Nagpur: Tribals have own way of functioning, best not to interfere, says Nidhi Dugar Kundalia

NAGPUR: Tribal citizens have their own way of functioning, and it’s always good if others do not interfere with it, said author Nidhi Dugar Kundalia on Saturday evening.
Kundalia was in conversation with lawyer-activist Paromita Goswami at a Vidarbha Literature Festival event centred around her book ‘White as Milk and Rice: Stories of India's Isolated Tribes’.
Throwing light on how the book came about, Kundalia said, “I was disenchanted by the available material, which was either a record of their (tribals’) cultural history before Independence — with a focus on overly decorated dances and songs — or miserable pictures of their dismal conditions.”
She added, “For me, the intrigue lay in the life they had been leading post-Independence. How has the changing environment and the economy of India affected them? How do these changes affect individuals? I was more curious to have answers to such questions.”
The author firmly believes that various authors have only focused on tribal culture, including dance, music etc prior to Independence, but their emotional evolution from their day-to-day life also needed to come to light. She also read a paragraph from her book, about the Halakkis of Ankola, who are found in north Karnataka.
Kundalia, who besides being a published author is also a journalist and likes to call herself a ‘cultural memory keeper’, narrated an incident when Naxalites encountered her at the time of her research.
After learning that Kundalia is a journalist, the Naxalites brought her and her companions to their camp. They then told her about their concerns and offered her a roasted goat, after which they got to know she was a vegetarian. The hall burst out laughing upon listening to this incident.
“It was really hard for me to read my book after an year. I felt like I could have explored more,” said Kundalia. The author also shared some photographs from the time of her research.
Senior lawyer Anand Jaiswal and author Naresh Borikar, who works for the tribal residents of Chandrapur, were also present at the event.