I went to Kadamakudy in search of birds, but I returned without taking a single picture of a bird. Instead, all I took was pictures of people! When I reached there early in the morning, they were trickling one by one. Soon it turned into a colourful crowd. I watched them navigating the narrow tracks, painting colours across the fields like a flowing stream.
They were a group of MNREGS workers. I followed them till noon, talking and listening to their stories, and of course, taking hundreds of pictures too.
Most of them are elderly women in the twilight of their lives, carrying many sorrows inside. Those who don’t have money to buy medicine, those who want to support a bedridden husband, and those who dream of renovating a leaky house. There are also those who wish to contribute something towards their grandchild’s school fees, or who wish they could just relax after all the torments in life. But amidst the cacophony, they seemed to enjoy their work, talking and humming some old tunes.
Some share their home-cooked food among the group. Others share their day’s special with everyone. Then they take rest for a while in the cool shade of trees in Kadamakudy and return home by noon….
They are paid Rs 369 for a day’s work. That’s only 100 days a year. For many, this is their only source of income. More than work, many of them take it as a way to forget the stress and isolation of old age.
They are preparing the paddy fields in Kadamakudy for shrimp farming. As they walked through the beautiful Kadamakudy landscape, dressed in brightly coloured clothes, it looked like a beautiful painting on the canvas. It was a visual feast for my camera…….
