JOIN USPapads empower women, but distance kids from school in Gauribidanur village
Most of the 1,500 families of Kaloodi village on the outskirts of Gauribidanur taluk are engaged in the occupation of making and selling papads.
Besides pappad they also make sandige (a smaller version of the papad) and peni (the base for a sweet using sugar powder and milk).
The humble pappad has become a symbol of women’s empowerment.
The Mumbai-based Shri Mahila Griha Udyog, the makers of the famous Lijjat Papad, is an organisation which symbolises the strength of a woman.
Only women can become members of this organisation. Thousands of women have benefited from papad-making as an occupation.
However, in Kaloodi of Gauribidanur, there is an apprehension that since many minor boys and girls are engaged in this occupation, it encourages child labour.
Besides, if they are engaged in making papads all the time, it deprives them of school.
Crunchy component
Pappads contribute a crunchy component to an Indian meal. They can be roasted, deep fried or even microwaved — with or without oil.
Traditionally flat circles of various sizes, today you can find mini pappads in oval and elliptical shapes.
Making papads is a labour intensive process and therefore not many people make them at home anymore.
In the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, papads are made from peanuts, til, jowar or bajra. Jowari papads are equally popular in North India.
In some parts of Karnataka you get ragi papad. The jackfruit papad is made from raw jackfruit which is steamed and ground without adding water.
Like agarbathi-making and beedi-rolling, papad making cannot be mechanised. Besides papads have to be sun-dried.
It is therefore a labour-intensive occupation.
Many children are engaged in making pappads from 7 am to 10 am. They go to school only after this.
Sometimes instead of going to school they go to places like Bangalore and Hindupur to sell papads. It is a source of income for their families. Employing children is an offence.
However, this does not apply to these children who are members of the family.
This has been going on for several years.
“Most of these children belong to the backward class communities. Working from 7 am and 10 am they make 500 to 1,000 papads.
For making 500 papads, they earn Rs 30 to Rs 40. To ensure that they don’t go elsewhere, they are given Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 in advance”, says Narayanappa, a village elder.
He says that even some teachers are engaged in the business of making papads. Students skip classes to earn more and some even fall prey to bad habits, he adds.