From City to Village: A Childhood Journey Through Simplicity

My upbringing was a peculiar mix of city and country. I lived in Dhaka until my early years and went to school there, from playgroup to kindergarten. The clamor of the city, the classroom with my friends, the warmth of my mother’s love — it all belonged to me. But then things changed and my family moved to a village. And thus, a new chapter in my life began.

When I first moved to the village, I was a bit dazed. It was a huge shift from the already elephant-sized, concrete jungle of Dhaka to a small, sparsely-populated village where the roads were made of mud and there was nothing but small fields and sky in every direction. Initially, I was a little uneasy, but I quickly adjusted to the rural living environment.

I have been living in the village since childhood. Life in the village every morning was another dream. It was a mesmerizing atmosphere, the sound of birds, the calm wind, green fields. In addition to school, my mother and I began raising livestock and poultry. We had ducks, chickens, goats and cows around our house and each became a part of our family.

My mother was my closest ally in this effort. My job when I got home from school was to help her care for the animals — feeding them, cleaning their shelters and making sure they were well taken care of. My mother always gave special attention to each animal and I learned a lot from her during this period. The animals freely roaming around our yard every day gave me a sense of peace as if I was in a different world.

As such, this was not a fun way to live in a Village but, rather, it taught me to be more in touch with nature. Basic things like feeding the animals turned into a huge learning curve. By caring for these cows and goats and chickens, I learned what it took to balance time and effort to take care of animals to keep them healthy and happy. With these lessons, my mother entered the realm of basics.

While I pursued schooling, my reason for valuing education changed when I relocated to the village. The realization that nature had something much to offer hit me. Life lessons from flora, fauna, and agriculture were far beyond books, and when I combined that information with my mother’s discussions regarding nature and animal care, they turned out to be long and informative. Hitting a little bit of a rough patch adjusting to community life at first, but ultimately settling into the clean air and pacified mindset. Nature, animals and the family ties never let go of me. Eventually, I became a full convert to rural life and came to love all the small things that accompanied it.

These days, i live in a village and going through each and every moment i spend there, have learned a lot from this place, the people who taught me such normal things we ignore but they were special and these moments would be cherished forever. You know, my mother, the animals, the village context—all of these things made my life. I feel lucky to have experienced what I did during those years as it taught me many life lessons, and I will always appreciate the small, simple life I had in the village.