Many families belonging to a nomadic tribal community going by the name of ‘Saatai Adippavar’, who whip themselves to earn money, have remained penniless for five months. At least 150 such families are living in an impoverished state in the Sakkimangalam area in the periphery of Madurai district.
M. Babu, a 40-year-old member of the community, who has three sons and a daughter, says that before the COVID-19 outbreak, he used to travel to the southern parts of Tamil Nadu as well as areas like Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Erode to eke out a living. During the summer months, when it is too hot to travel, Mr. Babu, along with many others in his community, work at wedding halls and hotels to earn money. Now, having been cut off from both sources of income, Mr. Babu says he is dependent solely on ration rice to satiate his hunger.
“The women from our community are scared of COVID-19. They have been going door-to-door in the city, begging for alms. Many of them could be found near Teppakulam. They cannot even sit in a single place and beg. The police kick them out,” he says.
Savings gone
Like Mr. Babu, his brother Ramar too says his life has somewhat come to a standstill. Many in the community have sold whatever little jewellery they had to sustain themselves. All their savings have been wiped off.
E. Anandan, one of the few persons in the community who have completed college, says they are completely dependent on daily wages. “We have seen our fathers whip themselves and earn ₹150 or ₹200 [for such performances], but have been told not to get into their line of work. We understand the value of money. But without any job, most of us have no idea where to go and what to do,” he says. He adds that a small section of his community has taken to traditional tattoos or pacchai kutharadhu as a means of earning an income. However, their earnings are barely enough.
Both Mr. Babu and Mr. Ramar say all members of their community are ready to do any kind of work if people are willing to train them. “We never thought it would come to this,” Mr. Babu says.
Mr. Anandan says it would also be easier for children to pursue higher education if they are given community certificates in the ‘ST’ category. Most people in the community, he says, do not have these certificates. “I wrote entrance exams in the open category. If we want to boost education among the community, the least we could do is level the playing field,” he says.
