Fading Culture on Shrinking Commons

by GB Mukherji (India)

Making a local connection India

Hartingaram is leaving. Very soon he will not follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. Though this Photo Feature is a story of resilience, he is a failure – the barriers imposed on his lifestyle have been back breaking. From owning and tending to more than 250 heads of sheep and goats, his flock has been reduced to just 50. Rampant, uncontrolled thefts in a neighbouring state and a law and order machinery that still considers transhumance is a destructive practice are the immediate causes. Deeper is the severe injury to his self esteem – in the eyes of his community which he had hoped to lead and prosper; in the eyes of his wife; and mostly in the eyes of his children who, like all children felt that their father is ‘the best’. Being just 31, he sees a couple of alternate livelihood options, though with trepidation. His family elders, however, are afraid of any change and are likely to push on till it becomes unbearable; till their backs are crushed by unsympathetic state policies that see no value in pastoralism or its relevance to barren ecosystems. Are they really the flotsams of a dying culture?... ….The first time I met handsome Lakaji, Hartingaram’s father was when my friends from FES and I were surveying the Raikas around MP to test out the possibility of getting associated with a group. That was on 9th May 2013. At that time, he was a quiet observer and rarely intervened in the conversation. His son Hertingaram did most of the talking while munim Nyamaji provided the assenting notes! Thereafter, we have been meeting Lakaji quite often. He has always looked to be in peak physical and mental health. He talked little but was and still is full of wisdom. During our visit to his minuscule camp exactly two years later, we were shocked to find him semi blind. He had been noticing deterioration in his sight for a while but did nothing, waiting for things to improve on its own. Gradually, however, it had become very difficult for him to herd the animals and keep them away from cropped areas all around. So, he was tending to a few camels (being big and visible) while the main Dera (camp) was some distance away. Yes, he had been to many doctors who, besides offering no definite advice and giving him an off-the-counter spectacle had ruled out any cure or ‘moti’ (cataract). An active and healthy man had thus become a burden on himself and the family...