(Part 1/3) “Mother and father had no hidden wealth. We were Kamaiyas and Kamlaris. They worked for the landlords of the community. That is how they ate and that is how they fed us. They would not get daily wages in cash but in grains. And I know that the grains were never enough. I know because we have slept empty stomach on many occasions. The only other option that mother and father had was to plead for a loan to the landlord and it would accumulate and make mother and father suffer in silence. Although, the house was always full, I do not know with whom they expressed their sadness. Brothers and their wives, sisters, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunts, and the little children they all gave birth to every year. How would the grains last? When I turned 10 years old, I also started working at one of the landlord’s houses. At home, there was no food to eat, no clothes to wear. I remember my father telling me, “You will get one meal a day. You will not have to stay hungry. If you stay at home you will starve to death. They will also give you a pair of clothes to wear once every year.” I would look after the children and the wives of the landlord. I never saw school and I know nothing about reading and writing. While I went to work for the landlord, their sons and daughters would go to school. They would be in their uniforms. And my heart would regret not being born into affluence for I knew that it was only people with money that could afford school.

I spent almost 10 years as a Kamlari. But my hands were still empty. My father and mother never had money. The situation at home never improved. I was married and sent away. I had no say in my marriage. It was not my desire but of my mother and father. At his house, I saw that things were not very different. What I had feared became a reality. I realised that I had to go back to being a Kamlari again. To make things worse, I had to endure physical violence from him in such a short time. So I took a decision for myself and after a month at his house home, I returned to my mother and father. Mother and father were not happy that I had returned home.

They said, ‘This is not your home anymore. Your home is with your husband so please go back to your husband.’ I told them that I would not go. I would suffer with them but I would not go back.”