Vinod said he'll try out a few new things and send them to Arjun by the next week for further feedback.
Arjun was fine with this too as he considered getting the style right would probably take some time, But he did not mind much as getting these college kids to use cartoonish anime style is a tough thing to do especially with no inspiration.
He suggested them to take a look at other animals and try having some pets so they could understand them deeper. He also wanted them to look into insects as well as they would play a key role in designing monsters too.
Once done with their conversation they quickly left for the village as it was already past seven and three hour journey might take longer due to the lack of lighting on the roads.
As they were travelling though Jeep got punctured mid way through. Luckily they were not far from vegetation as they could see lights in the distance.
Traveling at night was a risky thing to do especially with all the police force busy at Vijayawada controlling the faction wars most villages were left with only one or two police men whose main job was to make sure nothing unexpected happened and nobody paid much attention to roads outside the village causing local robbers and kidnappers to run rampant.
They drove there with a flat tire and started looking for a mechanic. But they were informed that the mechanic had gone out of town and would not come back till next day.
Arjun wanted to do the puncture himself like he used to in the past then he remembered it was no longer 2026 when he could just plug the hole with a screw and call it a day and had to give up on the idea.
They asked the localite who met them about any nearby hotels but in a village with less than hundred households it was a impossibility to find a hotel.
The guy took them to the Village Surpanch saying he could rent them the extra house he had for a day. When the village head Sarvesh came out and met up with them, Bhargav introduced himself as assistant for Madan which made the village head look at them in a new light.
Instead of renting a room he hosted them in his own house and even gave them fresh clothes to change into. To Arjun who had lived most of his life alone in a city this was a brand new experience. This took respect he had for villagers of this time up a notch as most of the time he had heard such stories but never really thought it would be so moving.
Had he been in such a situation he was sure he'd exploit those people instead of trying to help them causing him to reflect about his self more. Arjun was being taught a lesson about humanity more and more recently and he did not mind it a single bit.
He had a tough time integrating back into his family and perhaps there were reasons other than travelling back in time for it. He was starting to face his previous self and was almost mocking at his past and his inferiority and moral issues.
Now he was starting to regret his choice of making the union people go ahead with more ruthlessness but he felt business should be business and life should be life and that is that. If he started to go senile he felt he would not be able to reach the heights he wanted in the money world.
They had Kudumulu(corn dumplings) as their dinner. This was Arjun's first time having this local delicacy. It felt fibrous almost too fibrous but it's pairing with jaggery was out of this world. The village head's wife explained this was their regular dinner as it helped them decrease the carbo intake.
When Arjun noticed tens of bamboo baskets outside their home he asked them what was it all about. Sarvesh then mentioned his wife Vimala was a member of local Anganwadi program and helped other women in their village get employment through local manufacturing stuff like bamboo baskets and incense sticks.
When Vimala informed that almost all the women in their village earn more than men Arjun was taken aback. He had never imagined a village would be so progressive in this age.
He further enquired more details of the project, Arjun felt this was a perfect thing to implemented in their village. Their village was filled with fishermen families where men made the income and women were restricted to their households most of the time. If Madan could encourage this program, the families in the village could make more money than they were currently making while also helping the women keep busy as all they did most of the time was bicker with one another.
He initially wanted to hire them into his new factory but perhaps this was better as they would probably met with backlash in their families if they were to work in a male dominated industry or factories but being an Anganwadi worker was different.
Not only it would get them more respected in their circle, even their families wouldn't be able to question much considering the amount of campaigning the government had being doing about this issue.
He took their home number and mentioned he would call if he needed any further information or details.
Arjun dialed his home and informed them about his current situation and that he was alright and would be back by the next day afternoon. Pratap was angry with his kid but did not mention it on the phone. Arjun too understood this but there was not much he could do about it.
He was thankful Lalitha had not been with them as he could not imagine the consequences of having a woman with them in night stranded on a roadside. They had dropped her of at the bus stop in town as she still had things left to bring back from her previous house.
Both of them went to sleep in one of the spare rooms inside their house. They woke up early next day because of the unfamiliar environment and the iffy bedding as they had to sleep on mattresses on floor which they were not really used to.
Sarvesh handed them a couple of neem tree branches, this was usual way of brushing their teeth in villages when there was no brush available. Arjun quickly got his brushing and refreshments done and joined the village head to have some coffee.
When he enquired about the bedding as it seemed locally made, Vimala explained that it was their Anganwadi workers who made them which made him stare in awe at her.
He never imagined a village of less than hundred families could produce so many products. He appreciated Vimala for her efforts on women empowerment which made her stare questionably at the kid who was complimenting her. Arjun too realized he was perhaps not in the right age to commend women empowerment and focused more on his coffee as he didn't want to seem more weird than he already was.
When Bhargav returned, him and Sarvesh engaged in some political thoughts meanwhile Vimala started enquiring about Arjun's family.
When she learned that his father was a government clerk and they owned a printing press she was impressed. She further enquired about his life at school as this was the most enjoyable topic of her with kids around her neighborhood.
Arjun glossed over his daily life but did not really say much about his schooling as he himself was not really into his school life. They spoke on length about his sister, her habits and her likings and all.
What Vimala understood from this conversation was this kid who was not even eleven years old knew more about his family members than himself, perhaps it was because of his age and conditions she reasoned but felt it was important to mention it and said her observation to Arjun.
As they were busy chatting and had breakfast it was already past nine and Sarvesh informed mechanic should probably back. When they went to his shed and noticed he was not yet there they went ahead to his home and brought him to the shed to get some work done.
The mechanic was an excessively talkative person who did not shut up for a single minute from the moment they met till he was done with the puncture. It took him over forty minutes to do the simple puncture which irritated Arjun to no small extent but he zipped his mouth as they were the ones in need.