Kutch, Gujarat

Hamer Kaka's Granddaughter

Kutch, the largest district of Gujarat, in India has distinct geographical features, to the north it meets the Sind desert and to the south it connects with the Raan and the Gulf of Kutch. 51% of its land is covered by desert, in absence of perennial water sources, the saline desert soil is unable to retain sufficient amount of moisture, leaving the region arid and unproductive. There is a short rainy season when the plains become flooded but most of the year with a searing heat of up to 50 degrees the marshes are turned into relentless salt flats. This region is also earthquake prone.

Despite its relative isolation in geographic terms, Kutch has been a centre for trade from different parts of the world with its ports used as major centres of sea-trade. Trade and commerce also brought people from different parts to Kutch through the land routes as well. As a significant confluence point for different races and people, the roots of the communities settled here can be traced back to regions of Rajasthan, Saurashtra and, on the other side, Sindh and beyond to Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Many tolerant, pluralist cultural, ethnic and spiritual traditions have emerged from this. Many of these have endured and flourish even today amidst the diverse communities, many of whom form distinct endogamous groups while following same faiths or religious allegiances. A common thread running through the different communities here has been that common cultural practices and art forms have been shared by all groups in various social gatherings and community celebrations. Kutch therefore remains a treasure trove for lessons on pluralism.

In the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake, I – fund project aimed to diffuse divisiveness and strengthen traditions within the community. The project focused on helping these communities better understand and cope with changes taking place around them while maintaining their traditional strengths of pluralism.

Some thoughts on Pluralism from Diana L. Eck at http://www.pluralism.org/pluralism/what_is_pluralism.php:

First, pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity. Diversity can and has meant the creation of religious ghettoes with little traffic between or among them. Today, religious diversity is a given, but pluralism is not a given; it is an achievement. Mere diversity without real encounter and relationship will yield increasing tensions in our societies.

Second, pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. Tolerance is a necessary public virtue, but it does not require Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and ardent secularists to know anything about one another. Tolerance is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity. It does nothing to remove our ignorance of one another, and leaves in place the stereotype, the half-truth, the fears that underlie old patterns of division and violence. In the world in which we live today, our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly.

Third, pluralism is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments. The new paradigm of pluralism does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind, for pluralism is the encounter of commitments. It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another.

Fourth, pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences. Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table — with one’s commitments.

Sleepy heads at the Khamir Craft Resource Centre.

KHAMIR stands for Kachchh Heritage, Arts and Craft, Music and Integrated Resources and was initiated in partnership by Kachchh Nav Nirman Abhiyan (KNNA) and the Nehru Foundation for Development (NFD) to support the local craft movement.

Chirala, Andhra Pradesh

At a weavers house in Chirala.

A finished saree

In love.

As i walk along.

Udaipur.

Udaipur

This has been my view for the last one week. Udaipur was founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh II following the final sacking of Chittorgarh by the Mughal emperor Akbar.

South Rajasthan, being a predominantly tribal, hilly and drought-prone region witness’s heavy out-migration both within the state and to the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The history of migration from this area dates back to colonial times but the massive scale of seasonal migration has been of recent origin. Whereas earlier migration was primarily for the agriculture purposes, now the migration is for diverse works.

North Gujarat has emerged as major centre for cultivation of its seeds primilarly due to the access of cheap labour from the neighboring tribal pockets of South Rajasthan. A glaring reality about cotton cultivation here is that it employs a high percentage of child labour. Most of the workers in these farms are adolescents between 10 – 18 years of age. The conditions under which they live are unsafe (sleeping open, in makeshift shelters and on the farms even during the rainy season) and exploitative. Children are made to work long hours (upto 12) and are paid less than market and official minimum wages. They are also exposed to poisonous pesticides used in high quantities in cottonseed cultivation and are often trafficked as migrants from other places.

The project we visited addressed the livelihood issues of tribal migrant workers from Rajasthan into Gujarat by setting up resource and support centres at source and destination points. These resource centers provide a range of services – information, legal aid, human resource assessment and training – for migrant seasonal wage workers.

The Jagdish Temple in the heart of the city, is an Indo-Aryan Temple was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651.

Jaipur and Alwar

Studying the Alphabet

Kathak class

Bikaner.

The city.

This beautiful desert town has a intricate maze of red sandstone havelis. Founded in 1488 by Rao Bika, a descendent of Jodha, the founder of Jodhpur. The old city is surrounded by a high concrete wall was an important staging post on the great caravan trade routes.

Towards Pugal.

We were there to visit women embroiderers in Pugal town and surrounding villages of Bikaner district. The organization we were visiting plays the role of a facilitator to enable women to access services and undertake the work of enterprise promotion.

The landscape.

Waiting for the women to meet us.

This desert area of western Rajasthan (bordering Pakistan) is well known for women with embroidery skills who came across from Pakistan during the two wars with India (1965 and 1971). Due to poor land quality and uncertain rainfall agriculture does not offer stability and therefore women’s work in embroidery can assume significance for poverty alleviation if markets can be accessed and entrepreneurship encouraged.

The light shines through.

the lady with the earrings.

The ground beneath her feet

Under the clear blue sky…

A simple connection..dinesh patel with his friends.

In the courtyard.

Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho

This temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Dating from around AD 930 to 950 it has a full part floor plan and four subsidiary shrines.

Lakshmana Temple

Around the temple are two bands of sculpture instead of the usual three.

Inside the temple.

The Eastern group of temples.

