In a world where the birth of a daughter was often seen as a burden, this ritual celebrated it, despite being rooted in grief. It was the invention of a man who once served as Piplantri’s sarpanch (a position akin to small-town mayor). His beloved daughter died very young and he wanted to honor her memory. The villagers planted many thousands of trees but worried termites would destroy them. So the villagers started planting aloe vera, which they believed would kill the pests. Soon there were millions of aloe plants in Piplantri. They didn’t know what to do with them all. But the women of the
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