For Jankibai, 30, of the Mahar community, the past week has been the busiest of the year, as it hasbeen for years.

“My mother was engaged in this work for years and I carry forward the profession,” says Jankibai, one of the 450-odd women from Dr Ambedkar Nagar in Kokriagar who sell Durva grass, believed to be a favourite of Ganpati, across Mumbai during the 10-day festival. Traditionally, no other community cuts this grass.

Starting much before dawn, Jankibai completes her household chores and sets out to search for the grass. “It grows everywhere, but during this 10-day festival Durva seems to have just vanished. We travel for hours to collect these leaves,” says Jankibai of Osmanabad, who supports her family of ten on this grass.

“We have to be on a constant lookout of this grass. We are homeless and hence can’t think of cultivating them. We travel as far as Raigad and Vasai. It’s strenuous work but pays well during the festival.”

Dr Ambedkar Nagar is a shanty town that grew immediately after the earthquake in Latur and Osmanabad districts in 1993. It has over 450-500 houses run by women selling Durva grass. “Small strands are collected and packed into thin bunches. We usually do business of Rs 80-140 a day. Ganpati brings in good money, with revised rates bringing in Rs 120- 200,” says Alpabai, a single parent. “My husband is a construction worker and his work is unpredictable. He can work for one month and be jobless the next. We can’t rely on him to support my eight daughters and son. I have to leave my kids home to ensure we eat two meals everyday,” says Sharda Kamble, who settled in Mumbai after her village in Osmanabad was devastated by the earthquake.

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