Bellary

The road ahead, a smooth concrete highway flat through the first 200 km

Still the lovely monsoon clouds, the road ahead though gets somewhat slower

Massive rock mounts, characteristic of the lower Deccan plains of north eastern Karnataka

Homes tend to be painted white and leave thatched, to take off some of the sweltering heat here

Or entirely made of straw, refreshingly cool after the rains

A typical village scene, most villages of 1000+ population have at least a fairly flat kachha road leading up

The government LP school at Talur during the recess, children sit outside their classrooms for some chitchat

Statistics of students by caste, religion

A chair bears the proud name of its donor

National leaders lined up - the most dependable feature of every school, whether anything else stands or not

The Hindu pantheon of gods watches over the Head Teacher's chair

Power alternates days - from 6AM-12PM one day, and 12PM-6PM the next day, still computers get sketchy access

the UPS, an essential go-between to keep the computers from succumbing to surge

Kids of all classes sit on the floor, some walking 2 miles from across the state border into Talur

Higher secondary students study: the enrollment into high school is gradually increasing here for both sexes

The State grading system for all children of classes 5-7, with a grade (A-C) assigned by required competencies

The system for primary school students involves tick marks rather than grades by competency

This smart young lady forced herself into the interview group by convincing us her opinion was valuable

Both children walk 30 mins daily from a village across the state border - one of them with a makeshift belt

The three talked animatedly about computers, about reading english words, and about movie stars

What better way to keep schoolgirls occupied than with a football

With rapid pace, the moving ball is chased furiously, while the less daring sit out and watch

One fast cookie sees the ball get away from the massive pile-on that follows the ball everywhere it goes

And off again, everyone including the goalkeeper is out chasing the ball

A rare moment when a girl has more than two feet between the ball and herself as she readies for the kick

If you thought harmless little primary schoolers are incapable of extreme sport, try falling with the ball around you

Coffee is almost always served by a couple of prize students, who follow orders with speedy efficiency

Lack of childcare is a major reason for low enrollment of kids, especially girls

So this young lady comes to class with her elder brother so he does not have to miss school

The panchayat veteran suggested girls' dropout rate as being a consequence of high dowry rates for educated men

Everytime a visitor comes to class, the children stand up in uber-obedient salute

And school's out for the high school near the primary school

Drainage lines, a new entrant to the village

But the prevalent system is open sewage. There isn't a single bathroom in all of Talur

Running water mostly unavailable, getting water is a delegated daily job for most young girls.

Televisions have fairly high penetration, though a number of households still share TV with neighbours

This board lists each instructor with their date of birth, joining, qualification, and caste

1 paddy crop a year here, compared to 3 in Pondicherry - wage is Rs.35/day for men, Rs.20/day for women