Another story from a different kind of world. Father and son in the fields around Janwaar.
The father was married when he was 12 years old. He was married to the wife of his elder brother when the brother suddenly passed away. Pure economic reasons and to keep the wife out of a life in isolation and desolation which she would have faced as a widow in rural India. The father became first “father” when is was 15 or 16 years old. Today he is taking care of a field owned by a higher cast guy in Panna.
His son Dipen is approx. 10 or 12 years old. He hardly goes to school because he has to work in the fields. Until three years ago he seemed to be somehow autistic – he never spoke and he was very, very shy. You would never see him with other kids. This changed during our First Janwaar Castle Challenge in 2016 – there he rocked the stage and skateboarded like a big hero. He started smiling and talking … Still, it is very hard to get him out of his daily routines …. Yet the father has allowed him to join our big skateboarding tour in December – so Dipen will visit ProtoVillage, then go to Vishakhapatnam and to Odisha.
He is very much looking forward to this 🙂
A break from his usual life.
