Rural Roots in Southern India

INDIA | Friday, 5 July 2013 | Views [1024] | View Smaller Image

“Cotton a trap”. Cotton is grown near Saraguru and it is fairly common to see trucks overloaded with large bags of cotton passing through the narrow streets. Cotton is a very labor intensive crop and one of the local men said that many parents do not want their children to continue in farming. Instead, the children are encouraged to become doctors or engineers, where they can enjoy an easier life. Partly due to this, more and more people are moving away from the rural areas to find work in those fields and farm owners are finding it increasingly harder to find labor to help run the farms.

Tags: india, cotton, bags, village, man, work, farm, rural

“Main Street”. The village of Saraguru is located in southern India and is a mix of old and new. Many people have cell phones but lack reliable electricity or plumbing and the road is shared between overloaded trucks, bicycles, and people and livestock walking. Life is simpler, but it is a welcome alternative to the fast paced hustle and bustle of city life for many.

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“Eager to share”. While wandering through the shop-lined streets in Saraguru, we stopped to ask some of the shopkeepers if we could take pictures of their colorful shops. The language barrier was overcome with gestures and smiles, and when they saw that we were interested in their shops and their work, they were more than happy to open up to us and share about their livelihoods. They proudly showed their large piles of cotton outside and then motioned for us to follow them to another building where they had a large pile of lentil-like grain, which they again proudly showcased. So much can be said sometimes without understanding a single word.

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Rural Roots in Southern India

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