The Kurumbar community: Discoveries in South Indian history – Tamil Nadu

References to the region go back to tribal Kurumbars in the 1st century AD – Tamil Nadu The tribe divided the region into 24 districts and built several forts. Historian Prof K V Raman says, “Places like Mylapore, Triplicane, Egmore, Pallavaram, Velacheri, Thiruvanmiyur and Nungambakkam among many others formed a vital part of the ancient … Read more

Bastar art and the Hindu-isation of the tribal myth – Chhattisgarh

Niranjan Mahawar, 75 [in 2012], is a self-taught ethnologist of Chhattisgarh. He spent almost five decades in southern Chhattisgarh to study the life and art of the Bastar tribes. […] Today, Mahawar — who was made famous in a series of interviews by the writer Dom Moraes — is considered an authoritative voice on central … Read more

Helping children learn in their own language: StoryWeaver

With over 10,000 stories in 124 languages, StoryWeaver is a vibrant reading site that helps children learn while giving a boost to obscure languages

Interview | Daricha Foundation traces the roots of folk and tribal arts – West Bengal

Interview with Daricha Foundation’s founder Ratnaboli Bose If one of the scenes that you remember from Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk is where Mamata Shankar serves goyna bodi to Utpal Dutt, then you could be a friend of Daricha, a one-stop knowledge portal aimed at documenting, promoting and disseminating Bengal’s folk and tribal culture. Conceived by Ratnaboli … Read more