Re-Construction of a Community: a Sustainable Attempt at Alternative Opportunities

International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 9, Issue 5, May-2018 ISSN 2229-5518

1018 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

1. WARLI- THE INDIGENOUS

The 'Tribal' who are also known as Adivasis are India's original indigenous people. The indigenous people have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions and manifestations of their sciences and technologies as well as the right to intellectual property over those assets. The Warlis are one of the oldest pre-historic tribes amongst this platoon. While their ancient history is largely a point of conjecture, scholars generally believe that when Indo Aryans invaded what is now India; at least 3,000 years ago, they pushed these aborigines into more remote parts of the country, where they have largely remained to this very day. These people lived in isolated forestlands, far from urban centres. They belonged to their territories, which was the essence of their existence; the abode of their spirit and dead and the source of their science, technology, way of living, their religion and culture. This ushered the communities to remain far outside from India's mainstream and become self-governing entities which involuntarily fell outside the rigid Hindu caste system.

Warlis (Adivasis) are today classified as 'Scheduled Tribes' by the Indian Constitution. Due to separation from the Hindu caste system, they are very different from 'Schedules castes' which belong to the caste system of India. They are unlike The Dalits (Untouchables), who are largely trapped in bonded servitude. IJSER1.1 HISTORY Warlis were said to be hunters and gatherers who wandered in the forests like all the other primitive tribes. Warli paintings done today have a very close resemblance to the paintings done by primitive man during the Mesolithic Age. Warlis never lived in settled communities. It is believed that after Britishers came to India, they wanted to exploit the forests around Bombay and Thana for timber. They slaved these tribes to settle down along

Figure 1: Old cave painting the fringes of the forest and designated a piece of land to them to during Mesolithic Age. start agriculture. This led to a sudden shift in living patterns of the Source: Google Images tribes who were quite unknown to the stencils of urban living. There is no written record stating how the word Warli came up. Varal means a compound. These people made thorny bamboo compounds along their premises. Varal could also be a piece of land for cultivation.

1019 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

The term Warli or Varli has been derived from the word 'varal', according to Dr. Wilson in the Thane Gazetteer in 1876. It means a small piece of cultivated land. In 1922 when Einthoven worked with the Warlis, he reported that they have no recollection of their origins. They speak a dialect which is a mixture of Marathi and Gujarati. They do not have their own script and use the Devnagiri for written communication. From varal emerged 'Warli'.

After settling with their lands, they became Agro-pasturers. This generated a culturally agro-pastoral community populating the western ghats of India which constitutes a chain of hill ranges in north-western Maharashtra and Southern Gujarat. The eco-sensitive tract has undergone a rapid economic development in the recent past. This has led to change in land and resource use within the structure of the local communities itself. Alterations are eventually observed in the traditional occupations; especially in certain regions, where a change to an urban or semi-urban environment has occurred. Traditionally, the landscape elements of these regions were paddy lands in the coastal lowlands and a rab based agricultural system linked to the forests in the lower hill slopes where the gradient in the Western and Eastern slopes are not too steep.1

1.2 CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE Indigenous cultures have used visual depictions of nature through several generations. Warli traditions are ancient manifestations of these cultures which can be traced back to the cave drawingsIJSER in the central highlands of India 9000 years ago, which was the Mesolithic age. These manifestations form a part of the traditional knowledge and culture. Traditional knowledge includes information on the use of biological and other materials for medical treatment and agriculture, production processes, designs, literature, music, rituals, and other techniques and arts. Traditional knowledge comprises of knowledge which has been developed in the past and passed down from generation to generation. Visual depictions similar to that Era are seen even today among certain ethnic groups; especially in tribal cultures, which are similar to cave drawings such as Bhimbetka and Satpudas. However, during recent times cultural changes through development and other environmental influences have led to alterations in the conceptualization, design and implementation of this section of traditional knowledge systems.

