Discussion at the corner and masculinity

[Shahrukh Atpade]

In the evening, everyone was sitting together on the village square (katta). At this time, most villagers finish their remaining daily tasks, such as delivering milk to the dairy, and then sit together to relax. I joined one such group of elderly men and began a conversation.

At first, they shared some memories from their lives about themselves, their village, and their youth. They said that during their time, there were no modern tools or media available in the village, yet people lived happily and with great contentment.

They shared a beautiful experience: in those days, farming was quite challenging, but everyone helped each other in the fields without expecting any payment. Initially, only men would go, but later, women also began to participate. This created a sense of closeness and mutual care among people. They would talk and interact daily, which strengthened their relationships. Now, things have changed people have started measuring everything in terms of money.

During the conversation, I asked them about manhood. They said, Being a man is not easy the whole world knows that but no one has ever had the courage to talk about it openly. Now that we are old, we wish someone would talk to us, listen to us. But in the end, we only end up talking to people of our own age. We wish the younger generation our children and the youth in the village would talk with us.

They further added, Being male or female is something created by nature. Until people truly understand this in their hearts, these differences will continue. The good qualities in men often have to be proven because society has rarely looked at men positively. The world has always seen men as oppressors, arrogant, or troublesome. But people have never really listened to men or tried to understand their feelings. Now, the time for change has come. We are old now and cannot do much, but the younger generation must learn to express their emotions and feelings openly.

AER (After Experience Reflection)
It felt really good to talk today. We usually sit on the katta and discuss things about the village or our homes, but today’s topic was completely different. My heart felt lighter it was truly a joyful experience.