The adivasis in the tribal belt of Bhandara-Raipur-Chattisgarh have only two options: starve or face exploitation by tendu-leaf growers. There isn't a third choice. More than 10 lakh adivasis work in exploitative conditions, picking tendu leaves in fields owned by a few moneybags. Paid a pittance and made to work for upto 12 hours at a stretch, the adivasis are caught in a vice-like grip from which there seems to be no escape.