Help pours in for Rahul's Shashikala

SONKHAS (YAVATMAL): Shashikala Rengneis busy laying out firewood, while her husband Pralhad, who has just demolisheda portion of his mud house, begins to replace it with tin sheds. The Rengnes arelucky. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited their homeduring his recent visit to Vidarbha where financially distressed farmerscontinue to commit suicide. He also mentioned Shash-ikala's name in his speechduring the trust vote in Parliament on July 22. That overni-ght fame has giventhem a slightly better shot at life.Unlike Kalawati Bandurkar ofJalka village, who was also put in the headlines after Rahul's speech,Shashikala hasn't been widowed. But like Kalawati, Shashikala's family alsodoesn't have any land to till and their condition seems worse. Thehusband and wife work as farm hands. Being a woman, Shashikala gets a daily wageof Rs 30, while Pralhad gets Rs 70. But there are days when he is paid only Rs40.Their family of five lives in a mud house with only one 10x15feet room and a small kitchen. They have to share the space with goats andchicken. When it rains, it pours in their house. Of course, there is noelectricity. Like Kalavati's house, now Shashikala's hut, too, has a huge bannerof Rahul Gandhi on the front wall and his portrait inside.The VIP'schance visit has invited some change in their lives. Congress leader NareshPugalia has deposited Rs 1.50 lakh in the bank for the education of her threesons.Shashikala's 15-year-old son Yogesh is maintaining a list ofdonors. "Pugalia gave us Rs 1,50,000 in the bank and Rs 10,000 cash. A person bythe name of Nagpure has also given money and one Chandrabai Sawalakhe ofYavatmal has promised to get us an electricity connection and also build us ahouse," he says.But the woman says she knows nothing about who RahulGandhi is and her eldest son, Mahendra ��� the only member in the family whocan read a newspaper - says he is the country's PM."That day he(Rahul) just stopped at my doorstep and asked if he could come in. I invited himin and made him comfortable on a cot. Then all the villagers began talking abouthim. They said Rahul talked about me on TV. How would I know, I don't haveelectricity at home," says Shashikala. Pralhad, who was working in the fields,missed the VIP visit.The family knows nothing about farmers'suicides either. "Which farmer killed himself," asks Pralhad, adding that theyare too busy earning a square meal to find out about what's happening aroundthem. Told about Kalawati's threats that she would commit suicide if she doesn'tget help, Shashikala says, "It is wrong to say so. There are good people whowould help us and we must be content with what we have."