Diary of an entrepreneur

Our friend Satyan Mishra, the dynamic entrepreneur behind our investee Drishtee, sent us this email sharing some of his experiences, frustrations and joy of working in rural India.

Village diary

Monsoon mornings in any part of India are as beautiful as it gets. Perhaps it is the smell of wet earth which refreshes or the sight of the cloud-laden sky. Being driven on such a morning into the countryside of North Bihar is an experience worth sharing. More so as the past and future run alongside as two lanes on the same road; one on which we are driving and the other one, broader and more promising, being laid fresh. But wait ! Before I get philosophical about development, let me tell you that I am headed to our project village in Madhubani, for the second time in the same week. That is where the Pollution Control Board has suddenly decided to make a visit and inspect the site where we are putting up a state-of-the-art bamboo gasifier plant to produce 25 kw electricity to bring to life the aspirations of the community. Bihar’s first rural business process outsourcing (BPO) facility has been set up in the heart of the village to allow young people to work and compete with their urban counterparts. Ten village youth have so far found employment, and there is scope for many more if the pilot succeeds. Jobs inside the villages would result in reverse migration and the growth of the market within the community, helping to revive a dying economy.

Here I go again talking of development and future, while the present seems to be hidden under the dark monsoon clouds. Why has a safe electricity-producing technology (manufactured at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore) with low emissions levels and fancy acoustic enclosures, in the back of a village where the average income of a family is less than US $1 a day, found sudden notice of the Pollution Control Board of an otherwise sleepy state?  To answer that question, let’s take a step back a week in time.

I returned from a trip abroad to receive a “Section 144″ notice from the district authorities of Madhubani, stating that I could not visit my home or the site of the BPO and gasifier because there is a threat of riot with my implicit involvement. In that sleepy village where I have tried hard to shake people from their deep intoxicated slumber on the issues of development, self reliance and social values, what could have happened so suddenly to threaten peace? I had two options: The first was to stay in my air-conditioned office and send my lawyer and a senior Head Office team to represent me in the court of Sub Divisional Magistrate at Madhubani. The other option was to carry my half-unpacked luggage to the village to oversee things myself. The latter option was more tempting to the entrepreneur in me though it meant the defying the notice I’d been served. I was in front of the District Magistrate the next evening to see a group of villagers gathered in front of the office, to show their support for the project in general and towards me in particular. During the previous 24 anxious hours, I learned the entire story of how one family of bureaucrats had turned the story of unadulterated village development into a juicy family soap opera. Our next-door, non-resident neighbours in the village, the undeclared “first family” of the village, had made their routine yearly week-long tour of the village in my absence - and in their unlimited wisdom had declared the renewable, tested, certified and perhaps the best gasifier technology in the world as dangerous and a health hazard, comparing it to the famous Union Carbide factory in Bhopal that caused innumerable deaths. Since many villagers were not knowledgeable about that incident, the rumours also included possibilities of earthquakes and ‘hot volcanic kind eruption’ from the small gasifier. The usually entertainment-scarce villagers were in awe of the nefarious yet benign-looking equipment, but the general reaction was somewhere between fear and excitement for the gasifier, which still had yet to start. The final touches to the acoustic enclosure were to be provided before the Section 144 was slapped.

At the scheduled time of the meeting, the District Magistrate called us for explanation of the problem, which he already knew in detail. Within minutes, he admitted slackness on part of concerned officials and agreed to withdraw the notice. The admission of the mistake and clarity of his assurance was either due to his honesty, which was reflected in his eyes, or to the large group of villagers peeping from outside, who believed more in development and less in the earthquake story. Victory of sorts meant that work had to resume soon by the engineers from Delhi who had mercifully agreed to wait till the drama was over.

The news-hungry media have invaded every corner of the country and Madhubani is no exception. They caught on to the story, and the weekend was spent between men, media and machinery. I left the village for Delhi with mixed feelings about the possibility of replicating such projects in the State, as the pilot was proving to be a huge drain in terms of resource and personal energy. I was greeted at Patna with another bombshell: The Pollution Control Board - at the behest of a complaint filed by the patriarch of the “first family” in the village - had swung into action against the symbol of development (which had not yet started) to prove its own credentials. The Board has anywhere between 10,000 to 100,000 such generators (mostly operating on diesel or kerosene, which are non-renewable sources) within its jurisdiction. A normal complaint for the fortunate can take in excess of a month to be looked into. But to move within 2-3 days of a complaint requires some strong push. By this time, it was clear to me that the path to development in the state of Bihar needs much more than a change in Government. It is the attitude of people that has to change. The individuality and selfishness of the rich and powerful has reached levels of obscenity leading to strong resentment within the poor. It is not hard to believe why the Naxal ideology is finding deep roots in the existing system. While the State talks of attracting NRI (non-resident Indian) investment, it is a mere pawn in the hands of a very small group of people who use the machinery to settle personal scores.

It is difficult to remain upbeat always in the face of such frustrations. While such a small spirited effort acquires painfully slow momentum, there is a strong and harsh force ready to nip it at its bud. The Zamindaars might have shifted their base from the village to the cities but the Zamindari continuous remotely, virtually in various forms. Such thoughts are nauseating in this country where time is in short supply. We need to do things quickly to save us from an impending disaster, maybe a civil war, which is clearly visible on the horizon.

Talking of horizon, the monsoon morning is still in its rich spendour. The sun has taken a day off it seems. The air still smells of wet earth. I need to breathe deep to come out of the dark thoughts and look up ahead to counter another challange. What could the Pollution Control Board inspection team look into a technology certified by the best in the world….is the thought as I enter my beautiful village where development is knocking on the doors from inside. Is there anyone listening …….. Please open up.

Satyan Mishra
Founder, Drishtee