Once Vidarbha was known for its cotton or ‘white gold’ production, but now it is mostly notorious as the suicide belt of India. Since 2012, nearly 4,000 farmers (source: National Crime Records Bureau of India) have killed themselves in the six districts of Vidarbha region — Amravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Washim, Akola and Buldhana.

It’s a similar situation in the nearby region of Marathwada. Even a debt of ₹10,000 is enough to push a farmer over the edge. Young farmers (aged between 18 and 30) accounted for the second-highest number of suicides, leaving behind young widows and children.

Banks are not eager to lend to farmers, as recovery is difficult with the annual earning at a low ₹20,000. The poor and marginal farmers fall into the clutches of moneylenders, who charge a higher interest rate, which the farmers are unable to repay, thereby resulting in to a spate of suicides.

The villages of Vidarbha overflow with tales of the sufferings inflicted on the widows of the farmers who have taken their own lives in the face of the agrarian crisis besetting the region. The whole issue of farmer suicides is viewed from the perspective of the male member of the family, but it is equally important to tell the stories of the women who are left behind. So, when a crisis-hit farmer kills himself, what happens to the widow and children?

She is pushed further into the debt trap, thereby worsening her struggle to make ends meet. The families take to working as labourers in other peoples’ farms to sustain themselves. The children often drop out of school, as their mother can no longer afford to pay their fee. At a tender age, they enter the workforce to help provide for the family.

I interviewed 20 families in 12 different villages over a period of six months, to get the women to speak of their struggle. The photo story also highlights the joy, celebration and a temporary relief for farmers under the recent monsoon rains.

Deepti Asthana is a Mumbai-based photojournalist