No Transportation
M was a barber and the first room in his house was also the room where he worked: a barber shop, complete with a chair and mirror. Both his sons worked in factories; his older son was married and had two children while the younger one had not yet married. M’s family belonged to one of the ‘lower’ castes in the village and was also among the poorest. M used to carry a portable cabin around with him and set it up wherever he found customers. But because of the state’s rules against informal labour, government officials dismantled his cabin three times before he set up shop at home.
Three years ago, the house flooded during a bad bout of monsoon. Family members pointed up to show us how high the water levels had become - they pointed to a spot just below the ceiling, where we could still see a watermark. The rooms still smelled of damp. A large shelf had been built into one of the walls and was used to display family heirlooms; these kinds of shelves were common to Rajkot homes.