A Visit to K'V'Kuppam

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A Visit to K.V.Kuppam

• Tamil Nadu
• South India

Case Study 1
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This is Alemelu with her sister-in-law
Saraswathi. Alemelu is married to Venkatesh
and they have two sons, Suresh and Nuresh, and a
daughter Sudha. Venkatesh and his two brothers
inherited the land they live on from their
parents. Alemelu sold land she inherited from her
father and was able to buy a little more land
which she farms. They all live close to each
other in the tiny hamlet of Poonsoli in
K.V.Kuppam Block, Tamil Nadu.
Meet Alemelu and her family
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Nuresh
Alemelu with her son Suresh
Venkatesh is a mason (a builder) working on
building sites in Vellore. He travels daily by
bus and can earn about Rs 100 a day when work is
available. When there is a water shortage he is
sent home and does not earn anything for that
day. Suresh works with his father and Nuresh is a
tailor.
Venkatesh and Alemelu with their 15 year old
daughter Sudha
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Venkatesh built the family home. He continues to
extend and improve it when money is available.
The family well is now dry. The children in the
village are taught not to go too close!
The family now have electricity which costs about
Rs 50 per month. Before that they used kerosene
lamps.
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The cows shelter and the kitchen still have
coconut thatch roofs.
Alemelus wash room is behind the white wall.
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The walls of the house are made from baked mud
bricks and are whitewashed. The side and back of
the house is left unpainted. The family saved for
several years to buy clay roof tiles which last
longer than thatch.
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The main part of the house consists of two small
rooms. The only furniture is a small table for
the television and tape recorder and a bed.
Clothes are hung on hooks and there are shelves
built into the walls which are painted every few
years. Amongst pictures of Bollywood stars ,
calendars and other decorations is a photograph
of two family members who died from
tuberculosis.
Alemelu has a small puja shrine -a sacred space
set apart for honouring and worshipping the gods
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Alemelus daily routine
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Alemelu wakes up about 5am when it is still
dark. She washes in the open wash room in her
small yard. Washing whilst fully dressed is a
traditional village skill! Most mornings she will
also pray at the family shrine. She then
prepares food for the family, brushes the yard
and the outside of the house and mucks out the
cattle shed, collecting the dung as it is used
for fuel. When this is done she goes to get
water from the stand pipe in the road opposite
the house.
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The water from a water tower is turned on twice a
day, at 6am and 6pm, and Alemelu must collect
enough for drinking, cooking, washing, etc. She
washes clothes by hand using soap and although
she regularly sweeps out the house little water
can be spared for floor and surface cleaning!
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Each morning Alemelu takes the cow to the fields
to graze but the grass is very poor and she has
to bring it home at lunch time to give it extra
food. After a rest she will return the cow to the
field.
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The milkman calls daily to milk the cow and she
is paid about Rs7 per pint. When the mother
accidently gored her calf the vet had to be
called. This is expensive but essential as
Alemelu can sell a female calf for about Rs
10,000.
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To cook for her family Alemelu must spend hours
each day in preparation. There is no prepared
food in tins and packets available. She must
wash and grind pulses-lentils, millet and rice
which are staple foods. She will make a meal
consisting of spiced pulses two or three times a
day. Usually it is Sambhar (lentil sauce) and
rice with Rasam (pepper water made from
Tamarind). When they can afford it she will add a
few vegetables to the sambhar. Occasionally they
will have chicken. Breakfast is either left
over's from the night before or occasionally
ragi (millet) which is ground into flour and
mixed with water to make ragi pudding or
cholam which is a thinner gruel . This is
served with hot, spicy pickle to give it
flavour.
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Alemelu does all her cooking on a clay stove.
Here she makes some repairs before preparing food.
The women of the village take turns collecting
firewood which is stored on the land behind
Alemelus house.
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Water pumped from a well flows along channels to
irrigate Alemelus land
A bore hole on the land belonging to Babu, the
brother of Venkatesh.
Water is very precious in this area because the
rains have failed for several years. Many of the
wells have dried up and fewer crops can be grown
as a result. Alemelu can not make full use of her
land because of the scarcity of water but she
