coconut oil out of our own coconuts. And I was the obvious ambassador of that ‘vuyyala’ mark coconut oil due to my hair texture.

Whenever I see jaggery chai being served to me I use to roll on the floor and cry as if I am going to die if I drink it.

I was fine with everything except Jaggery chai (again, our own jaggery from our own sugar cane). Whenever I see jaggery chai being served to me I use to roll on the floor and cry as if I am going to die if I drink it. This scene used to end either by getting beaten badly or some neighbor walks into my house with sugar. However, this protest was much ‘silent’ when my elder brother was at home. I also had a problem if my mother offered ‘jaggery chai’ to relatives and guests. To avoid all this, my father used to buy excess sugar. He used to wake up before my mother to make that ‘special chai/coffee’ with refined sugar only for me so that there won’t be ruckus anymore.

And the other problem (minor though) was with a lunch box with byrodlu (red rice) that grows with rainwater. It used to taste very good but for me the looks mattered the most. Most of the days, I use to bring the lunch box back without having it. My mother used to make me eat it for dinner. To add on to the drama, I used to mix the rice with milk, salt and whatever was available just to threaten her that I would die eating this ‘fusion’ food. She used to reply ‘if the cow can survive eating all this, you can too… you will only grow healthy’

The story continued until I started going to college. By then our family started selling sugar cane directly to the factories. So, no more issues with Bellam.

I strongly feel whatever I am today is because of my roots. This energy, the excitement, focus, passion and compassion are from that deep root upbringing.

Walking, running and cycling barefoot was not as big a problem as jaggery chai. The feel of walking in the fields (especially after rain) was beautiful and it cannot be explained and only needs to be experienced. My sister-in-law used to make the best use of my cycle to carry vegetables and grass for the cattle etc. Sometimes, I used to ask them to sit in the front just to showcase my cycling skills on a single gear bike riding barefoot. I Gave up all this after I joined college. No barefoot anymore!

It took almost 25 years for me to know what real luxury was. After travelling to exotic destinations, having stayed in most luxurious hotels, I understood the power of our roots. Now it took a pandemic for all of us to realize how unsustainable and complicated we made our lives. We forgot our nutritional diversity, dietary diversity, producing poison,eating poison and we are only seeing the results now. It is nothing but our own self-made mistake.

I strongly feel whatever I am today is because of my roots. This energy, the excitement, focus, passion and compassion are from that deep root upbringing. The food, the air, the fields, the cattle and the people everything played a role in it. Whenever I feel ‘shortage of any of the above’, I go to the fields for ‘refilling’. If I share any success or achievement, it’s not because I have ‘done it’… it is because I value it and I know what it means!

Thanks to all the people who are trying to make this world better, who are working towards a better planet.

Vishala Reddy Vuyyala, is a social entrepreneur, tourism marketing professional and an activist. She is FOUNDER OF MILLETS BANK. Lives and work from Hyderabad.

Email: vishala@identcity.com