Untouchables of Asia - Krishnaveni

Jakob Carlsen

Freelance

Krishnaveni lives in pondicherry in Tamil Nadu, India with her two sons. Her job is to collect unknown dead bodies around the city. She has taken over this occupation from her husband who died from drinking. Her 16-year old son shankar helps her. They are often molested verbally when they drag their cart through the city. She lives in a small one room hut and has no friends. Being a woman and handling these unknown bodies is very taboo and places her at the absolute bottom of the indian society. To the caste people - and even to the some other untouchables - she is untouchable and of lesser value than animals.

Jakob Carlsen, "Untouchables of Asia - Krishnaveni," in POYi Archive, Item #43129, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/43129 (accessed November 22, 2024).