Dindi

Women washing clothes in a lake at sunrise

My favorite part of going to India is visiting my grandmother in the rural village of Dindi. I’ve been going since before I can remember and I can think of no place in India I’d rather be than this little hamlet on the banks of the Godavari river. 

Boys posing for the camera outside of my grandmother's house in Dindi.  The paved road and a bridge across the Godavari River have transformed this village since I first visited as a boy.  I find the increased traffic and pollution annoying, but I am sure more opportunities for jobs and education are part of that change as well.

 I followed my dad across rice paddies to check email in a neighboring village

 A water buffalo chewing its cud.  India will be in trouble if these mellow beasts ever decide to organize against their masters.  

 Rangarao (front) used to work for my grandmother on her coconut plantation.  Now that she has sold almost all her land, he has moved on to other employment.  His wife is one of many residents of Dindi who have moved to the Gulf region in search of work.  The resulting influx of money into to the community has raised the standard of living for many people, but has also contributed to problems like alcoholism.  Here Rangarao is opening a young coconut for me to drink.  

 Rambabu was crippled by polio as a boy.  Today, he raises chickens and pigeons down the street from my grandmother.

 A fisherman casts his net into a stock pond at dusk.  Farm raised fish and shrimp are becoming huge industries in a region long dominated by rice and coconut palms.  

My mother prepares a plate of food at my grandmother's house.  Rolling power cuts have always been a part of life in rural India and that probably won't change any time soon.  I have many fond memories of eating delicious curry and homemade yogurt while bats overhead hunted moths that were drawn to the candlelight.