Jai Singh, the town's roly-poly resident human rights activist, is already up, sitting in his sarong with a cup of sweet, milky chai, or tea. Loud strains of holy music blare from a set of powerful speakers at the nearby Hindu temple.
Drum beats fill the small courtyard.
Hindus are actually in the minority in this town, which lies about 10 km north of Ludhiana. Jai Singh displays pictures of Sikh gurus on his green living room walls, but does not observe many of the Sikh traditions, because then, he explains, he would not be able to devote himself to his human rights work. The work draws a steady current of people in crisis to his home every day, desperately looking for help. Dass is currently on the run from a brutal boss, Muktiar Singh Mehtiana. Dass immediately recruited his wife and older children to work the man's land to pay the debt.