The reality of life from next door

Since quite a while I was thinking about sharing some photos of the surroundings, not of where I live, but some impression from just outside this little paradise where I live in...

There is especially one family that I would like to portray here. Unfortunately I know quite nothing about them, but there's still some time and I hope to at least get to know some of their names. I have given them some old clothes from other people and myself and occasionally brought them something small to eat, like bananas or some sweets for the Diwali Festival. 

They live just in front of the bioRe campus in a shabby home and I think they own this ox, because this one is always tied there near a tree. I was told that the father works as the guard of the fields (sugar cane) and earns 2000 rupees (30 swiss francs) in a month. 

There are four children, all with adorable faces and a vivid eyes. 

 The oldest girl usually takes care of the younger siblings. And she comes often close to our room and wants me to come over so we can crush some of the very tasty Indian Almonds together (Terminalia catappa, in Hindi called Padam). Or she would climb up a small Guava tree (Psidium guajava) and offer me some fruits, though they were usually not quite ripe enough when she picked them....

And here is their mother. She was very proud to be taken on a photo and I showed it to her afterwards, which was when I could tell that this woman must have no proper access to any water body, let alone sanitary facility...

It makes one feel helpless when one gets insights into these realities and I find it astonishing how normal this is for the Indians which are a little bit better off. The poor are given no attention, they're just there, that's how it is. At the same time it is not astonishing, because what else is one supposed to do? And it is of course the dominant image of the country. However, I've been told that where the gap between rich and poor is much wider, there is real disgust, and this I find is a true cause for concern.