‘Winter is coming.’ Bhola Rai may not have much idea about this trendy phrase, but he means it; he is preparing himself. Baraka Rajpur, a village situated in Bihar province of Northern India, is indeed preparing itself for the winter. Bhola Rai, in his 70s, is a peon in the government high school located on the outskirts of the village.

‘I have to arrange fire wood and dung cake every day for the nights are long and chilling, even though it’s just the beginning of November,’ Rai says as he sits to light up the brazier. Electricity is still a fancy thing for the villagers, though they get it supplied everyday for 3 to 4 hours; it is enough for charging mobile phones and running televisions for news and entertainment. But, Bhola Rai doesn’t depend on electricity at all; he fears electricity is spoiling kids and ‘old memories’.

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