Question

List the different types of people you read about in Kalpattu who depend on farming. Who is the poorest among them and why?

Answer 1

In Kalpattu, three types of people depend on farming. These are the big farmers like Ramalingam, the small farmers like Sekar, and the agricultural labourers like Thulasi.

The big farmers are well off. They cultivate most of the land in the village. A large part of their produce is sold in the market. Many of them have other businesses such as shops, money lending, trading, small factories, etc. Hence, they have additional sources of income apart from their lands. The lands of small farmers are just enough to meet their ends. For this reason, they sometimes have to work for big farmers. However, their condition is still better when compared to the landless agricultural labourers. They depend entirely upon the work they do on other people’s farms and go without any work for the most part of the year. Hence, among the three categories, agricultural labourers like Thulasi are the poorest.