The night chats in Naren's home, 20 years ago. When various learnings and sharings happened in the quietest ways. And in quiet ways one changed without even realizing.The clearest memories are Naren coming home by the night bus at 10pm., after having left at 5:30am by the first bus on a padyatra of the villages for documenting temple lands, bhoodan lands and other lands available for redistribution to the poor. Day after day after day regardless of the sun, across the district. And at 10 at night, just as he retuned home, the washerman would walk in to ask for mangoes, and without a change in the smile, or a break in the step, he would go up, collect the best mangoes just harvested, and give it to him. And then go in to wash up and eat. Uma would be patiently waiting.
When I first moved to the village I moved in to live with Uma and Naren. Then Nagesh came searching for a village to live and work in as I had earlier. When we got married we moved to the harijanwada hamlet a km away. Narayana also came looking for a village in the same way. Many things fell in place
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