“Dehaat hai toh log chik chik karte hain [it is the village so people gossip here]”.
L’s wife, W is apprehensive at the attention this project might attract. L’s house is right at the front of a newer part of the village During our first meeting, L was in his living room busy entertaining visitors who dropped by in a steady stream while his wife, W did the dishes. She washes them using a rag and the ash left by cow dung cakes - which is used for fuel. Plastic bottles of water stood on tables and were draped with cloth to keep the water cool. Together, they have two sons and a daughter. Their youngest was applying henna to his hair and his daughter was romping around, making the best of her time off from school. We sat on plastic chairs and mats stitched together from gunny cloth. W’s older son has left home for work, and she is worried about her younger son who does not seem interested in school. She does not want him to have to resort to becoming a farmer, which is not very lucrative. She tells me, “Aap toh padh likh gaye toh gao mein naukri karke ghoom sakte hain [you are educated so you can roam around villages as part of your job]”.