When it comes to visiting Rajasthan, you are reminded of historic forts and fortresses, cities painted pink and blue, towns from where people buy marble, famous fairs of Pushkar and of course legends related to Prithvi Raj Chauhan. The curious ad of Fevicol where you saw more than 50 people huddled on a tempo dangerously crawling along, the saffron color and the style of turbans of occupants remind you of Rajasthan. But for me, it was something else last month.

I remember visiting Rajasthan in 1995 with a school trip when we visited various attractions like Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar, Zoo in Jaipur, and shrine of Khwaja Sharif in Ajmer. However, this time, it was different as I visited a village near Ajmer named Tilonia.

Yes, I am talking about Tata Jagriti Yatra that carried me from Delhi to Tilonia. The train sped fast during night and we reached Tilonia at around 7:00 in the morning. The PAS (Personal Announcement System) in the train announced an hour earlier that the temperature outside might be around 2 degree Celcius, which of course sent freezing vibes to all the Yatris (participants of this journey).

I remember I was sitting on my system accessing internet when I heard a sound coming from a small gathering of people at the platform—musical sound of drums, cymbals and a brass wind instrument almost similar to a Trumpet in shape but longer than that. We had reached Tilonia and villagers were welcoming us in a traditional way. There were life-size puppets welcoming us in a colorful manner. What else a troupe of youth requires? Music, morning and Masti—almost everybody jumped out of the train as it came to a halt and gathered around those musicians. Cameras came out and so did people—groups were formed and they started dancing. I remember how I also could not resist taking those cymbals from the hands of that musician and started showing my skills! It was literally exhilarating.

The procession moved towards the campus of Barefoot College, an example of social entrepreneurship where villagers work together to make the life better. The name college had a certain impression in my mind but when I entered the place, I noticed that it was more sort of a remote hamlet that houses workshops, labs, units and rooms to stay. However, the ambience and the peaceful atmosphere bound me to it. I remember how I felt a flashback in my mind: the village where I spent my childhood days resurfaced before my eyes.

The denizens of Barefoot College were smart—they knew how to speak in front of a large gathering and how to answer questions of people called “media”. It was the old campus of the college and workshop workers showcased their products and lots of Yatris bought the items.

Later we moved to the new campus where we were treated with a puppet show. Not to wonder that this was the time when we had tete-a-tete with the founder of this college—Sanjit Bunker Roy. He, in his own style, answered almost all the questions posed by the audience. The essence of this session focused on how even villagers could be roped in to work on technical projects and how native wisdom could be used to solve issues and matters.

Till now, I was not sure about what social entrepreneurship was all about. While returning back to Ajmer, where I was supposed to take leave from the Yatra, I discussed this matter with one of the organizers of this journey. He answered that social entrepreneurship has to have an economic model apart from simply being a charity organization.

So, if a company offers jobs to the society, does it make the company a social enterprise? No. Social enterprise does not simply offer jobs to people; it makes people able to take up jobs. This could include education, training, vocation courses, and exposure to technology.

Indeed, it was one-of-its-kinds experience for me to visit this place not because it was doing wonders in terms of lightening up rural life with solar energy but because it was simple. It was easy and non-confusing. It is vindicating in its spirit that rural India could also have its share in the sustenance of growth that the country is looking forward to.

Do you have an opinion on social entrepreneurship? Have you visited any such place? Share with us what you think about it.