Customs

“We have a song for every situation. We feel money takes away from the enjoyment of life. But to earn a livelihood, people have to learn other languages.” – Santal teacher Pada Murmu interviewed by Nandini Nair (OPEN Magazine, 13 January 2017)
https://openthemagazine.com/features/dispatch/santali-talking-time/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21581

Tips | Nature, wildlife and more

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Gandhi believed that giving more importance, value and relevance to practical skills, and applying traditional knowledge to solving day-to-day problems were essential for the development of rural India. – Bunker Roy, the founder of Barefoot College, which helps rural communities becomes self-sufficient

Understanding the forest the way city kids understand traffic lights and zebra crossings – ActionAid’s schools team

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Guest blogger Mari Marcel Thekaekara is a human rights activist and writer based in Gudalur, Tamil Nadu.  She co-founded ACCORD (Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development) in 1985 to work with Adivasi people of Chembakolli, Tamil Nadu, southern India. “I was with the ACCORD team in 1988 when the Adivasi people from Chembakolli decided they … Read more

Nandalal Bose painting “Village Huts” – National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi)

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Bengali literature celebrated the natural, healthy Santal way of living, the black lissome Santal women providing a counterpoint to the pale cloistered ladies of urban Calcutta. Source: Partha Mitter. The Triumph of Modernism: India’s Artists and the Avant-garde, 1922–1947, p. 29

“We plant the trees for our children in the memory of our elders who planted for us”: Trees are indispensable for India’s tribal communities

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To enlarge, view other paintings and read the full article, click here >> My image shows the museum as a tree. It’s a strange tree. Things are a bit upside down and it’s a little frightening. Right on top, I’ve given it the shape of a drum that can be played. The branches are like paths leading to different … Read more