Synopsis

Since 2015, Maharashtra, India has been in the throes of a man-made drought which has surpassed the drought of 1972, a natural calamity. During the past three years of the drought, farmers have invested thousands of dollars in their crops, all in vain. The societal norm in India, especially the rural areas, is a patriarchal system where the man goes to work and the woman stays home to take care of the house and children. The women are not looked at as a resource but are treated like a liability. To preserve her and her family’s honor in the society, the woman is married off as soon as she turns eighteen. The financial status of the family they marry depends on the dowry her parents can afford to give. Since bank loans are not easily accessible to them, farmers take money from private money lenders who charge exorbitant interest dowry. With no income because of the relentless drought, the farmers get drawn into a vicious debt cycle. In the communities of Maharashtra, a family’s honor is everything; not being able to provide for his wife and children destroys that honor. The farmers commit suicide because for them, it is the only way out. Since 2013, farmers are committing mass suicides – numbers reaching 1100 per year – the result of the conditions. Intimate and eye-opening, Talking To The Wind shows the social and psychological effects of climate change as it impacts identity, the idea of masculinity, and the pressures of social structure.