Walking is a Way of Knowing: In a Kadar Forest review: The woods as a home

In the Anthropological Survey of India’s illuminating book on the vulnerable tribes of India, R. Rajendra Prasad writes that the word ‘kadar’ is the plural form of ‘kadan’, which means a forest dweller. According to the 2011 census, the population of the Kadar tribe was 2,949, mainly spread over the Kerala districts of Thrissur and Palakkad and some parts of Tamil Nadu. Originally hunter-gatherers, living on forest resources like wild roots and tubers, developmental initiatives undertaken by the Kerala government have brought changes in their lifestyle, with at least 51% of the population achieving a level of literacy (2001 census).

What then is the Kadar way of life? Two biologist-authors Madhuri Ramesh and Manish Chandi find out by walking the path of the Kadar. The narrative, through the eyes of Ramesh and Chandi who walked the lush forest paths of the Anamalai hills as young researchers, is particularly endearing as they speak with their elderly guide and companion Madiyappan, a Kadar tribesman, about the forest he calls home. Their conversations reveal Kadar customs and their belief-based takes on life: from never extracting all the honey from a bee hive to making sure that bees and the honey-loving bears get some too, to chanting a short prayer when they walk out of a forest to thank their ancestors, gods and animals for keeping them safe.

For the Kadar, it is important to heed not just animal sounds in the forest, but the sounds of trees too: from their whispers as langurs (a kind of monkey) move silently through their branches, or the bewildering humming treetrunk, which a Kadar later found out was home to tiny honey bees. Glimpses of wild animal behaviour also trickle through several of these accounts.

Occasionally, a few words in Tamil or the native tongue of the Kadar aal alaapu (which translates to ‘people speech’) find their way into the text, describing varieties of honey, trees, even sounds, with flavour. ‘Surra burra surra burra’ for instance, is how Madiyappan describes outsiders walking in the forests, noisily disturbing leaf litter like foraging jungle fowl. Award-winning illustrator Matthew Frame's bold, textured drawings infuse the text with more spirit. They capture honey bees landing carefully on forest vines; the dark, intricate and furry curls of a meditative Indian gaur; and the fine wrinkles and crow’s feet on weather-beaten Kadar faces.

Walking is a way of knowing treads a path less travelled and gives a realistic rendition of what forests mean to tribal communities. In Madiyappan’s words: “We return to the forest again and again and again: as much to fill our stomachs as our hearts.”

Walking is a Way of Knowing: In a Kadar Forest; Madhuri Ramesh, Manish Chandi and Matthew Frame, Tara Books, ₹450.