An eerie feat for livelihood 

It is a balmy morning and Mekala Pedda Muthaiah, though still under the weather after a good night’s booze, is getting ready and wraps a lungi around his waist. In a matter of minutes, he dons the role of a dancer and raconteur. With his forehead and cheeks smeared with vermilion, Muthaiah starts his feat. The next 20 minutes are a veritable self physical torture interspersed with leaps and jumps. Once the show is over, he, along with his team, collects money from onlookers.

This in a nutshell is what Peddammalolu - a nomadic community - does for a living by entertaining people through antics. For six months in a year, they stay put in a village in huts resembling that of Toda tribe and from October to March they move from one village to another with family in tow.
Depending mostly on anything and everything that crawls for food, they eat rats, bats, dogs, birds and animals from the jungle.

Impoverished and living in sub-human conditions, the community lives for the day. Drinking is common among the community and most of them die young. In the 50-odd families in Mothey village in Nalgonda district, there are just three men above the age of 60.

The Telangana government categorised them as BCs. Muthaiah, 42, one of the members of the community says, “Last year 15 of our children used to study in a government hostel. This year they were removed stating that we are categorised as BCs. Our demand is that the government should treat us as SCs.”

At times, some of the community members are called for official State functions to perform before dignitaries and a few have been given an identity card. Samiah, one of the members says, “We also lose out on our ration cards as we are not in one place for most part of the year. Our names are struck off.”

Mekkala Narasimha is the first boy from the village to pursue B Sc. He is studying in Shalivahana College in Suryapet. Unlike most men in the community, there are no knife scars on his hand and tummy. Those who perform, cut themselves and bleed.

Narsimha says, “I have never performed as my father put me in hostel at a very young age and I want our community to stop this practice and earn a living by doing proper jobs.” In the six months that they stay in one spot, the men and women work in nearby farms plucking sweet limes and green chillies and get Rs 130 per day. The winds of change are slowly blowing as the younger lots are looking for work for a living.