Guwahati, Sept. 12 -- Erratic rainfall, agricultural shocks and rising migration have emptied villages in Purulia, leaving older residents to fend for themselves

Written by Joymala Bagchi

Purulia: In West Bengal's Chatarmahul village of Purulia district, Shakuntala Rajwar (85) lies frail on a charpai inside a dim, mud-walled room. The air is stale, sunlight never enters, and the cattle shed next door fills it with dampness and smell.

Her two sons, Rajen (62) and Kartik (60), have spent the past decade as migrant daily-wage workers in Odisha, returning only during the paddy harvest. Their wives care for Shakuntala when they can. "It feels so hot here, but I don't have a choice," she said, struggling to sit up.

She still remembers the d...