“The biggest gift that god has given to me is my little grandson. He’s the reason for my happiness at this stage of my life. I play with him every day and teach him a few words every day about our language.

Belonging to the interior tribal region of Bhadradri Kothagudem district, I didn’t get an opportunity to go to school when I was young. We used to live a simple lifestyle close to nature.

I weave baskets out of bamboo and sell the forest honey to the people in the towns for my survival. However, that’s not the case with my children. I worked hard to get them educated until high school level and today they work as daily wagers in the city outskirts of Kothagudem and Palvancha.

Despite that, we are determined to stick to the roots and preserve our tribal culture.

The relationship of every Adivasi is with forests, water, rivers, and mountains. There is progress in our lives as the government and several NGOs are setting up primary schools and health care centers which we are grateful for.

As we belong to the forest lands, we chose to remain here living close to nature away from concrete jungles. If the forests are not there, we too will not remain.”