Untouchable Friends

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  The Ganvaria Banjara lived in 1981 in straw huts, being poor, although perhaps a little bit better off than the Bhangis, having more and better food to eat, although worse houses. They were of nomadic origin and were habituated to straw huts. The Ganvaria Banjara treat their Bhangi neighbours as untouchables, although they were a very low-ranked caste group themselves in the eyes of savarn Hindus. Grownups of the Ganvaria Banjara group did not allow their children to visit the Bhangi mohalla. One Ganvaria girl was very curious to find out what was going on at Vimla's house, where some training in writing letter was given in July 1977, but she was kept back by her mother, although she, at first, was very enthusiastic about the idea of getting some education for her children.

  Polluting Bhangis and non-polluting baskets

  The corpses of the removed cattle the Bhangis used for getting meat, after having fleeced the animals. The hides they kept drying near their mohalla up on tree branches out of reach for dogs. They also hang meat in strips for drying.

  The skeleton of the cattle and buffaloes were taken away free of charge by the contractor appointed by the Government for each area.

  Some of the remaining parts of the cattle corpses were used as strong cords for tying the reed baskets. It is probably because they knew how to make such cords that strong and durable baskets had become a speciality of the Bhangis.

  Other Hindus anxious of their reputation did not want to make baskets requiring strings from cattle carcass, but they did buy such baskets from the Bhangis, and used them without any hesitation. Evidently with no feeling of ritual pollution at that stage.

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