However, over the past six months something remarkable has happened to break the cycle of squalor and despair: Each afternoon the men of Thennamadevi leave their village and head for the surrounding fields, many carrying bottles of high-strength home-brewed alcohol. The child carried the idol to a river on the outskirts of the village where he immersed the idol and dirtied his feet with the mud. Her eldest daughter is now married with her own family, a journey that proves that narratives can be amended. A library is being built where well-thumbed books promote the virtues of learning and independence. Kural had wanted to visit Pondicherry, 30km away on the coast. Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. He heard reports of other minors wandering platforms alone, their clothing torn and grubby. Senior club member Gowsalya Radhakrishnan said:
