FB Discussions - Lives of the poor

The old lady spinning makes 30/- for a day's work. There is the poise and beauty in the face.  But 30/- cannot keep body and soul together. Dal costs 200/- kg. vegetables 40/- kg, rice 30/- kr. Rural and urban rates are the same in these globalized times.

Sridhar Lakshmanan One day they will stop selling us and do barter. I  await  that day and i hope sincerely it happens in our lifetime

Aparna Krishnan We will not allow that. The mechanisims we have put in place are too deep and well rooted. We will value our (non) services at many times their labour.

Sridhar Lakshmanan It is just a question of time. They are very smart people but compassionate. Thats what is preventing them from doing this. But i am a great believer in our insensitivity that we can provoke anybody

Aparna Krishnan How can you say that ?

Sridhar Lakshmanan I hear them talk about this at times of rage against the city folks many times

Aparna Krishnan I see. Then that rage and strategy is what we need to capitalize on. It is one of the best strategies. And that which comes from them is what will work always.

Sridhar Lakshmanan i would always leave it to them

Aparna Krishnan Only thing, day by day I see them caught deeper and deeper in the grip of a monetized economy. Medical costs were not like this 10 years ago, for instance. Though ayurveda has proved far more cost effective now in our village, and if we can root it in a few more places we can see if its a replicable alternative.

Aparna Krishnan Have the health costs in the tribal areas also spiralled out of control like in our area ?

Sridhar Lakshmanan They are fatalistic and prepared to die. They have their own medicines but once they get linked to mainstream problem starts

Aparna Krishnan Are they linked now ? And is the linking happenning faster and faster ?

Sridhar Lakshmanan It does it will. But they keep their practices secretive at least some of them. Even today many of them use only herbs their knowledge of herb is far superior to any other community. All dabur and himalaya source only through them but leave them impoverised and the forest barren sometimes