This image shows how a village young woman has used the end of her sari to partially cover her face. Here a bahu grinds spices by rolling them between a round stone and a stone board. A new unused chula , the mud stove on which the women cook, is near the bahu . The chula this family is using is within the enclosure in front of the bahu . The chula is the symbol of the family, and the census of village families is based on how many chulas are in use.
Ritual purity is very important in the preparation of food.
That means women must keep the area around the family chula ritually pure. Usually it is separated from the rest of the courtyard by a low wall. In this image the wall is not there because the women are going to build a new one. To keep the area ritually clean, they have drawn a circle around the chula area. Note that the woman who is preparing the food can go within the circle, but the children do not cross that line.