1 (Prabhu, Lifestyle of Warlis, 2016) 2

1020 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

A well-known example of this is among a section of the Warli tribal people where tribal women made stylized murals on the walls of their homes especially for festive occasions. During the 1970s this traditional artwork was popularized as paintings on canvas or paper through various external influences. The popularity of these drawings was enhanced through an increased access to the tribal belt in North Maharashtra and South Gujarat where rapid economic Figure 2: Mural drawn on exterior wall called the ' ‘Lagna Chauk’ (drawn during marriages in the house) development and external influences Source: Google Images began to rapidly increase in the area. A notable feature of this transition is the process by which changes in the spatial and temporal aspects of their art is linked with commercialization of consumptive products that they use, which were brought into productive use in the local market during more or less the same period. Products collected from nature which were once used primarily for consumptive purposes haveIJSER in more recent times become of productive value to local people. Examples of this are seen on the Western Express Highway where the women folk sit to sell Syzygium cumini (Jamun), Carissa spinarum (Karvanda), Gloriosa superba, etc. Even males now collect and sell these resources for generating income. This has increased the pressure on these resources and altered the way in which they are collected. In many situations it has led to improper or over use leading to deterioration and degradation of the resource. Just as resource use patterns changed from productive to consumptive use, the cultural aspect of Warli drawing during the same period changed from a consumptive background where women painted the walls of their own homes during marriages to saleable paintings. The drawings are now sold profitably and have constituted a new income generation avenue which has been taken over by males of the Warli society. This has resulted in the Warli women not continuing to engage in this art form for its personal (consumptive) value, which has

1021 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

transmitted into a specialized occupation of male Warli artists who are called in during the wedding period to decorate the walls. However, their major source of income is the modification of ways the fresco style on paintings sold on paper Figure 3: Mural of Tarpa Dance during Diwali Festival for commercial and tourist related Source: Google Images sources of income. The trigger for these changes can be traced back to Padmashree Jivya Soma Mashe who first popularized this artform. It is also observed that a process of change has occurred in the traditional designs of the Warli drawings which have undergone a process of gradual transition in the last 30-40 years. In the current decade Warli motifs and artwork are also being used by painters and graphic designers of non-Warli origin. This can be considered as a loss of traditional intellectual property of the Warli people. It has also led to a serious erosion of the cultural milieu in which the drawings were made in the more accessible sections of the Warli community. This ‘modernization’ and homogenization into populist art has inevitablyIJSER included newer motifs into their designs and a loss of their original ritualistic and mystical meaning within the motifs of the frescos.

Figure 4: Jivya Soma Mashe depicting harvest season and Figure 5: Jivya Soma Mashe depicting the threshing done the threshing of grains done after that after harvest

Source: Google Images Source: Google Images

1022 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2The traditional artwork done on frescos was specifically done by married women whose husbands were alive. During the last couple of decades of commercialization of their art, the drawings have been executed by men who have become specialized in this art form.

Currently these artists are employed by local tribal families to create murals on their walls on festive occasions. This is similar to the way in which collection and consumptive use of a natural resource which is primarily a function of tribal women shifts to a male dominated and less sustainable collection by males when market forces begin to play a role in the productive use of certain resources.

It is observed that a parallel process has occurred during the same decade in the artwork used by Warli women to a male dominated domain and new occupational productive economic alternative source of income generation through their paintings. In this process local women appear to have lost this traditional art form, with a subtle but demonstrative change in the art form itself.

Folklore are a unique way of passing down the wisdom of the ancient generations and are embedded in the everyday life of certain groups of people, especially tribal folk cultures. Folklore is commonly believed to be the oral literature that is handed down to us from generation to generation through oral tradition. It generally incorporates folk songs, folk tales, myths, superstitions, etc. Sometimes, the folktales and folk songs of the tribal people may also provideIJSER guidance about leading their lives, the do’s and the don’ts, natural resource use, etc. An example of such guidance is the story of the ‘Rann Bhoot’, the forest ghost, who is believed to haunt and punish people who damage the forest in any way.

The tribes of India each have their own tribal religions consisting of their own unique gods and goddesses. The tribal gods are often inspired by the natural elements such as the Sun, the Moon and the Rain. The Rain God has a special status, as the God of Gods for tribal people, because of the invaluable contribution of rain to human life. However, in the past century it has been observed that the tribal cultures have progressively become more and more influenced by other cultures and religions, especially Hinduism. This influence has been termed as Sanskritization or Aryanization and is observed in the modified rituals, customs and

2 Exposure to the surrounding Hindu caste system and the changing culture, influenced their own traditional culture. Matriarchal community slowly shifted to Patriarchal.

