Five President's Award winners and an equal number of State award recipients live in a village that does not have a road, school, hospital or even drinking water. The approach to the village is through Orissa, though its craftspersons can boast of having travelled across the world. Yes, this is the history and geography of Ektaal village on the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border. This village did not even exist before 1982. It acted as a transit point for craftspersons, specialising in the manufacture of bell-metal items, who came from areas around the Hirakud dam particularly Jampali in Sambalpur district to sell their products in Chhattisgarh.