Where: Jungles of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve near Kanakarai tribal village.
Who: The Irula tribesmen of the Kanakarai village
What: A moving conversation with the ex village president, a cattle herder and a tiger at heart.
When: while herding cattle in the jungle, the reserve forest, against all odds – tigers, leopards, elephants and mainly, the bothersome bears of the jungle.
Why: Because.
How: The husband and wife team minds the cattle and drives them to the grasslands in the tiger reserve, with the help of a few dogs for safety and protection against bear attacks.
thoughts: these Irulas risk their lives to go herd cattle inside the tiger reserve, which is a prohibited activity by the forest department, all over India. But then, its unfortunate that we overlook the simple fact that they once belonged to these jungles, been driven out as a penalty for our ways of life in exploiting nature, overlooking the facts that they are torn and naked without the basic amenities – pucca houses, access to education, employment, healthcare and assimilation into the mainstream world. they are very cheerful fellas, in spite of the limbo.
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