Date:18/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/18/stories/2008021857000400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Living life on the move

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

Tribals from Rajasthan who are camping in Bhadrachalam eke out their livelihood by repairing and selling farm implements

Photo: G.N. Rao

All for a square meal: A migrant couple at work in Bhadrachalam. –

BHADRACHALAM: Moving from village to village is their way of life. Making metal tools – knives, sickles and swords- they eke out a living. Their earnings range from Rs. 50 to Rs. 500 a day depending on the potential of the village where they pitch their tents for the day.

They are people from the desert land. A large clan of tribes from Basooth village in Bikaner district Rajasthan arrived here. Their caravan of bullock carts and their unique life style, make them special guests of the region. Wandering in small and large groups, they make their presence felt in the villages with door-to-door marketing. They repair worn out farm implements and the tools they make are different in shape and size and enjoy good demand.

The rich and well-to-do pay them in cash. But a majority in the villages trade their goods for grains. Paddy, pulses and chilli – all are acceptable. Ram Singh, 55-year-old chief of the clan says the trip to Andhra Pradesh is much enchanting. “We are some 1,500 km from our place. We do not have anything directly to do with agriculture. There is hardly any land left with our people fit for cultivation. Ours is a place where water and grass could scarcely be found.” His son Binod who had the opportunity of little schooling in his village had to give up his formal education 10 years ago to join his father in his sojourn to the south.

Unlike all other members, he can read and write little of English and is their hope.