Dhanu's Village and Dussehra Celebrations

Dhanu's Village and the Dussehra Celebrations

• Relatives come to Dhanu's house to celebrate Dussehra.
• Celebrations include festivities and food preparation (e.g., puranpoli and kadi).
• Dhanu's family, including his mother, mother's brother's wife, and father's brother's wife, play key roles in the celebrations.
• Evening mood shift, and people start packing to prepare for the next phase of work for the coming months.

Loan and Work Arrangements

• Villagers meet the mukadam, an agent who lends money.
• The mukadam explains the loan details, and future work arrangements.
• Villagers will travel to other areas for work for the next six months, to earn money and pay back their debts.
• The mukadam also provides some financial support for the trip and expenses.
• This annual preparation and journey pattern is well established within the community.

Work and Farming

• The busy work seasons are limited and there are times of non-farming work.
• People borrow money from the mukadam during the time without work.
• The farmers rely on work and income from the sugarcane fields as there is no other source of farming during the rainy season.
• The need for work and income leads to traveling to many places for the season of work.
• Many families travel out of the village for six months seeking work, during which there could be challenges for the family left behind who are old, ill, or cannot work.
• School is interrupted during this time of work leaving school behind.
• The women and children are also involved in the sugarcane preparation.

Other Important Aspects

• Dhanu's concern about his grandmother and other ill/old family members' care.
• Dhanu's desire to continue his education despite the family's traveling.
• The roles of women and children in the community.
• Discussions on the importance of education and the challenges faced by children who have temporary living arrangement.
• Teacher's Notes: The importance of addressing concerns about borrowing money, debt, and agents is stressed.
• Importance of discussions concerning borrowing money, debts among villagers and agents, and examples from daily life.
• Discussion of important farming topics such as various irrigation methods (e.g., tubewells, canals, by wheel etc), for sugarcane farming during the rainy season.
• Note: There is focus on the potential difficulties and issues that might arise from travel and the need for temporary childcare and adjustments, in the case of families needing to leave children behind.