“I don’t remember a moment in my life when my hands weren’t scarred. We weave dry grass and decorate it to make toys of different shapes such as horse, deer and elephants. It’s the ancestral art of our community from Rajasthan and it’s the only livelihood we’ve ever known. It’s back-breaking work all day long. Each of us manage to make up to 10 dolls a day. The men then take them to exhibitions and fairs like the one in Nampally, where they stay for a couple of days and sell what they can. Most of the money is spent on travel and stay. We also carve wood and the men play drums at weddings and functions. We earn decent money during the wedding season, but most of our money is spent on rent and we’re barely left with anything to feed our children. I often get busy and tend to skip meals, which led to the deterioration of my health. I was bed-ridden for few weeks. Today I was able to sit up again, so I got back to work. I hope that our art gets the recognition and monetary value that it deserves. But I’m tired and frustrated of my life. We never knew what “choice” meant. We never had one. Our food, water, residence, livelihood – everything has always been assigned or imposed. I don’t remember having any dreams or aspirations. I always hope for a better life, with better food, shelter and education for my children. I want my children to break out of this tradition. I want them to dream big, to make their own career choices in life.”

#Hope #Rajasthan #Toys #Lifelessons #Hardwork #Choice #Livelihood #Dreams #Support #Art #Family #Exhibitions #Numaish #MGNREGA #Education #Losses #Diversity #Artform #Folklare #Folk #Health #Indian #Ethnic #Hyderabad #HumansofHyderabad