plans carefully to grow crops that feed the
family and earn her a little money.
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When she isnt cooking, washing clothes or
looking after the cow and calf Alemelu spends
much of her time working on the land. Depending
on the season and availability of water she grows
flowers, pulses, ground nuts, tomatoes etc. Her
husbands family are experimenting with growing
mulberry plants to feed silk worms.
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Sorting pulses
Sorghum, a type of cereal
Winnowing the pulses. The breeze takes away the
light weight chaff, leaving the heavier pulses
behind.
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Alemelu can earn about RS 1500 per year selling
her flowers and a few vegetables but when water
is short the land lies fallow and she is only
able to grow a little of the familys food. The
rest she must buy at the market or in the local
shops. She also helps her brother-in-law and
other villagers at busy times, particularly
planting the paddy.
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Before it gets dark each evening about 6.30pm
Alemelu will put the cows to bed and prepare the
evening meal. Known locally as meals it is the
main meal of the day and is eaten cold. Each
evening Alemelu enjoys watching television for a
couple of hours and by 10pm the whole family roll
out their mats, wrap themselves in blankets and
curl up on the floor to sleep.
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the rest of the family
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Nuresh trained as a tailor in Bangalore and was
then able to set up his own small business in the
village of Vadaganthangal. His shop is reached
via a very scary external staircase.
Suresh travels to the town of Vellore each day
where he works in the building trade. By law he
must have one days rest each week. Work is not
guaranteed every day.
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Sudha attended the government co-educational
secondary school up to Standard 10. She left
school in 2003.
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Morning Assembly at Sudhas school
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Sudha would have liked to continue her education
but the family could not afford this and chose
instead to arrange a marriage for her with a
young man from the next village. He was well
known to the family and did not ask for a large
dowry. They married shortly after Sudha left
school.
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The cost of a marriage is always paid by the
brides family. Many families in the area do not
practise Dowry, but the payment of wedding costs
can still be crippling for the brides family.
Around Rs10,000 is the usual cost and the
family will borrow the money, often from local
moneylenders. Sudha and Anbu were married
in 2003 and Sudha went to live with his family in
the next village.
Sudha in her marriage gown
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Sudha with her husband Anbu and their son in
January 2006. Sudhas second child was born in
February 2006.
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An invitation to the marriage of Suresh and
Tamil Selvi
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Today Alemelus son, Suresh ,is to be married to
Tamil Selvi at the temple in Vrinchipuram.
Everyone helps with the preparations.
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Transport to the temple!
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Suresh and Tamil Selvi were married on 26th
January 2004 - Independence day. The marriage
took place at one of the most ancient temples in
Tamil Nadu. The ceremony was very simple and the
family brought food with them for the marriage
feast. There were several other couples married
at the temple that day.
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The bride greets everyone at the temple wearing a
special sari. For the actual marriage ceremony
she changes into a very simple red cotton sari.
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The Brahmin priest performs the marriage rituals.
The entire marriage ceremony revolves around the
auspicious moment (which the Brahmin will
indicate), when the Suresh ties the Thali around
Tamil Selvis neck. The Thali is traditionally
made of a particular yellow rope though many
Thalis today are made out of gold. This
gesture implies that she is now tied to his
community and now takes responsibility to uphold
the ethnic, cultural position and status of his
family.
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After the ceremony the bride and groom eat
separately from the guests. Then its time for
photos and back to Tamil Selvis new home where
she is welcomed by the family with a special
ceremony.
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Suresh and Tamil Selvis marriage was unusual in
that it was a love marriage. Like Sureshs
sister, Sudha, most young people have arranged
marriages. Suresh and Tamil Selvi were lucky
that they are both from the same caste and social
background. Some young people who fall in love
are not allowed to marry.
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Monisha in her New outfit.
Tamil Selvi and Suresh now have a daughter.