1023 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

very often folklore of the tribal community. 3 K.S. Singh in 1985 described the term Tribalization of religion, which refers to the influences of tribal cultures on other religions. Singh describes tribalization as ‘acceptance of tribal mores, rituals and beliefs by incoming communities’. A prime example of this is the Lord Shiva who was primarily a tribal deity to begin with, and the forest dwelling communities, were the custodians of such shrines located in the remote areas all over Chotanagpur, central India and in the Western Ghats. The Warli tribal folk too have a tribal god, ‘Isar’ who the Warlis refer to as ‘Mahadev’. He is said to have re-vegetated the earth with flora after a great flood wiped out everything.

1.3 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

IJSER

Figure 6: White boundary marks the extent of the Warli Population and the red boundary marks the concentration.

Source: Google Maps and Author

3 K S Singh i.e. Kumar Suresh Singh was an Indian Administrative Office (IAS). He served as a Commissioner of Chotanagpur and Director- General of Anthropology Department of India. He is known principally for his oversight and editorship of the People of India survey and for his studies of tribal history. 6

1024 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

The Warli belt in Maharashtra extends from 72 ̊ 42’ 50.21’’ E to 73 ̊ 46’09.18’’ E and from 19 ̊ 45’16.82’’ N to 20 ̊ 10’58.93’’ N covering the Dahanu, Jawhar and Nashik Talukas. The Dahanu Taluka and Jawhar Taluka come under the Palghar District, whereas the Nashik Taluka comes under the Nashik District, both in Maharashtra.

Dahanu is a coastal taluka which extends over 960 km2 with forests covering more than half of its land area. The eastern half of Dahanu, otherwise called ‘Junglepatti’, is a tribal dominated hilly area with rich forest cover. The western half is known as ‘Bandarpatti’ and is mainly comprised of low lying coastal zone, dominated by orchards and other agricultural lands”. Jawhar taluka lies to the east of the Dahanu taluka and is a hill range country, with intervening deep gorges of stream valleys. Between the coastal range, the hills and Sahyadri scarp the whole country is a succession of plateaus descending from the Sahyadri, step by step, and separated from the next lower down with a well-defined scarp face. In the north-east at an elevation of about 300-400 meters is the Jawhar-Mokhada plateau. Most of the Jawhar taluka lies on this plateau. The eastern boundary of the belt lies just west of Nashik city. The Warli people in the Nashik taluka live along the Jawhar – Nashik route, around 80 kilometres.

1.4 COMMUNITY HABITATS

Warli people as a tribe are a settled people. The shift from one place to another is sporadic. However,IJSER the Warli habitations are scattered. No Warli village has a group of more than 45-50 huts at one place. The population is distributed in small hamlets of about a dozen huts cut off from each other by agricultural fields or small vegetation patches. A lonely hut in a far off place is by no means a rare sight in the Warli village. This happens because Warlis prefer to erect a hut on the fields they cultivate. The village Raitali, which was visited for understanding the structure of a Warli village was a typical one. A transect walk was conducted to understand the structure of the village as well as the changes which have occurred in the recent past. Raitali village has scattered settlement pattern interspersed with Chikoo farms to the right of the village road. Irrigation canals have been provided to only one section of this village, which has resulted in Chikoo farms along the main village road. Fields have disappeared from that section of the village creating an economic divide among the people. It is also reflected in the style of houses and vehicles possessed by the two sections of the community. The Waghoba deva, whose temple traditionally was located at the outskirts of the village has been engulfed into a Chikoo

1025 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

farm in this village.

Figure 7: TheIJSER red dots indicate settlements along the village roads marked in dark blue. Light blue indicates a small irrigation canal and the Brown line indicates the Highway running between Dahanu and Charoti.

