The Corona Fieldwork Short Story Anirudh Deshpande I Nine women sat on their haunches singing a bhajan and cooked the sweets in nine cast iron kadhais in a makeshift kitchen near the new temple. Nine selected village lads who had gathered the firewood for the earthen stoves stood in a polite semi circle before the women with folded hands. Dressed in ironed white kurta pyjamas, the sun burnt boys sported red vermillion tilaks on their foreheads. Long saffron bandanas, as symbols of impunity, hung from their necks. Wafer thin boys in crew cuts, faded jeans, T shirts and leatherite sandals