Contemporary Adivasi art

“There was no train when I came to the village as a young bride of 11 and no thieves either! No telephones, no watches none of these modern things that I now put into my work,” she laughs. “I was so lonely in my husband’s house, I started making clay figurines. Birds, beasts and animals, … Read more

Dial the Jackfruit Van: Uravu team ‘unlocking’ the jackfruit power – Kerala

National jackfruit fete to unveil a veritable treat At a time when much is being said about food security, a widely-available fruit that is nutritious and most parts of which can be put to good use in the kitchen, is being totally shunned by Keralites. And it is a tree which could be spotted in … Read more

“Urbanites should connect and preserve tribal life, just as we should preserve nature”: Adi Bimb festival NSD Chairman Ratan Thiyam – West Bengal

On the sidelines of the “Adi Bimb” festival, NSD Chairman Ratan Thiyam speaks of the need to appreciate and emulate the wisdom of tribal people. The National School of Drama organised a Festival of Tribal Music, Dance and Theatre, titled “Adi Bimb”, at Dwaronda village, near Santiniketan in the District of Birbhum in West Bengal … Read more

Telling the story of the Sabars: Mahasweta Devi’s historical novel “The Book of the Hunter” set in 6th-century Bengal

MAHASWETA DEVI’S novel The Book of the Hunter (first published in Bengali as Byadhkhanda in 1994), is the latest in Seagull’s excellent ongoing enterprise to bring the powerful oeuvre of the literary activist to a readership well beyond Bengal. One of Devi’s foremost passions has been to document the oral histories of the tribal communities … Read more