these diaries entries are 6 months apart
May, 12, 2014
Hi my name is Shrideva Pai I am 12 years old. I live with my maan, pita, 3 sisters, 2 brothers, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and their children. I am lucky that I am not married yet my eldest sister who is 15 and engaged they are to be married next week and I am her bridesmaid we are going to get our pre wedding ritual done tomorrow and I get my first henna tattoo I am very excited it’s the best thing to happen in at least a year. Our cattle is slowly dying and our village well is drying up rapidly. My job is to collect the morning water with my younger brother and sister then I help maan [mum] with the rice sorting and grinding the flour. It is tough but I get lessons in the afternoon when I finish my jobs
Hi my name is Shrideva Pai I am 12 years old. I live with my maan, pita, 3 sisters, 2 brothers, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and their children. I am lucky that I am not married yet my eldest sister who is 15 and engaged they are to be married next week and I am her bridesmaid we are going to get our pre wedding ritual done tomorrow and I get my first henna tattoo I am very excited it’s the best thing to happen in at least a year. Our cattle is slowly dying and our village well is drying up rapidly. My job is to collect the morning water with my younger brother and sister then I help maan [mum] with the rice sorting and grinding the flour. It is tough but I get lessons in the afternoon when I finish my jobs
It is bad news, the well has run out now we are forced to walk 3km to the river. As it is the water source for 3 villages and also where we wash it is filthy and contaminated we have to carry the precious water every morning, lunch and evening to our home were we boil what we drink.
Pita [father] is to sell our cattle only to keep our best animals a bull and cow and her calf and our hens and 2 nanny’s and 1 billy goat. My uncle is leaving to find work in the city of Delhi.
There is a beef ban and we are forced to keep our cattle and watch them starve. My younger sister has fallen ill and we are struggling without her. As my older sister has left with her husband to his village. Now I am to do all of their jobs as well as mine now I have no time for lessons and my hands and feet are swollen from carrying buckets upon bucket of water my brothers help but they need to help pita, with the cattle, trying to find work and wives for themselves.
I have even worse news my younger sister has passed on she has had a terrible illness and we couldn’t afford the medicine for her. She passed in the the night she was only 4. There has been no life bringing monsoon this wet season. So the water in the river has reduced to mud with a few puddles in it and we have to pay 3 rupee each bucket of water. So I am only allowed to collect 4 buckets a day. I haven’t bathed in at least a month or two I hope this drought ends soon
My maan has become very ill and daadee ma and I have to do everything, I fear that she will die. I am so very tired I wake up every morning walk the 3km to the puddle of a river collect 2 morning buckets of water return home, help daa ma make breakfast then we eat with chachee and the rest of our family then I go about cleaning our home which is a five room mud brick house we have a shed where we store our food and baby animals we cook outside in our court yard mostly. daadee ma then naps and chachee begins making lunch of roti and dahl maybe rice a well if we are lucky but that rarely happens as our water is now rationed to 3 buckets which is mostly clay.
2016
IT IS A MIRICLE a lifesaving train has arrived bringing the life giving water that is fresh and clean. They come twice a day to latur which is 5km away it is worth it as we are allowed 6 buckets a day and we get an extra 2 buckets on wash day we may have to cue in lines from 2am but at least we are getting fresh water with no risk of sickness in getting a drink of water. The drought may continue but this life brining water train means we may get through it I never worried about not having water before this
IT IS A MIRICLE a lifesaving train has arrived bringing the life giving water that is fresh and clean. They come twice a day to latur which is 5km away it is worth it as we are allowed 6 buckets a day and we get an extra 2 buckets on wash day we may have to cue in lines from 2am but at least we are getting fresh water with no risk of sickness in getting a drink of water. The drought may continue but this life brining water train means we may get through it I never worried about not having water before this
Glossary
daadee ma- grandmother
chachee- auntie
pita- father
maan- mother
dahl- lentils and spice mixed and boiled into a curry
roti- a round peice of bread fried in a griddle pan
daadee ma- grandmother
chachee- auntie
pita- father
maan- mother
dahl- lentils and spice mixed and boiled into a curry
roti- a round peice of bread fried in a griddle pan