Last week of January – Jaipur edition of Times of India – two front page items caught my eye on consecutive days.
Wheel power for Alwar women – about how ‘In a remote village in Alwar district, 25-year-old Kesari Devi routinely goes to her farm, much to the envy of men. Reason: She herself drives a tractor to the six-kilometre away farm and back. After all, driving tractors had been a male domain till now.’
And then this – Girl graveyard welcomes a girl – Devda village in Jaisalmer, once infamous for eliminating every newborn girl, is finally coming out of its dark shadows. At present, the village is rejoicing the birth of the daughter of Shagun Kanwar, second girl of Rajput families who married in the village.
I mention this to my host Mehndi at Udaipur and she says in an offhand manner, “I am the only girl in my family – I have a brother and 18 male cousins”. I do not dare ask her what that means.