The Bhils & the Odhnis

Do-gooders used to be rare among Hindus, with their belief in the inescapability of Karma and the illusory nature of the created world. But Calcutta's Rameshwar Tantia is a new kind of Hindu; he likes action--especially for his own home region of Marwar, in western Rajasthan. and for all the people in the surrounding desert country. A wealthy businessman (jute, tea, mining), 45-year-old Philanthropist Tantia has arranged new marriages for poor widows, paying the indispensable dowries out of his own pocket. His latest good work: uncovering the Bhil ladies.

There are some 4,000,000 Bhils scattered through the arid lands of west and central India, and they are poor, even for India. A wife, a cow and a plow are enough to make a Bhil a rich man. The Bhil's special god in the Hindu pantheon is Kaladev, "the Black God." While enlightened on the subject of caste ("There is only one caste which embraces all mankind"), the god Kaladev has long blessed the Bhil custom of concealing their women under heavy sacklike cloaks that cover their heads completely. Tantia decided to liberate them.

He journeyed to the Rajasthan village of Bourai. 60 miles from Udaipur. and made arrangements for a mela--an all-night feast with dancing and speechmaking. When the drummers had spread the news abroad, 7,000 Bhils turned up--men, women and children. At the height of the party, tall, spectacled Rameshwar Tantia stood up. He had some presents, he said, for his sisters, the Bhil women, and he flung open the suitcases he had brought with him.

It was as though Christian Dior had offered to hand out his latest models on a Paris street corner. There lay a treasure trove of odhnis. the gaily colored lengths of cloth that northwest India's women wear over their heads--when they can afford them. Many women wear them only on their wedding day, then carefully put them away for future generations. Every Bhil woman would get one, announced Tantia, if she would swear by Kaladev that she would never hide her face again.

There was silence. The Bhil men sat cross-legged and impassive; the Bhil women stared at the odhnis through the eyeholes in their cloaks. For a while nothing happened. Then one woman rose, slowly advanced and uncovered her face, her eyes glued to the wonderful cloth. "Take the oath, sister," said Tantia, fingering an odhni. She hesitated only a moment. Almost before he knew it, Tantia had given away 460 odhnis (value: $2,000).

Tantia held his breath as the village headmen rose and approached; he was relieved when they thanked him. The Black God, Kaladev, did not seem to object either. Last week Tantia was busy with a project to bring water to the desert people. But after that, he had another urgent job to do--shopping for more odhnis.

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