A Kummarapalli family

This is the second time I am meeting Aruna. It is the 28th of June 2008. She is lively, interested, welcoming inspite of the great language barrier. She can't understand a word of Tamil and I can't understand her Telugu.Her family consists of husband Chengal Rayudu, son Sai Dilli Mukesh and daughters Priyanya (Pinky) and Hima Bindu (kutty). It seems that middle class pet names even penetrated the village.

Kummarapalli is 10km from Yera Vari Paleyam, which is 45kms from Tirupathi. Chengal Rayudu works for the government and earns a salary of Rs 5000/ per month. Besides his modest house in the village, he owns a small mango orchard. The orchards are contracted out even before the flowers bloom, for a lump sum advance. The family gets to keep some mangoes for their own use, the rest being plucked transported and sold to commission agents by the contractor.

Village by the Sea - Anita Desai

Just finished reading this this little 1982 novel that we have had for a long time. Story of the struggle to survive of a poor family living in the fishing village of Thul near Alibag trapped in grinding poverty. The children - Lila and Hari - have to take up the battle where the parents have failed and are the heroes of the story. The portrayals of the village life and the segment of society that Hari deals with when in Bombay are so true to life. The beautiful unspoilt environment of the village is contrasted with the grime and pollution of the city though the writer also brings out the lack of livelihood opportunites in the village. Besides Lila and Hari, several characters have been beautifully etched - Mr Panwallah the watchmaker, Jagu who owns the cheap eatery and Sayyid Ali(Salim Ali?) the birdwatcher. A moving story told in the good old way!
This book is a must for childrens libraries and village libraries.