A Case Study in Tentulipadar: Sumi
If you drive an hour east from Jeypore, through dizzying, pothole-riddled roads, a monkey-infested bridge, and past acres of shining paddy, you’ll arrive at Tentulipadar, a village of about a hundred households nestled in a small forest nook.
This is where Sumi* lives with her 8-month old son, parents, and younger sister in one of the few pucca houses in the entire village. Her story provides a snapshot of a young mother’s life in Tentulipadar, illustrating some of the challenges facing mothers and their children from eating balanced, nutritious diets. Sumi’s case, however, is only one of many different situations and lifestyles that have their respective benefits and challenges. I’ll be sharing Sumi’s story in this blog, though it’s important to note that the case studies I collected were notably distinct from one another, demonstrating the socio-economic, cultural, and even attitudinal diversity in this one village.
Background on Tentulipadar
Tentulipadar has three main roads that branch from the entrance. Sources of water are easily accessible in each of the three main roads, and the ICDS center is located at the center of the village. There is also a small grocery and tea shop.
Most houses (90%) have a backyard garden where they grow vegetables, and there are jackfruit, guava, and mango trees throughout the village. A typical diet usually includes rice, dal, and some veggies, and most residents only eat twice a day. Out of the 32 total children under 2 years old in Tentulipadar, 8 are “mildly malnourished,” meaning they weigh less than 7kg.
Sumi, 24 years old
Sumi was born in Tentulipadar and is part of the Scheduled Caste Paika. She attended school until she reached 5th class, the end of primary school, when she was about ten years old. She loves to eat Imli and Charu (tamarind and a sour tamarind drink) and her least favorite foods are ladyfinger (okra), brinjal (eggplant), and pumpkin.
Marriage
When she was 21, Sumi and her husband wed in a love marriage, a type of marriage where couples most likely had a preexisting friendship or relationship. Unlike an arranged marriage, the consent of both parties’ parents in a love marriage isn’t necessary. Sumi moved to her husband’s village to live with him and his parents, where she spent most of her days working as an agricultural laborer and doing household work. Though Sumi and her husband had a good relationship, her mother-in-law did not approve of her and offered little help or support.
Childbirth, Breastfeeding, and Lactation
Sumi’s first child, a boy, was born eight months ago in a primary health center. He weighed 2.6 kg, which is towards the low end of the healthy birthweight range (a low birthweight child weighs less than 2.5kg). Childbirth rendered Sumi very weak; she was bedridden and could no longer work afterwards.
After her discharge, she added papaya to her normal diet, but after following advice from her mother-in-law, she avoided leafy vegetables, sour foods (such as tomato and tamarind), and ragi gruel (a rice porridge), as her mother-in-law said that her child wouldn’t be able to digest it.
Against her mother-in-law’s advice, however, Sumi started to give complementary food to her child at 6 months, as she felt like her breastmilk wasn’t sufficient. This was also the advice that the anganwadi worker gave her. Sumi just gave her child normal household foods — no special foods or formulas.
During this time, food scarcity was sometimes a problem, and when there was food lacking, Sumi said she would serve her husband first. Sumi also felt that she doesn’t have enough time to cook or prepare meals, as she was busy with caring for her child and was still weak from childbirth. She still suffers from pain in her feet and waist region, sometimes feeling chest pain, though she doesn’t know the reason why.
Government Benefits
During lactation, she also got Take Home Rations (THR), which are nutritional supplements, and eggs for her and her child from the ICDS center. She said that both rations are always shared with the entire family, though it’s only supposed to be consumed by Sumi and her child. When I asked why she and her child don’t consume the entirety of their ration, Sumi responded that it would be “mannerless” to take the whole portion.
Moving Back to Tentulipadar
In June 2019 when her child was 7 months old, Sumi’s husband suddenly disappeared. Sumi had no idea why or where he had gone, and her mother-in-law was extremely angry with her — forcing her to sleep outside one of the nights. Sumi described how she suffered a lot emotionally, in addition to no longer having any support and source of income. Her mother-in-law left, and Sumi was left with her child to fend for themselves, only eating one meal a day with help from her neighbors. Eventually, her mother and father told her to return to their village. Two weeks after arriving in Tentulipadar, she found out that her husband got married to another woman of a lower caste, and, believing that he was hoodwinked by some black magic, she filed for divorce.
At her parents’ house, Sumi lives with her child, father, mother, and 14-year-old younger sister. Her parents both worked in agriculture as laborers and on their own parcel of land, but her father recently contracted tuberculosis and no longer works. As her sister is still in school, her mother earns the only income in the household. Sumi returned to work for three days when she arrived, but stopped when her child got diarrhea. Though he recovered, she didn’t go back to work as it’s still difficult for her to move. Sumi spends most of her day doing housework, cooking meals, and taking care of her child. She and her family eat two meals a day, usually consisting of rice and some type of dal.
Land and Sources of Food
In addition to what they grow on their own land, Sumi’s mother goes to the market once a month by herself, buying veggies and when they have the money, fruits. Even in the rare occasions when she does buy fruits, it’s in very small amounts since it’s so expensive. There are, however, no problems with lack of food at her parents house and Sumi says that she now has enough time to cook and prepare meals unlike when she was at her in-laws.
One issue that has arisen is that since Sumi recently moved back to her parents’ house, she and her child aren’t registered in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ICDS center. This means that she no longer receives monthly rice rations from the PDS, nor the rations and other benefits from the center. Otherwise, though, Sumi says that her child is perfectly healthy, and she is slowly gaining weight.
Nutrition Awareness and Knowledge
When deciding to prepare meals for herself and her family, Sumi says that nutrition is the most important factor in her mind. Price is the least important factor to her, as the foods she likes to eat are cheap and affordable. This was illustrated by a hypothetical posed to her: if she had 10 rupees, would she rather buy pakodi or veggies if they are the same price? Sumi responded that she would take the veggies, as she doesn’t like pakodi and other street foods. To Sumi, healthy foods include pomegranate, drumstick, amaranthus, and papaya, but she couldn’t think of any examples of unhealthy foods.
Sumi thinks that malnutrition is a serious problem, saying that a child won’t be able to physically and mentally grow properly. If her child was underweight, she said she would take more leafy vegetables to improve her breastmilk, and in a severe case, take her child to the doctor.
Sumi’s story deviates the village norm in several ways. Most women in the village live with their husbands, and did not have to go through the hardships and heartbreak as Sumi did when her husband disappeared. While the majority of the population didn’t attend school and belongs to the Bhumia caste, a scheduled tribe, Sumi was able to attend school, is part of a higher caste, and is generally socio-economically better off. Sumi also has a more progressive view than other mothers on nutrition — most mothers I interviewed did not view malnutrition as a serious problem, or did not have any concept of nutrition or balanced diets. Other than this and other small details, aspects of Sumi’s life are commonly shared with other mothers in the village — working as agricultural laborers and stopping work after childbirth, primarily following the advice of their mother-in-laws, and only being able to afford a few pieces of fruit a month from the market.
These stories, among other sources of primary information, are a bedrock of informed and effective policies and interventions. Directly asking farmers about their experiences and thoughts can potentially bridge any miscommunications between those with resources in remote offices in cities and the reality of the situation in a community an hour’s car ride away. It’s easy to skim through statistical reports of wasting and stunting prevalence, but bringing these numbers to life allows someone to latch on to a tangible image or voice that can hopefully drive the momentum to complete the work that needs to be done.
*Name has been changed for privacy.
