In the past three to four years, these financiers moving on bicycles or two-wheelers from house to house in the rural areas have virtually entrapped almost all the households of marginal farmers, farm workers and casual labourers.

The terms for lending money are simple and without anyone standing for surety or guarantee. The transaction is based on an unwritten understanding between the lender and the recipient that the amount lent along with the service charge and interest will be repaid in ten equal weekly instalments. The only condition insisted upon by the lenders is that the recipient should be a housewife residing in the village and she should take the responsibility of repayment of the principal along with the service charge andinterest.

Depending on the `credibility' of the customer, which is assessed by the lender on the basis of her repayment records in the past, the amount given as loan usually varied from Rs 100 to Rs 500. In exceptional cases requests for amounts up to Rs 1000 are considered. The terms of repayment are that while lending, an amount equivalent to three per cent of the loan amount is deducted as service charge and the entire loan amount including the service charge deducted will have to be repaid in 10 weekly instalments along with interest at the rate of 25 per cent for 10 weeks.

Thus, while accepting a loan of Rs 100, the customer is paid Rs 97 in cash and on the same day each of the following 10 weeks, she has to keep ready Rs 12.50 as repayment of principal and interest for the lender, popularly known as `annan' among the village folk.

``The interest charged by the `annan' may be exorbitant. But I find taking a loan from him is most convenient in cases of emergencies like sudden sickness of children,death or marriage of a relative,'' says casual worker Annamma of Kuttur village. She admits that since her first loan of Rs 100 two years ago, she remained a debtor of the Tamil lender operating in the village. Her latest loan of Rs 500 was taken for presenting a gold ring to her sister on the occasion of her marriage three months back.

Rajakumaran, 25, hailing from Tirunelveli district, who has been lending money for the past three years, however, disagrees on the allegation of exorbitant interest. He says that considering the risk of the business, the interest charged is not exorbitant. According to him, he had lent about Rs 6 lakh to about 1,300 housewives in 12 different villages in Thrissur district without any security or guarantee. Will a bank or any moneylending institution take this kind of a risk, he asked. With all kinds of securities and guarantees, money lending institutions in the State charge more than 25 per cent, he pointed out.

Apart from the high risk factor, collection and lending indifferent villages on all the six days of the week is hard work. Rajakumaran, who had recently switched over from a bicycle to a moped, covers his clients in two villages in a day.

He has, however, admitted that in the past three years, he had succeeded in multiplying by over two times his initial investment of Rs 2 lakh. According to him, majority of about 200 persons lending money in Thrissur district are from Coimbatore district, because of its proximity to their native district.

Palani, hailing from Coimbatore, had started as a helper to another lender from his village. However, a year ago, he started lending money directly to some of the `good' customers of his earlier employer. He has invested about Rs 60,000 partly made up of his savings and partly by borrowing from a landlord in his native village.

According to him, there are more than 100 persons from Coimbatore district operating in Thrissur and its neighbouring districts at present.