The bandicoot tries to scoot, but Marre Ramudu’s perfectly-aimed shot at its head with a catapult leaves it writhing. The 10-year-old pins it to the ground, killing it with repeated blows. He throws it on a small fire kindled by little bits of wood in the space outside his home — a shed inhabited by his family and seven others. He roasts the bandicoot whole, as his little sister Gowreswari watches with a sparkle in her eyes. It’s noon; they’ll have at least one meal today.
The siblings relish the feast with their cousin in village Telaprolu Cheruvu Katta (village pond). They drink water here, wash their clothes, and defecate around the water body. The village is in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, about 30 km from Vijayawada city. “When luck smiles, we get to eat the meat of a cat, squirrel, or a monitor lizard,” he says looking at his sister, busy poking the tender meat with her nails.
The village is in Unguturu mandal of Vijayawada revenue division and is home to small settlements of the impoverished Yenadi community, a Scheduled Tribe, who are also called as Yanadi in Andhra Pradesh. They have the highest population among the 34 tribal groups in the State, and are scattered across mandals, with Nellore and Chittoor forming hubs.
