“We work here mainly in the rainy season, that is when the farmers need new ploughs and tools made, or old ones repaired,” says Surekha. She is sitting, along with her husband Chaburao Salunke, under the shade of a large banyan tree.
The tree is at the entrance to Dapodi village off National Highway 65 and the Daund-Patas Road in Pune district. “We live in the next village, Nangaon,” Surekha adds. “It is about an hour’s walk from here.”
How much do they earn? “We make 300 rupees or sometimes 400-500 in a day. But sometimes there is no work and we get nothing.”