Bissam Cutrack: At a time when the joint family system is collapsing fast due to differences of opinion among the family members and people switching over to the nuclear family system, some families under this block in Rayagada district seem to be rather reluctant to follow the trend wholeheartedly. They still swear by the old family values of living under a single roof for generations, where life is spent among their kin and love never ends. They say that family is an important support system that teaches life lessons, values and makes us better individuals.
Government advocate S Baburao’s family in this town is the first and foremost example of a closely-knit joint family in this area. The family has 40 members and he resides along with his wife, seven brothers, their wives, eight daughters, and nine sons. Three of his nine sons are married and have six children. Baburao is the head of the family. While women are responsible for taking care of the family members, the men look after the finances. At a time when people prefer a nuclear family, the members of this joint family continue to cement their relationships by sharing their lives together under one roof, setting a major familial goal.
“All our family members live under a single roof sharing each other’s happiness and sorrow. We do not have any difference of opinion or dispute and everything is decided amicably,” Baburao and his wife S Sujata said. Sujata said that all the family members give her the love and respect that she had received from her mother-in-law. The family members respect Baburao and his wife Sujata as their parents and any decision taken by them is final and binding for them, she added. Baburao’s daughter-in-law Madhusmita Patnaik said that she had learned from her school teacher that unity is the strength that has been amply proved in the case of their family. The locals also admire the bonding among the family members and hail their efforts to keep alive the joint family culture.
A local said that no one will believe how this joint family of 40 members is leading a life full of harmony until one sees them. Similarly, the family of trader V Hariprasad Gupta is another such instance. Hariparasad is the head of the 26-member family. He has eight brothers and seven sister-in-laws. They have 11 children including five daughters. All his five sisters are married. The family of G Mohan Rao having 13 members and all living in a single house is another case in this point. Mohan Rao, the family’s head, lives with his wife, four sons and two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.
