Photos

This was taken at a village about 20 km from Sinnar. The day's work is done, it was evening and the oxen were unhitched from the cart and left to graze.
The tree above them is a Neem tree.

In India, the tree is variously known as 'Divine Tree',"Heal All","Nature's Drugstore", "Village Pharmacy" and "Panacea for all diseases". Products made from neem have proven medicinal properties as: antihelmintic, antifungal, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral,and antifertility etc. It is particularly prescribed for skin disease

Neem twigs are used for brushing teeth in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This practice is perhaps one of the earliest and most effective forms of dental care.
All parts of the tree (seeds, leaves, flowers and bark) are used for preparing many different medical preparation.
Neem oil is used for preparing cosmetics (soap, shampoo, balms and creams).
Besides its use in traditional Indian medicine the neem tree is of great importance for its anti-desertification properties and possibly as a good carbon dioxide sink.
Neem oil is useful for skin care such as acne, and keeping skin elasticity.
Practictioners of traditional Indian medicine recommend that patients suffering from Chicken Pox sleep on neem leaves.
(Wikipedia)

The white flowered weeds growing in the foreground are Congress grass also called carrot weed because it resembles a carrot plant or Parthenium hysterophorus. It is supposed to be one of 10 worst weeds in the world because it has been the main cause for many allergies, skin diseases, hay fever and asthma in human beings and is toxic to livestock.

Parthenium hysterophorus is a weed that was imported into India along with the PL 480 Mexican wheat seeds in the 50s. The weed has since grown into uncontrollable proportions invading million of hectares of uncultivated wastelands, roadsides, railway tracks, etc. The fast growing weed is a nuisance in public parks, residential colonies and orchards. The presence of parthenium in cropped lands results in yield reduction up to 40 per cent. The pollen grains inhibit fruit set in tomato, brinjal, beans, etc. It is also responsible for bitter milk disease in livestock fed on grass mixed with parthenium.