Salt making in the Little Rann of Kachchh - Gujarat, India

I took these pictures while doing a story on Agariyas of Gujarat. Surviving in an extremally difficult terrain, under the blistering sun, Agariyas manufacture for us a commodity that we call COMMON SALT. What we do not see is the kind of hard work that goes into producing this commodity that is so basic to our food. But the Agariyas who produce it in unrelenting conditions, in a place where there is no natural source of drinking water, no electricity
and not even a tree to sit under if tired, do not get even a hundreth of the price that we buy our salt at. THEY GET SEVEN PAISE PER KILOGRAM OF SALT.

But still, there is happiness in their lives. I asked why don’t they just leave this lifestyle and go to town to work there as a construction labourer or something. Atleast they will get better money. To this, Shantabhai, the protagnist of my salt story, replied:

Life is hassle-free in the Rann. We may earn less after all this struggle, but there are no worldly botherations of crime or authorities troubling. Who will want to come to this barren land, where there is no other resource except for brine, especially to trouble us. This is Agariyas’ land. We have our freedom here. We do not depend on somebody else for our income.

He is right. I stayed a night with Shantabhai’s family in the Rann. Somehow, Continue reading »

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