Home 22
Bidar, Karnataka
V’s house was inside a compound with six other houses. All families living in the compound were devotees of Shiva, and lived near a temple. V built the house ten years ago and still had some debt left over from his expenses. V, his wife and one of his daughters worked as coolies carrying luggage, and leave home very early for work. They had two cows which provided them with extra milk which they sold to the local milk cooperative, and an acre of land on which they grew lentils and wheat. V and his wife also took orders for food to supplement their income.
Their children attended the local government-run school. One member of their family, L, suffers from migraines, but except for her there were no chronic health issues in the family.