No vegetable shops were found in the surroundings of these villages. Where do the villagers go and buy vegetables was our puzzle?!

Delighted to see home grown essential vegetables in a few homes.

The other day, learnt that Saramma* is the only woman who sells vegetables in the evenings between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm at the intersection between Allipur and Odipilavancha Villages after her daily wage work.

Happened to see a mobile vegetable seller, Mallaiah who walks in the streets of Allipur and Odipilavancha villages with the food baskets balancing them with a long stick carrying on his shoulders, operating between 5 and 8 pm.

Apparently, we learnt about Razak???s Mobile Mutton Shop who sells mutton at Rs. 200 per kg in his autorickshaw. He carries around two buckets of meat in his vehicle for the sale particularly in the streets of Dalits-wadas (streets).

Outside these villages, the daily vegetable market is in Kataram Mandal. About five shops operate in this market, which are near to the main bus stand, located at a distance around 8 km to 10 km for the villagers of Allipur, Odipilavancha and Veerapur.

Also learnt about the weekly market in Kataram near Marrichettu (Banyan tree) that operates every Monday from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. This market has vegetables, dried fish, spices and other items of daily consumption. The timing of this market is based upon the timings of the daily wage workers/agricultural labourers who return from the work after 5 pm to their homes.

Apart from usual vegetables, variety of dried fish are found in the market. Sunitha buys her source (dried fish) from Nizamabad and Adilabad district.

Interestingly, happened to see a tobacco leaf stall in the market. Yallamma is the only woman who sells tobacco leaf in this weekly market at about Rs. 20 per leaf.

The mobile dry fish seller. Shankaraiah* sells dry fish in his motorcycle covering approximately eight villages in Kataram Mandal. He buys the fish from Rajahmundry and Kakinada and runs a small business of this kind in Kataram.

Patturi Balaji and Matta Srinivas are Research Associate and Research Assistant in a UoH-IoE Project at School of Economics, University of Hyderabad. Gummadi Sridevi is a Professor at School of Economics, University of Hyderabad. Amalendu Jyotishi is a Professor at School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.

This field visit is a part of ongoing UoH-IoE Project.

All names have been changed.