🍈 When Jackfruits Are Hollowed: A Story of Education, Development, and Forgotten Roots
There’s a strange equation I’ve been trying to solve lately.
More Education = More Migration = More Empty Villages = More Stress = Less Soul.
At first glance, it looks like a faulty hypothesis. But the data isn’t from any lab or textbook—it’s from my lived experience, from the dusty village lanes I once knew as vibrant, and from the eyes of old folks still waiting on their porches for sons and daughters who never return.
🍃 Once Upon a Village, Not So Long Ago
Two decades ago, my village breathed like a living organism. It had a heartbeat.
Ration shops had long queues of people, not because of scarcity, but because of a social rhythm—a routine of life. The small tea stalls echoed with laughter and debates. The narrow paths were worn out by the feet of farmers, mothers, children, and dreamers. The evenings weren't just dark—they were golden with stories, shared meals, and meaning.
Now? Those same shops are shuttered. Windows are closed. Silence hums louder than bees. The jackfruit, once bursting with life, is eaten from within, leaving only the husk.
What kind of education did we receive that led us here?
🧠 Education or Extraction?
Let’s talk in science—because sometimes, emotions aren’t enough to shake people.
In biology, there's a term: “parasitism.” One organism benefits, the other suffers.
That’s what I see today. Education, for many, has become a tool of extraction. We "succeed" by absorbing resources from our rural lands—knowledge, values, nature’s rhythm—and then transplant ourselves into a concrete habitat with no soil.
Like parasites, we take the fruit, leave the tree.
And then, from those air-conditioned homes and sedan cars, we flaunt our “success.” Our ancestors would call this Chhyo-lok, a word that carries the weight of spiritual disconnection.
📉 Real Development or Rural Desertion?
Development is a beautiful word. But somewhere along the line, its definition was hijacked.
We were taught that development looks like cities glowing at night from satellite images. But no one shows the rural areas fading into darkness—literally and metaphorically.
- Number of functioning local shops = High
- Number of community festivals = Many
- Children running barefoot = Normal
- Bond among villagers = Strong
Today?
- GDP goes up
- Mental health goes down
- Homes grow taller
- Relationships grow weaker
What are we calculating? Where’s the formula for fulfillment?
🧪 The Chemical Breakdown of Connection
In chemistry, everything breaks down eventually. But with love and care, bonds can be preserved.
The bond between a person and their roots is like covalent bonding—strong, equal, essential.
What I’m witnessing is not education’s fault. It's the misuse of education.
True education isn't meant to uproot us from our villages. It's meant to empower us to nurture them. It's not about escaping poverty by abandoning the poor. It’s about returning with tools and ideas to fix the broken.
📡 Technological Progress, Emotional Regression
We’re in an age of AI, 5G, and metaverses. We have smart homes and dumb priorities.
We teach machines to recognize faces, yet we forget our grandparents' faces. We’re so connected online that we’ve forgotten the value of being present. Villages don’t need Wi-Fi as much as they need We-feeling—a term I wish existed in every dictionary.
🧭 What’s Missing? (And What’s Next?)
- People buy what they want, but still want more.
- They leave home to find success, but lose the meaning of home.
The reason? Disconnection. Disconnection from:
- Our roots
- Our soil
- Our stories
- Our own conscience
It’s ironic—we teach children the importance of values but grow up valuing only importance.
💬 So I Ask You…
- Is real education only for urban dwellers?
- Is development only meaningful in metros?
- Is a nation truly progressing if its villages are regressing?
And when you drive past your old village in that shiny car of yours, do you feel pride—or a haunting hollowness?
🌱 A New Equation
Real Education = Self + Society + Soil + Soul
Return. Reconnect. Reimagine.
Let’s make our villages not a memory of the past, but a vision for the future. Not ghost towns of abandoned promise, but gardens of growth and gratitude.
You see, the purpose of education isn’t just to make a living.
It’s to make a life worth living.
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