till 8 pm. A 10-minute break for breakfast and half-an-hour for lunch is the extent of the free time they have each day. Sometimes, they even have to work through the night.

"To avoid feeling sleepy, I would wash my face and work. They would also scold us and sometimes beat us if we fell asleep," says 13-year old Srinivasa, who worked in a factory in Hospete, Magadi, where he reeled silk for two years.

Srinivasa was paid Rs 100 a week. He had to work because his parents had borrowed Rs 5,000 from the factory owner who, in his case, happened to be his school teacher or 'head miss'. So, when Srinivasa was not at school, he would be at work.

In the first three months after they begin workat a factory, the children are usually paid no wages; the employers consider this their 'training period'.

"That is just an excuse. The work can be picked up in an hour and, by the end of their first day, the children are fairly proficient. At the most, it takes a week for them to become perfect," says Saroja.

Not that this makes life easier for the children. Working on the 'uri machine,' as the twisting and reeling machines are locally called, is monotonous and tiring.

Standing all day staring at the machines produces eyestrain and giddiness. Yet, if the children slack for a few minutes, the supervisor is ready to lash out at them. Literally.

Ventilation is poor. In most factories, there is only a single window that opens into another room.