When work dried up in the big cities during the lockdown, many thousands of men from Rajasthan’s Udaipur and Rajsamand districts trudged back home. Vijay Ram, a 28-year-old from Kuchauli panchayat in Rajsamand, says just thinking about the long journey gives him the shivers. He’s not going back “at least this year.” And he has a good reason to stay home now.
In the two months since they returned, Vijay Ram and others like him have changed the face of their villages. There’s piped water at last, long-neglected wells have been repaired, and agriculture has become more than a means of subsistence. “Earlier, we only grew grains, but this year we have sown vegetables also.”
Tourists visiting Udaipur and Rajsamand take back memories of their rugged hills but life for the locals can be hard, espec