Varaha temple

Bundelkhand

Chhatarpur

Chhatarpur is named after the Bundela Rajput leader Chhatrasal and is located on the far north-east border of Madhya Pradesh (MP).  Geographically it is the central part of India covering some part of MP and some of Uttar Pradesh (UP). We were visiting an organization here that is working to establish a farmers haat (haat is traditionally referred to as a local weekly market), that is owned and operated by a farmers’ cooperative – a Producers’ Company.

Manpura

The agricultural situation in India is ironic. Today, when the agri-business sector is seeing the entry of a number of corporates due to the growing population and its new-found interest in purchasing from supermarkets instead of the neighbourhood stores, the agri business sector is booming. Yet, the farmers continue to be in distress. A Situation of Farmers study undertaken by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) of the Government of India indicates that forty percent of farmers, given a choice wish to get out of agriculture.

A simple explanation for this is that the structure of agricultural markets as they exist today involves a number of intermediaries and therefore, the producers share in the consumer rupee is negligible. Furthermore, it is only when the commodity is processed and branded that value addition occurs. Since in the Indian context the farmer disposes off his produce in unprocessed form, there is no plough back of surpluses from value addition to the farmer. As the farmer exits from the scene after transacting in the primary market, he has no part in the surpluses that emerge post production.

Farmer cutting betel leaves

Providing opportunities to enhance the livelihoods of these small farmers and producers is therefore a unique challenge. One that requires both capital and external knowledge to enhance production and increase linkages with the outside market. In 2002, the concept of Producer Companies (PC) was introduced as an answer to these challenges. A PC is a company that is of the farmers, by the farmers and for the farmers, financially facilitated by the government, but managed by professionals, leaving farmers to farm and on-farm activities. The Government of Madhya Pradesh under District Poverty Initiatives Programme (DPIP) has promoted a large number of Producer Companies in various parts of the state.

Farmer taking his produce to sell at the local market.

This place was in stark contrast to our previous visit in Maharashtra. Most women we met were in Ghoonghat; a type of veil or headscarf worn by Indian women to cover their head. Generally an end of the sari is pulled over her head.

In Manpura.

to the post office.

to the post office

Sent some letters back home today. This is the way to the post office from my work.

Murbad.

Last week we visited an organization working with tribal communities of the Katkari, Thakur, Dalits, Kunbis and destitute Koli women in Thane district in Maharashtra. The organization has been engaged with the local community (specifically mobilizing them, providing legal aid and fighting cases) and the government since 1985 to implement land reform legislation including land redistribution programmes and regularization of forest encroachments. It has gradually moved on to addressing other issues including literacy, healthcare and employment.

Inside the train

Kalyan ST Stand

The weather all along the way was beautiful. We arrived at the Kalyan ST stand at 8:15 a.m. to make our way to Murbad. On reaching there one of the first things I indulged in was Vada Pav and tea.

Small taste of heaven

Vada pav is a vegetarian dish from Maharashtra. It consists of a potato ball(made from a mix of green chilies, ginger, mustard seeds and turmeric added to a mash of boiled potatoes) which is deep fried in a batter of gram flour and then sandwiched between two slices of a pav (bread or bun).

Lunch box.

Someone’s lunch box was lying next to us.

Murbad amongst the clouds

A majority of the tribal communities here are landless, even though they have lived  for many generations on this land and depend completely on  it  for their survival. Agriculture being subsistence supports only partial food needs of families for not more than 5-6 months in a year. With widespread deforestation forest produce like fruits, roots, wood for firewood, medicinal plants etc that are integral to the survival of these tribals have been reducing in their availability.

Into the village.

Agriculture in India is a state subject and the though the Government of Maharashtra has progressive land reform legislation aimed at equitable distribution of land and regularization of forest land encroachments, they remain largely on paper, at least in tribal areas. With organizations working to organize these tribals and pressurizing the government to implement various legislations some successes in receiving ownership and leases or grants of lands by the tribals have been achieved. Still, the map making, demarcation and actual physical transfer of these land has not taken place in many cases.

the fields

Where there is possession of lands, there is not enough production to fulfill the needs of the tribal communities. Problems are faced due to inadequate water levels, uneven lands, inappropriate bunding and defective seeds or the increase of pests. Inspite of owning land, they have to migrate in search of employment or remain bonded to the big land holders because they don’t have the investment necessary for measuring, map making, leveling and bunding of these lands. Agriculture here, therefore, seems to be unproductive and uneconomical activity to the small and marginal cultivates, with small land owners either selling their land or letting them lie barren.

The project that we went to see is trying to improve the sustainable productivity of land, water and forest resources through a combination of land terracing, soil and moisture conservation efforts, use of local seed varieties, organic methods of cultivation and farm-diversity approaches of horticulture and inter-cropping.

the rice fields

through the field.

Rice is such an important part of the diet in this community. In the night, for dinner we were served roti’s and papadum’s made of rice. The roti’s were amazing – light, white and fluffy. It was too dark to take a photograph and I thought taking one would also ruin the moment. We were all seated on the floor, laughing, chatting, in the quiet of the night.

kitchen garden

The project also helped women start up kitchen garden’s. This photograph is in the kitchen garden of one of the tribal women who is holding her beautiful grand daughter. Later she also served us some lemongrass tea. Of course the lemongrass was from this garden.

walking along

This was home for a while – to experience the empowerment of a group of people who are dispossessed of land, fighting to regain their right and successfully make decisions regarding their land.