"The reasons why the farmers were resorting to suicide seemed like issues that could be addressed – some spoke of not having money to educate their children while for some it was the lack of money for their daughter's marriage."
The fiber-rich and calorie-dense kernels of bamboo rice are also found in parts of Karnataka, locally known as ‘Mulayiri’. Further south, in Kerala, the harvesting of bamboo rice is a major source of income for the tribal communities living in the interiors of the Wayanad Sanctuary.
Competitions are fierce when it comes to securing admissions in the top colleges, both in India and abroad, and summer programmes and internships can tip the scales in favour of some students.
In what could be possibly construed as a warning to such institutes, a medical coaching centre was sued by a former student who claimed that it did not prep him well enough to crack the entrance test for AIIMS.
“I did whatever it took in the beginning. I ran a tea stall for a while, and with the money I made, I started something new and so on. People in worse situations came to me, and that kept me going.”