Hari Ram Rai Das has given up making leather except for the gurbaba dolls

At Pinky’s suggestion we visit Hari Ram Rai Das in his village an hour from Tulsipor by tuk tuk. The journey is uncomfortable but takes us through bucolic countryside and wonderful scenes of harvesting.

The Ram sub-caste is closely related to the Chamar. Both are known for collecting dead animals and turning the skin into leather products. It is also said that Chamar used to eat the flesh of the carcasses.

Hari Ram Rai Das is happy to talk about it all. Dignified and thoughtful he has every reason to be grateful to BASE. During the conflict he was beaten by Maoist rebels and suffered from a broken leg. BASE gave him 10,000 rupees to open a small store in his village which brings in around 3,000 rupees a month.

Hari has been making leather products since he was sixteen, but nowadays the only leather goods he makes are miniature dolls, known as gurbabas, which are worn around the neck during festivals and seen in then photo above. Hari made about 500 dolls for the 2024 Dashain festival, using only the skin of female calves. The leather cost a total of 3,000 rupees but Hari sold each doll for up to 500 rupees, which represented an excellent profit.

In spite of this, Hari is phasing out of leather. His explanation is fascinating and reveals a sub-caste in change.

As well as the leather, Hari is also known for his skill with a large drum, known as the chamari, that is played at festivals. Chamari drums are so spectacular that they can sell for over $1,000 on e-Bay. Hari used to earn enough money from drumming at the week-long Dashain festival to keep his family for the rest of the year. In fact, his playing was so good that Maoist rebels would visit his home during the war and demand that he play for them. He got tired of humoring them, and this may have led to the altercation and his broken leg. Whatever the reason, he was happy to give up the drum. The thrill has gone.

It turns out he was ahead of his time. Younger Chamar and Ram have grown increasingly disenchanted at the traditions of their sub-caste and view any work with leather and even the playing of chamari drums as demeaning. They demanded an end to chamari drumming at the 2024 Dashain festival, much to the disappointment of many.

This is not the only protest against Chamar tradition to have come from within the sub-caste. For some years Dalit activists have been demanding that the Chamar stop eating the flesh of animals that are slaughtered for the Dashain festival, sometimes described as the largest ritual sacrifice of animals in the world.

The slaughter persists, but some commentators see the two protests as proof of growing confidence among younger Dalit, many of whom have had their eyes opened by working in India and the Gulf. They are proud of their Dalit heritage but prepared to go against practices that they view as demeaning. A good sign, I would say.

Hari Ram Rai Das certainly approves, even though the ban on drumming has denied him an important source of income. He also appreciates the growing awareness and literacy among younger members of his sub-caste, because he himself is deeply committed to education. One son is in Saudi Arabia and his two daughters both completed 12^th grade at school. One daughter owns a shop and the other runs a beauty parlor in Ghorahi town. All three are married.

Hari is unusual in one other important way: he is one of only two individuals that we have met so far to have married outside their caste. He says that his parents objected for a few days but then relented – unlike the in-laws of Dropati Badi in the town of Ghorahi, who still refuse to see her.

A man of principle who is deeply committed to his community, Hari would be an excellent choice to lead any empowerment project by BASE.

Next: Badi Pride