Life in the remote village of Meerwada in Madhya Pradesh used to grind to a standstill as darkness descended.

Workers downed tools, kids strained to see their school books under the faint glow of aged kerosene lamps and adults struggled to carry out the most basic of household chores.

The arrival of solar power last year has changed all that. On a humid evening splashed with rain, fans whirr, children sit cross-legged to swat up on their Hindi and delighted people can actually see what they are eating and drinking.

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A boy sits on a cart in front of a solar power plant at Meerwada village of Guna district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

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A boy poses for a picture outside a community hall at Rampuriya village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A man stands inside his illuminated house powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A villager dries a cloth under an electric pole powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Children watch television powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Villagers stand under an electric pole powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A woman uses a manual sewing machine inside her house at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A woman stands in front of an illuminated house powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A boy charges his mobile phone from an electric board powered by solar energy inside his house at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Ansiya (R), 8, and Ramsiya, 7, pose for a picture under an electric board inside their house at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A family eats dinner inside their house illuminated by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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A family eats their dinner under the light of a kerosene lamp and battery operated torch inside their house at Rampuriya village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Girls study inside their house, illuminated by a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) that is powered by solar energy, at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Children watch television powered by solar energy at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Sampat Bai, 64, poses for a picture inside her house illuminated by a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) that is powered by solar energy, at Meerwada village of Guna district, in Madhya Pradesh.

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A woman uses a battery operated torch to prepare a meal inside the kitchen of her house at Rampuriya village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.

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Villagers stand behind newly installed electric poles at Meerwada village of Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.