The Banjara Way

In Rajasthan, many villages have been provided solar photo-voltaic systems in the name of rural electrification.

In Rajasthan, many villages have been provided solar photo-voltaic systems in the name of rural electrification. The vast majority of people use them for lighting after the sun goes down. Lights come on in their homes at around 7.30 pm and are usually turned off at around 10 pm. That is the only use to which the solar systems are put in most houses. Except in the case of the state’s Banjaras. Open recently visited some Banjara hamlets in Rajasthan and found that they turn off their lights earlier. Then, they turn on music on their portable sound boxes, which play late into the night. Music, it seems, really is the light of their lives

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Alok Singh