office te waadi | office to hamlet_ 🌱

it was the drizzly morning of 9th august 2016. my field co-worker abhinav and i were supposed to visit pen city for the first time. we had prepared to take an early train from panvel to reach on time. the pen city is two and a half hours far from mumbai. unfortunately, we missed the first train because we couldn't figure out the distance between the institute and panvel and got late to reach like two of the afternoon.

the day was as cloudy as typical of western maharashtra's rainy season. we went to the office and saw three people were working. we had an introduction with all. including two of us, everyone was non-adivasi until one activist entered the office. sanjay works as a hostel super-wiser and is a crucial leader of the katkari adivasi community in organizing rallies and advocating rights. we couldn't talk much with him because he was in a bit rush and went back immediately. we asked a person sitting in the cabin to let us see the city first. then we could also visit an adivasi wadi. he talked to his colleague wasanti taai to be accompanied us.

📑 in the mountains of sahyadri_
🖋 @dnyanesh_____
🌱 read this piece on blogspot, link is in the bio.

paaywat | roadless travel_ 🌱

several adivasi wadis are, at most of the places, situated in the upper part of the hill/mountain area. thus, walking or taking vehicles at that height becomes difficult. however, small, narrow, open streets are the best navigators to reach adivasi wadis. the ecology of the forests has been drastically changing due to high temperature, low rainfall, and things like increment in urbanization impacting adivasi living.

regular engagement of non-adivasi, both in terms of power and empathy, is giving birth to a tremendous epistemic contestation (to save freedom and maintain/counter the complex relationship of integration and negotiation) between adivasis and the non-adivasis; basically, outsiders can be seen and studied.

this is a series of blogs consisting of twelve articles. it is essential to disclose that these reflections are mine, meaning an outsider's reflections. this series has been conceptualized and written from the collection of field recordings. it is based on experiences and learnings the author has collected and gained in the field. The fieldwork had conducted during his master's program in social work course. The objective of the fieldwork was to understand and comprehend Adivasi communities to process the "perspective from within."

📑 in the mountains of sahyadri_ 

🖋 @dnyanesh_____
🌱 read this piece on blogspot, link is in the bio.

suruwaat | the beginning 🌱

katkari and thakur are two very prominent indigenous/adivasi communities whom one could visit and meet in the western ghats of maharashtra. they have been native to southern-west districts like raigad and sindhudurg. katkari adivasi societies have a significant presence in the whole of the western ghats in general.

in the studies of TRTI, it has been found that these communities have continued migrating from forests, hills, and peripheries to newly-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban spaces due to multi-layered reasons. this migration has impacted their visibility in their Adivasi hamlets, also known as 'wadi'. wadi is a native name of a small settlement, usually in forests and/or hills where katkari and thakur adivasi live.

even today, one can see many axiological patterns (consisting of culture and aesthetics) of katkari societies in this region. the adivasi ways of several small indigenous communities have distinct uniqueness. it is predominant in their styles of celebrating festivals and beliefs carried on from generation to generation, except one commonality and that is; all of their cultural and social aspects are fundamentally connected to jal, jangal, and jamin (water, forests, and land).

📑 in the mountains of sahyadri_ 

🖋 @dnyanesh_____
🌱 read this piece on blogspot, link is in the bio.

In the Mountains of Sahyadri, Blogs on the Field Work

Katkari and Thakur are two very prominent Indigenous/Adivasi communities, whom one could visit and meet in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. They have been native to southern-west districts like Raigad and Sindhudurg. Katkari Adivasi Societies have a significant presence in the whole of the Western Ghats in general.

The studies of TRTI, Maharashtra have shown that there have been continuing migration of Katkari and Thakur Adivasi families from forests, hills and the peripheries to newly-settled rural, semi-urban and urban spaces. This migration has impacted their visibility in their Adivasi hamlets which are also known as 'Wadi'. Wadi is a native name of a small settlement usually in forests and/or hills where Katkari and Thakur Adivasi live.

Even today, one could see many axiological patterns (consist of culture and aesthetics) of Katkari societies are present in this region. The Adivasi living ways of several small indigenous communities have distinct uniqueness. There is distinctiveness in their styles of celebrating festivals, beliefs which have been carried on from generations to generations except one commonality is that; all of their cultural and social aspects are fundamentally connected to Jal, Jangal, Jamin (water, forests, and land).

