ABSTRACT
Looking towards the border with the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, Hira said ‘Maharashtra ends where the tarred road ends’. For him, as for many others living in the eastern borderlands of the state, Maharashtra represents a vision of modernity at odds with the image he has of Chhattisgarh. Tarred roads, urban culture, selfish people, even the method of sowing paddy, all offer a contrast to the place across the border. They are the muddle in the middle, neither properly Marathi nor fully Chhattisgarhi, and uncomfortable in both places. Yet, both places exert a pull and are desired for different reasons. State and social power, however, work to denigrate this muddle and engage in projects of purification to clarify and channel senses of belonging.
