A two-member team from SEL again tried to visit the Raji hamlet of Kirdwari, which they could not visit during their earlier field trip due to rain and bad road conditions. To reach the hamlet they walked around 20 kilometres in a day and had to cross the river ladhiya 18 times. It was a treacherous path and the situation seemed grim, but our team was determined to make it.
Dr. Vishnu Singh, Secretary of SEL, crossing the river ladhiya
Raji female speakers of Khirdwari hamlet with our team member Ajay. Bhojan mata, Laxmi is second from the right.
Dr. Vishnu Singh with a Raji family
Upon their arrival, they were welcomed by Raji speakers who could not believe that two outsiders had been able to traverse such a difficult route to reach their hamlet. The team met different members of the twenty families who resided in the Khirdwari hamlet and collected socio-cultural and linguistic information. A forty-year-old, Raji lady, Laxi, who works as a bhojan mata ( person who cooks food for school children) helped us extensively in this endeavour.
