Scenes of daily life in the rural villages of Maharashtra

INDIA | Thursday, 4 July 2013 | Views [480] | View Smaller Image

A family joyfully plays with water to celebrate 'Holi' festival in Paud. Maharastra is currently facing the worst drought in more than four decades. Low rainfall results in hunger, shortages of drinking water and limitations for growing crops and maintaining livestock. Using water scarcely has become of crucial importance, yet an exception can be made when it comes to something as vital as their cultural practices.

Neighbours enjoy each other's company, while sitting outside one of their mud-fabricated houses in Asade village. Baibai, on the left side, has been elected as the head of her community, despite belonging to the lowest caste.

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A tribal child and her grandmother near Rawde Village. These people belong to the Katkari, a nomadic tribe also present in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Deforestation and the rapid development of urbanism have forced the Katkari to leave the forests where they traditionally lived. Nowadays, they are exploited in agricultural labour and in the construction fields, and lack proper access to health care and education, as well as to basic needs such as food, water, shelter and clothes.

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Scenes of daily life in the rural villages of Maharashtra

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