10 hours from Pune by ST (State Transport) Bus, is the town of Udgir. Like most small towns in Rural Maharashtra – Udgir is dominated by a giant Shivaji Statue in the centre of town. This is a town where the top brands are Bata, Aditya Birla Cement, Doordarshan and God – and not necessarily in that order.
Udgir lies in the southern corner of Maharashtra – a boundary town between Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It exhibits influences of all three cultures. It’s main road is fairly good – it seems to be a busy market town – and is well connected by road.

An hour’s drive from Udgir lay the 4 villages that we had to visit for purposes of the documentary.

It was hot. The sky was blue and the clouds white, and not a glimpse of the rain god. You could feel the dry heat pierce your skin and char your bones. Grass was little, and what was there was shared by the cows and the goats. People are praying for rain – that would save the land from yet another drought.
It was in these villages – where there was so little – that we learned the remarkable story of destitute women coming together to start their own little fund. A fund that was run on the basis of mutual trust, understanding and integrity.

As I clarify my own thoughts on what i saw and heard, I will try and tell the story of remarkable men and women – who have not let circumstances get them down. who are ever cheerful and generous