When I became the member of The Social Work Society in our school, with its group I got an opportunity to visit a small village eighty kilometers away from my city.

It was Songaon. When I went there I felt as if I had come to an altogether different world. I could not believe that a village so much near to a big city like ours could be a radically different world.

I am born and brought up in a city. What one gets to see there is huge buildings, speedy vehicles running on broad roads. One always gets to hear harsh sounds. What one breath is nothing but smoke. Everywhere there is noise and pollution.

To me coming from an atmosphere like this, the sight of Songaon was a pleasant surprise. I saw there only green colour - green trees, green hills and green fields covering the earth. I saw a variety of birds and filled my ears with their twitter. I thought as if they disliked city and flocked together here in Songaon. I could feel the coolness of water running in the river. I could enjoy the cool shadow of big trees. The quiet atmosphere was heavenly.

Then we walked on small paths of red soil. We reached the village. I saw eager faces watching us curiously. They were village women and children. They were dressed very simple.

There were in Songaon in all two hundred houses. They were small and coated with cow-dung. Tamed hens were running here and there. Cows were bellowing. Men were taking their ploughs and bulls. Most of the people were farmers. Apart from them there was a Brahmin. He worshipped God on behalf of others. There were a washer man, a cobbler, a tailor, a hair dresser and a butcher. There was one grocer. All of them owned small farms and lived happily. I found a unique integrity and unity in them.

Then we took a round through the whole Songaon. There was electricity. People used water from the river and wells. There was no proper sanitation. The gutters were open and the pigs were roaming about. They created bad conditions for health. There was only one dispensary. There was only one Primary School. Children went to the nearby town for higher education. The postman visited Songaon once a day and took and delivered post Thu transport bus arrived twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. The weekly bazzar held on Tuesdays.

This picture of Songaon was a bit disappointing for me. I could not find the signs of development as seen in a city. But I came to know from the 'Sarpanch of Songaon that the Government had noticed the plight in such villages and had declared many facilities for irrigation, health and sanitation, transport, education and employment. The programmes like vaccination, adult-literacy were executed. They were quite useful to change the face of Songaon.

I thought Songaon to be a representative of many small villages in India. At the moment I made up my mind to render my social services in some village like Songaon.