In response to a question, when she hesitantly said ‘Masumi’, this journalist actually heard it as ‘Masoom’ (read innocent in Hindi). That this slightly-over-50-year-old lady does not even know her own age is an indicator of her innocence, maybe even ignorance.
Masumi is a distraught woman selling boiled and roasted groundnuts at Priyadarshini Jurala Project since 2004, around the time of the last Krishna Pushkarams. Since then, only illness prevented her from being atop the reservoir and she is easily a very popular figure for those who frequent the picturesque location – majority of them youth.
“I have three adult sons who work as farm labourers,” said this resident of nearby Narasandoddi village that falls under Uppair panchayat in Dharoor mandal. While a smile is the dominant expression on her face, her eyes reveal sadness. She does not answer questions about her husband but when asked, she says she had five acres of land with a ‘Pattadar’ passbook that shows her name.
Then why doesn’t her family live off the land? Why does she have to slog, trudge a long distance every day, carrying a large basket full of groundnuts when she has three adult children? “My sons earn but it is drudgery every day of our lives. We do not have money to pay the tenants and reclaim our land,” she said.
Why doesn’t she approach the police and revenue authorities for help? She had no answer but as this reporter bid adieu, her eyes light up all of a sudden with a trace of fear and she said, “Please do not tell any official about my problem, sir. I am destined to live like this”.
