More on Raju’s village:

It’s 7:08pm. The power’s been off for at least half an hour. The kids are in bed, thrilled by the latern (LED) at their door and not heeding bedtime sleeping instructions. I will steal this dark and quiet moment to write as long as the computer’s battery lasts!

I think the pictures tell a lot of the story, but we’ve had some good follow-up conversations with Raju after visiting his village. It’s a smaller one, about 60 homes. A little over half of the homes have motorcycles, which are used only at night and for emergencies. Most folks take the bus which comes every 2 hours 6 times a day. There is a primary school (through grade 5) in the village and then children take a bus to another town about 10 km away if they continue their studies.
The meal that was prepared for the function Sunday fed the entire village; 25 kg chicken (55 lbs) and 20kg (44 lbs) mutton were cooked! Raju purchased all of the food, with the bill totaling about $500. I think this amount might have also included all the preparations for the funeral , too, but the meat alone was several hundred dollars.

It was fun to see Raju in action; he and his brother are leaders in the village. In addition to tending the mango trees and masonry work, Raju’s brother cares for the village water tank (pictured), roads, and other maintenance. Raju confirmed that his job as a driver means he has the best salary in the village ($170/month, paid by the company Target has contracted, Deeksha Travels). I inquired if many people ask him for money and he said yes, smiling. When people don’t have enough food to eat, they come to his house for a meal.

Most men in the village work in agriculture and as day laborers, earning as little as $1 a day. Most women tend to the cows (Hindus), children and homes. Many “gents”, as they say here, have been to the city and/or work there. Women and children, on the other hand, rarely if ever leave the village. I think that’s why our visit caused so much commotion--“first foreigner peoples”, in Raju’s words.
Despite its simplicity, Raju’s home and village seemed clean, well-maintained and in good health. He said 10 years back things were much worse but there’s been a gradual improvement due to a variety of factors.

Raju rents a house in the city ($60/mo.) and I asked if he prefers city or village life. He likes living in the city, but also enjoys visiting his village. His wife and daughter will join him in the city now that his father has passed on (they were caring for him). I asked what Raju’s wife thought of our visit and his reply was cryptic, “She is not thinking, madam. She has no thoughts, no knowledge.” The conversation was interrupted at this point and I haven’t been able to clarify what he meant.