Every evening through Ramadan, a long mat is rolled out at the crossroads where the mosque road meets the temple road. Muslim families bring the rice and curry they have prepared for iftar. Tamil Hindu neighbours bring fruit, short eats and flasks of tea, and stay to serve.
It began four years ago with a single household inviting the family next door. This year more than ninety people sat down together on the busiest night.
"We were neighbours for thirty years before we ever ate in each other's houses," one of the organisers said. "Now the children do not even think about it. They just sit where their friends are sitting."
ESUDO supports the gathering with mats, lighting and transport for elderly residents, but the cooking, the inviting and the clearing up are entirely the villagers' own. That is the point. Unity that depends on an organisation ends when the organisation leaves; unity that families own themselves outlasts every project cycle.
The committee is now planning a shared Thai Pongal meal in January, hosted the other way round.
