NCERT Class 5 EVS On the move Again

22. On the Move Again

Dhanu’s village

Today all the relatives have come to Dhanu’s house to celebrate Dushera. They have come with their luggage in their bullockcarts. Dhanu’s father is the eldest in the family. So all the festivals are celebrated at their house. Dhanu’s mother (aai ), mother’s brother’s wife (mami ) and father’s brother’s wife (kaki ) are busy making puranpoli (sweet rotis made from jaggery and gram). Alongwith this a spicy kadi dish is also made.

The day passes in laughing and chatting. But by evening everyone’s mood changes. The women and children begin to pack their luggage. The men sit down with the mukadam (agent who lends money) for the meeting. The mukadam gives the details of the loan taken by each family.

Then the talks for the next few months begin. The mukadam explains to the villagers in which areas they would go for the next six months. He also gives them some money as loan, for their expenses. Ever since Dhanu remembers, this has been the routine. Families like Dhanu’s work on the lands of big farmers till Dushera, before the rainy season. Many other families also work on such lands. They earn just enough money to keep them going through these months.

But how to manage the remaining six months, when there is no rain, and no work in the fields? So, everyone borrows money from the mukadam. To pay back this money, they have to work for the mukadam. Mukadam is an agent for sugarcane factories. He helps them to find work in sugarcane fields.

Tell

• Did all the farmers in Dhanu’s village have their own land?
• During what time of the year did Dhanu’s family get work in the village? During what time did they not have work?
• Do you know of any families like Dhanu’s, who have to leave their villages for months in search of work?

Think and find out

• If people in Dhanu's village did not leave the village in search of work, what difficulties would they face in their own village?
• In Dhanu’s village, there can be no farming when there is no rain. Do you think farming can be done even without rain water? How?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 5 EVS On the move Again