Sati ki chori

A child in Sati ki chori village, Udaipur district, Rajasthan.

Jambuda, Rajasthan

from my notes yesterday:

sitting in a village shop in Jambuda village, where an antenatal clinic is in progress. the shopowner lets his shop for half a day each month for the clinic, with his wife standing there keeping guard on the provisions. i am pouring sweat in the heat and humidity, and the flies swarm all over me, driving me to distraction.

The shopowner's wife keeps guard

i am here to train the nurses on how to examine pregnant women, and what questions to ask - a large number of gaps in their knowledge and practice, and i need to be patient while they learn. outside the under-3 children cry as they are weighed....

The omnipresent and irritating flies

the son of the shopowner lies the entire time on a dirty mattress and when i asked the mother she told me he had a cut on his left knee six days ago and now cannot walk. a closer examination reveals a sick and toxic child, his left knee swollen, and i worry that he may have septic arthritis. we take him back in the jeep to the clinic, clean the wound, pump in strong antibiotics, that he will  need to continue for three weeks. at 8 years of age, he weighs 15 kgs (33 lbs).
this is rural rajasthan, udaipur district, and a community of meena tribals. the men are all labourers in ahmedabad.

Mawa, the malnourished son of the shopkeeper, with ?septic knee joint.