Beyond, a few Sabars tend to their fields. The crop is noticeably worse than in the adjoining fields, cultivated by non-Sabars. But they are learning fast. And yet again, most of the Sabars seem healthy, the men slim and wiry, the women quietly confident. In all three villages, I remember clearly the Pardhi hamlets I have visited in Maharashtra's Satara district.
Dirt surrounds their huts.
Most of the children are snot-nosed, skinny and grubby. Some are in school uniforms and show me their books. One claims to be able to read, but cannot identify words. A letter at a time, he does better, though he gets every second one wrong. More than a few of the men seem drunk.