Video | Trailer to “Have you seen the arana?” – Kerala

“The stories of ancestors and their discoveries give the film a mystical quality and work like a poetic refrain” – Review by Bikas Mishra Three narratives from distinct landscapes – rice fields, forest and plantations – reveal different ways of engaging with land.  Award winning documentary by Sunanda Bhat (Bangalore) More about this film In 2013 the documentary was presented … Read more

Mapping indigenous memories with a holistic understanding of the living planet: “Summer Rain” – Kerala

Indigenous knowledge in Kerala, as in any part of the world, was impeccable in matters concerning the forests, the agricultural fields, the ponds and the rivers. It had a holistic understanding of the social and ecological fabric of the living planet. This book is a compilation of articles that echo the sheer joy of being … Read more

eJournal | Toda cultural history (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

Until now, historians and anthropologists believed that Todas, a tribal group in the higher altitudes of the Nilgiris, reached there about 2,000 years ago. A new study by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru researchers shows the community was already settled there 3,500-4,000 years ago when a climate change occurred in southern India. […]  The buffalo-tending … Read more

Health and nutrition: Creating awareness among Adivasi children – Tamil Nadu

In the 1980s, the tribal people in our region came together and set up a group called the AMS. At that time malnutrition was a serious problem among tribal people because they were being denied their traditional access to the forest. This meant that they couldn’t forage, hunt or grow food any more, and they … Read more