Several Adivasi Wadi'es are, at most of the places, situated in the upper part of the hill/mountain area. Thus, it becomes difficult to even walk or take vehicles at that height. However, small narrow and open streets are the best navigators to be used to reach Adivasi Wadis. The ecology of the forests has been drastically changing due to high temperature, low rainfall and things like increment in urbanisation that is impacting on Adivasi living.

Regular engagement of non-Adivasi, both in terms of power and empathy is giving birth to a tremendous epistemic contestation (to save freedom and maintain/counter the complex relationship of integration and negotiation) between Adivasis and the non-Adivasis, basically, outsiders can be seen and studied.

This is a series of blogs consisting of ten articles. It is essential to disclose the fact that these reflections are mine; meaning, of an outsider's reflections. This series has conceptualised and written from the collection of field recordings. It is based on experiences and learnings that the author has collected and gained in the field. The fieldwork had conducted during his master's program of social work course. The objective of the fieldwork was to understand and comprehend Adivasi communities to process the "perspective from within".

In the Mountains of Sahyadri, Blogs on the Field Work

Who am I?

I'm Dnyanesh. I did my masters of arts in the year 2016-18 at TISS, Mumbai. It was the Centre for Social Justice and Governance which gave me an opportunity under the course of Dalit and Tribal Studies to work and learn the fieldwork practitionership. Subsequently, I had got an opportunity to engage with Adivasi communities in the Sahyadri region of Western Ghats.

I was appointed in Pen Block of Raigadh District as the fieldworker to work with Ankur Trust. Ankur Trust is a non-governmental organisation that works on issues related to the rights and empowerment of the civil society of Pen. This centre plays a vital role in mobilising Katkari Adivasi throughout the region. Specifically, in Pen, it works to avail accessibility of fundamental rights like food, education and health to the Katkari Adivasi.

Note: This series would not directly or necessarily help fieldworkers and practitioners to know what fieldwork is. It would only give a glimpse of the process; how the 'field' has a platform for a 'practitioner' in building a perspective. The ideas and thoughts that have shared in these blogs are the authors own, and all of them are subjects to the discussion.

The following articles are written out of the field recordings that were written during the fieldwork from August 2016 to March 2017. The chapterization is conceptualised from the themes taken from the local dialects.

1. Tumhi Pan Shahar Madhun Yayal Ahe? [The Urban Connections]
2. Jangal Mhanje May-Baa [Embracing Nature]
3. Bai-Manus, Aan Waadi, [Thinking Challenges]
4. Macchi Khashin Na? [Unlearning Communities]
5. Dharanachya Pudh Aahe Dharanwaadi [The Adivasi Living]
6. Majhyasarakh Bol Bar! [The Katkari Language]
7. Bhat Kuth Pikato Mahiti Aahe? [The Slope Farming]
8. Dongaravar Ahe Vasti, [The Mountain Approach]
9. Tu Lay Hushyar Ashin Na Shalet? [Cultivation of Thoughts]
10. Baherchya Lokanna Nahi Mahit [Perspectives From Within]

See the Full Page and Ten Articles

अनुभव आणि लिखाण

दैनंदिनीतं अनुभवलेखणाच्या मांडणीत
मुश्किल असा पेच जाणवतो प्रत्येकदा…
बाह्यरूपी दिलखुलास मी
आणि आरस्यातील कोंडवाडा
यांमध्ये परस्परविरोधी मैलोंमैल अंतर असतांना
कसं उलगडावं हे अस्तित्व निष्पक्षपणे...

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पारंपारिक अंधारात अदृश्य दडलेला 'सेपियन'
जगण्याच्या आशेची हाळी देत असतो वारंवारं
आणि 'लोकप्रिय समाजसेवी' मन शोधतं देखीलं
आंधारातल्या काळोखाला 'उदारमते'
मात्र नाही पोहचतं आरपारं
काळ्याकुट्ट उरलेल्या सांगाड्या पर्यंत...

~ ज्ञानेश 

दु.०२:०४; २४/०७/२०१७