To protect and serve Tribals,
To acknowledge those who labour to produce food and other
commodities without access to reading and writing,
To salute them as our first teachers, who identified the
roots, fruits and meats we eat today,
Who evolved the science of tanning and developed the leather
industry,
Potters. They brought clay to life, inaugurating a new
chapter in history,
Weavers. Invented the spinning wheel and the looms, and used
the cloth like a canvas to weave intricate designs,
Barbers. Our first doctors, who wielded razors to cut hair
and to perform surgeries in the pre modern period,
Labour and Religion. In a positive religion, lobour is the
best form of prayer…
Inside the Church during the Service.
Greetings and encouragement from the two Bishops present on
the occasion.
With another member of the Congregation.
He asked to have a picture with me!
With the Santhali Group from 24 Parganas, W. Bengal. I have
worked with, and photographed, the Santhalis, the Nagas and the adivasis of
Jharkhand and Central India over the last 40 years. It was during this time
that I got to understand these indigenous people.
Someone took this amazing portrait of me! I received the
final items for the ‘outfit’ directly from Dimapur, Nagaland, just 3 days before
the event, and so I decided to wear it for the occasion. Presbyter-in-Charge
(Priest) had requested members of the Congregation to come dressed in tribal
attire for the occasion. As far back as
1971 Pastor Mark Buntain of the Assembly of God Church, Calcutta, used to ask
me to cover Nagaland. Also I got close to the Santhalis in 24 Parganas through
the Cathedral Relief Services, St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta. Canon Subir
Biswas ran the CRS then. What memorable times. In 1980 I started visiting the
adivasis living in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau.
I went deep into Adivasi areas:
Gumla, Chainpur, Samaypur, Garda etc. etc., and associated with the Urraos,
Tiggas, Kujurs and others. I danced to the beat of their nagaras, sang their
songs and drank their mahua and hariya. About five years ago I covered the
Baigas of Madhya Pradesh. I was lucky to get the opportunity to study their
customs and ways.