Source: Google Maps and Author A Warli hut consists of a simple earth foundation, a wooden frame, bamboo strips, reed, straw and leaves. A pucca house with bricks, tiles and mortar is still a rarity and indication of unique position among them. A Warli hut is always square in shape and in most cases facing the east. There is only one door for entrance. As there is no window, free air and light have very little place in the Warli hut. The walls are built of Strobilanthes sp. i.e. Karvi4 sticks and plastered with cow-dung or mud. The huts are roofed either with straw or dried leaves. The hut, unless it is sufficiently big, has no rooms inside it. Warlis are very reluctant to have any windows in the walls of their huts. Many a time, a part of the hut serves the purpose of a shed for the cattle, particularly in the rainy season.

4 Karvi is a local word for a special type of reed which is available in the forest. Warlis use this reed to make the walls because of a very flexible property that is possesses. During winters, the reed wall acts as a warm skin to the inside while in summer it cools the temperature naturally. It is a connatural insulator. 8

1026 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

A Warli hut consists of a simple earth foundation, a wooden frame, bamboo strips, reed, straw and leaves. A pucca house with bricks, tiles and mortar is still a rarity and indication of unique position among them. A Warli hut is always square in shape and in most cases facing the east. There is only one door for entrance. As there is no window, free air and light have very little place in the Warli hut. The walls are built of Strobilanthes Figure 8: The fields on the left and the Chickoo farms sp. i.e. Karvi sticks and plastered with cow-dung on the right side of the village road

Source: Author or mud. The huts are roofed either with straw or dried leaves. The hut, unless it is sufficiently big, has no rooms inside it. Warlis are very reluctant to have any windows in the walls of their huts. Many a time, a part of the hut serves the purpose of a shed for the cattle, particularly in the rainy season. Pressures from the Forest Department have led to changes in the housing pattern of the Warli people. These people used to collect Karvi IJSERfrom the forests around their hamlets to construct Figure 9: Sturdy structure made from Karvi reeds their houses. However, nowadays the Forest Source: Author Department officers do not allow the collection of Karvi reeds by the Warlis. Also, Karvi is not a very strong reed, and the walls made from it have to be replaced every three to four years. The Warli farmers have started cultivating Jowar, and thus in the situation of not getting any Karvi reeds, the people have started using Jowar stalks to build the walls.

One advantage of using these stalks, is that the life of the walls is increased by almost three times. Recent schemes from the government provide every family with 1 lack rupees to

rebuild their houses with cement poles, corrugated sheets and build walls. This building pattern disturbs the ecological way of habitat living. These changing patterns have disrupted community living and are no longer sensitive to natural ecology.

1027 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

1.5 APPERANCE AND DRESSING

The general condition of the Warli tribe was described by Dr. Wilson in 1842 A.D., about one and a half centuries ago. He describes the Warlis in “North-west of the District as considerably better off than Katkaris. They have unshaven and slightly clothed, lived in small bamboo and bramble huts, and seemed to have been shunned by the other castes.” The Figure 10: Backless choli with the 9-yard sari Warlis are dark complexioned people and not Source: Author very vain. Warli women used to wear thick brass rings on the arms and legs. Women also put glass bangles, strings of glass beads and sometimes a silver chain round the neck. They also had silver earrings and silver beads for the hair. However, none of the women who were interviewed during the whole research possessed the old jewellery. They seem to have sold all their silver ornaments down the years for money. The women are also very reluctant to talk about when exactly did they have to sell the jewellery and under what circumstances.

Men used to be scantily dressed in a loincloth, a small waistcoat and a turban. Conversely,IJSER today the males of the tribe have mostly become very modern and are seen wearing shirts of various hues with colourful trousers. The dressing style in women has changed much in the past 50 years. From being bare breasted in the 1950s and 1960s, the women have graduated to wearing a short knee length sari or more commonly a towel without a 5padar. The children are shabbily but colourfully dressed in the latest trends found in the nearest village markets.

