“Lessons that can teach us about humanity itself”: Collective and dignified survival celebrated at the Dongria Kondhs’ seed festival – Odisha

There will always be a seed for everyone | To read the full article and view more photos, click here >> In the early summer month of April, around the magnificent Niyamgiri range in southern Odisha, the desi mango trees are already fruiting and mahua flowers have begun to blossom. Soon Kondh women will squeeze out the … Read more

India’s tribal citizens and the country’s urban mainstream: In search for schooling, work, food and dignity at home – Comment from New Delhi

Fragile lives, ferocious changes: The story of my Adivasi maidby Renuka Narayan An important position paper with policy recommendations on India’s tribal citizens is currently under consideration with Government. Its outcome interests me because though they don’t make them more ‘mainstream’ than I, my life as an urban gipsy startles friends who have lived in one house … Read more

Gond dance – Madhya Pradesh

Villagers at Sawra have decided to revive their traditional dances in an effort to preserve and showcase their rich culture. Satpuda Foundation (a wildlife conservation NGO working in central India) is encouraging this and other community initiatives. | Learn more >> From the inspiring love legends of Mandu to the formidable regality of Gwalior, from the … Read more

Sounding like a tiger: Rare musical instruments of Bardoli region – Gujarat

SURAT: Even as the government spends crores on promoting tourism, its most ancient folk culture is dying a slow death. Within villages around Dang, traditional instruments and artists are waning. Cultural music and dance forms among the adivasis have evolved over centuries. Beautified by elements and nuances of their surroundings, these forms depict their very … Read more

The last frontier of Firkal martial art of Chotanagpur area – Jharkhand

Unique: ‘Firkal’ performanceNo mention has been made of it in ancient treatises, history books, traveller’s account or even in archaelogical records. | Read more >> Older than Kalaripayattu, and even those martial art forms that trace its origins to China and Japan, Firkal is still very much a living martial art-based dance form, performed mainly … Read more