Gamv:
Life in an Indian Village

Overview

1: Friday, Saturday, Sunday

2: Monday & Tuesday

3: Wednesday & Thursday

4: Saturday & Sunday

Letters from Jitvapur

Letters 1 - 2

Letters 3 - 4

Letters 5 - 6

Letters 7 - 8

Producer's Notes

Credits

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Letters 5-6     CD   MP3

5: "Tilling the Soil"

The Upper castes own most of the land in Jitvapur. But they don't dirty their hands actually working the fields. That's done for them by landless laborers from the backward castes, or by the Dalits. But today, Julian caught Sugdev Jha, a Brahmin landowner, surreptitiously tilling his fields. Then he meets Munji, a mischievous eight year-old who's grazing the family buffalo when she should be in school. Finally, he talks with Ramji Ram, a landless laborer who's plowing the postmaster's fields in return for a share of the crop. (14:00 minutes)

 

6: "Going to the Movies"
How do the villagers of Jitvapur amuse themselves in the evenings? Many tell stories or make music. Sometimes, itinerant entertainers such as the tattoo ladies of Pandol pass by plying their trade. Then, there's television. But so far only one Brahmin has a set, jury-rigged up to the street lamp. Of course, if you want to splurge and get away from the daily grind there's the Pratika cinema in nearby Madhubani, where for less than 20 cents you can be transported into a world of romance and fantasy. (13:45 minutes)