Village by the Sea

‘The Village by the Sea’ is a wonderful book which contains a lot to learn from. Since the industrial revolution swept the world, people have forgotten their roots. They have forgotten how their ancestors lived in a place where the only sort of excitement they would receive was spending time with their families and friends. As the people sit inside their air conditioned home, people have to go bathe in the river and oceans. Anita Desai has beautifully captured the essence of how a family lives in a village driven by poverty.
One thing that I have learnt is to never stop learning. In the book, Hari thinks that he does not have anything to do in the village as his father sold their fishing boat and cow. He also mentioned after the factory comes up in Thul, all their land will be taken away and there will be no fishing or farming left to do. Mr.Panwallah tells Hari that he can find work anywhere as long as he can use his hands and is willing to learn, change and grow. I have learnt to always have a desire for learning more as the world is constantly changing and nothing remains the same. One has to keep up with the changing world by learning more, growing as an individual and changing for the better. A person must learn as much as he can when he is young because that is the time when a human being can learn easily and memorise what he/she has learnt. What we have learnt today might not be useful in the future, so we must constantly upgrade our skills and our knowledge to keep up with the changing world.
The book also brings forward that money is not everything. I have learnt that there is nothing more important than one’s family, not even money. Money can just by materialistic happiness, it cannot care for people and it cannot support a person when he/she is facing difficulties. A family can care for each other and also support a person when he/she is facing difficulties or is ill. In the book, Hari’s father stops drinking toddy as he was worried about his wife’s