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Life in the tribal area of Bastar in Chhattisgarh takes us back to our roots.
Malabika Sen writes about her unique experience
The
travel bug that bites us ever so often, prompted us this time to pick up
the railway time table to decide our destination. So from Vishakapatnam
(Vizag), we hopped on to the slow train to Kirandul a track not often
circuited by regular holidaymakers. Our final destination was Bastar
district in Chhattisgarh. The sights, sounds and even smells of nature
hit us as we embarked upon this 12 hours of joyful journey as the train
chugged through jungles, under waterfalls, along rivers and hills. We
traversed the three large states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra
Pradesh. We got off at Jagdalpur, the district headquarters located in
the southern tip of Bastar. We made it a point to check out with the
locals what to see and where to go as they are the best guides. We
booked a cab for the day and started early the next morning to see a
famous waterfall. The serene Indravati river, along which we drove,
comes to a sudden drop at Chitrakut. We were not prepared for what the
eyes were to witness. The majestic drop of the river water, from a
height of 90 ft, left us spellbound. Chitrakut is a beautiful spot
where one can spend a day fishing and exploring and who knows one might
be taken to be a wild creature. I am actually talking about tribes that
are really very primitive such as the Abujmaris but are now well
protected by the government. One has to take permission from the
District Collector in case one wants a visit. Abujmaris are far
removed from civilisation and inhabit hilly jungles spread over the
tehsils of Narainpur, Bijapur and Dantewara. History may have passed
them but they too have chosen to completely ignore the world. They are
happy following their own customs, beliefs and have their own dialect
and culture. Their unique lifestyle and dress have intrigued the
international media and some have managed to document their lifestyle by
camping for months among them. It isn’t surprising that one might
bump into a blue eyed or a blond head Abujmari. This explains the
necessity of a special permit required these days to visit Abujmar. It
is a measure taken by the government to preserve the species. This
tribe lives by its own rules. Both men and women wear a small piece of
cloth around their waist and their jewellery is made of twisted iron and
beaten brass. They drink water like cattle putting their mouths to the
stream. Stone implements are used for harvesting. Though a shy lot, the
women folk enjoy a lot of freedom. Widow remarriage is common as is the
freedom to seek a divorce on grounds of adultery and incompatibility.
After this magical experience, we visited a nearby village, Londiguda.
We were lucky as it was the weekly bazaar day. Londiguda was indeed a
kaleidoscope of experience. On the one side, the tribals dress up in a
bright attire, cacophony of cockfight, exchange of wares for barter, the
strong aroma of fried food and on the other hand, the crisp smell of
freshly picked vegetables, along with stacks of clay pots, not to miss
the fascinating music being played by them. As one went around the
market, we found women sitting with beautiful handcrafted tribal
jewellery made out of peacock feathers, brass, iron, wood, bamboo beads
and odd pieces of coloured stone. Our next stop was Kutumbeswar. These
are natural caves first discovered by the tribals. Even today the
tribals worship the stalagmites as their gods and goddesses. Time was
running out but we had to visit the government-run centres for tribal
crafts in Jagdalpur. There was the famous kosa centre that spins out the
famous tussar silk. The entire process right from the cocoon
stage of a silk worm to a full nine-yard saree could be seen. Finally,
it was time to pack our bags to get back to reality but not without
wanting to share the experience of the discovery of an almost untouched
existence. |
