Six of them will fit in your palm. Ground together with a little chilly and salt, they will make a tasty dish. So Ramprasad and his teenage friends have trapped the mud crabs (Scylla serrata) in a plastic bottle, and are now getting ready for a feast.
The boys settle down under a thick canopy of trees, a welcome relief from the burning sun here in Malakavaripalli Thanda – a settlement of Banjaras in Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. The star of their dish – the mud crab – is also known as ‘green crab’ and ‘mangrove crab’ and is found on India’s east coast.
This quiet spot in Amadagur mandal lies in a valley – paddy fields, tomato, and chili plants are framed by low hills. In stark contrast to the lush view, we are told that borewells go down 800 to 1,200 feet. Even so, crop irrigation is limited to eight hours a day.