1.6 AGRICULTURE

The Warlis are a settled tribe living mainly on traditional agricultural practices. Every family is directly or indirectly connected with agriculture. The Warlis use ‘rab’ agriculture. This is an ancient technique where wood ash fertilization of their rice nursery forms the mainstay of retaining the fertility of the soil. The Warli being a farmer, holds both the soil

5 Padar refers to the draping that covers the front portion of the body and it is swayed on one side or both sides of the shoulder. 10

1028 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

and crops in high reverence. All the functions relating to agriculture like reaping, threshing and sowing are accompanied by rituals. One such ritual is the sacrifice of a goat to the ‘Cheda deva’, the protector of the agricultural fields, once every five years. For this ritual, two or three farmers who have adjoining fields contribute together to this event. The frequency of this ritual depends on the financial situation of the collaborating farmers. The Warli farmers attribute the good or bad results of the crops to their gods irrespective of the success or failure of the monsoon or their own efforts during farming.

The Warlis also have a folktale, which describes ‘Kansari’, the goddess of Agriculture being unhappy with them and cursing them with low yield in their fields year after year. The Warlis have a deep faith in their ritualistic and spiritual concepts and trust this even today. Thus, they are satisfied with whatever little yield they get from their fields.

Agriculture is not considered a lucrative occupation and it is expected that it is generally a non-profit venture. It is thus a consumptive rather than a productive livelihood option. Ever increasing demands of people and the IJSERexposure to the urban world has compelled people to opt out of agriculture because it does not serve as

Figure 11: Women working during Paddy season faster means of economy. Prevailing Source: Author ecological conditions have also lost the earlier contexts and these people are shifting more towards industries and cities. The attraction of urban life has managed to grab hold because of unavailability of value addition and opportunities at their own doorsteps.

1029 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Among the farm produce, rice, nagli, tur, chavali, jowar and other pulses are grown for the household. Although the Warli people are primarily agriculturists, almost one-fourth of the families do not own cattle. However, the situation has improved in the past 50 years. The Warli farmers do not worship their cattle like their Hindu counterparts, however, they do hold the cattle in high regard. The Warli farmers pray to the Waghoba or Waghya, their Tiger God to protect the cattle.

IJSER

Figure 12: The stages of paddy farming clockwise from above: 1&2 - Spreading cow dung and leaf litter in the field for ’rab’, 3– transplanting rice in the paddy, 4 - harvesting the rice

Source: Author The work on traditional knowledge of tribals in crop protection is said to be linked to agro- climatic conditions. Tribal agriculture has remained in the subsistence sector. However, it is technologically backward. While in terms of relative productivity, traditional farming may have had a limited outcome. It is however, environmentally appropriate as it does not utilize chemical fertilizers or harmful pesticides. Current increase in its utilization with increasing land hunger in the region requires greater and greater amount of biomass which degrades adjacent forest systems. The shortening in fallow cycles and more repeated utilization for farming also leads to land degradation and loss of neighbourhood forest. 12

1030 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Thus, this is really a trade-off situation between what can be considered positive or negative in environmental terms.

1.7 FOOD

The Warlis are primarily agriculturists, thus their food consists of the produce of their own farm. Rice of a coarser variety is their chief food. In the hilly districts, where rice cannot be cultivated, nagli is grown. Boiled rice or nagli with salt is the staple food of the Warlis. However, in the recent past, vegetables have become included in the daily diet. Ghee, butter and other milk products are considered unaffordable luxuries.

The Warli people also eat poultry, goat, sheep, etc. They eat all kinds of deer, rabbit, wild pig and birds like pigeons, peacocks, etc. This shows that in the past they were astute hunters and/or trappers. Currently, Warlis’ have constantly maintained that they do not hunt. Forest Warlis used to kill and eat monkeys and bats and few were reported to be "jackal- eaters”. This was true some 50-60 years ago. Fruit bats and small mammals such as hare are hunted even today. However, with rampant Sanskritization in the area and strict wildlife laws, accepting that they hunt wild animals has become taboo for the Warli people. Today, the people do not accept that their ancestors at least consumed bush meat. The meat of the cow, bullock andIJSER buffalo is not eaten by Warlis today.

1.8 NATURAL RESOURCE USE

Many writers, Enthoven (1922), Singh (1985) and Biswas (2010) have reported that the Warli tribals have always lived in very close contact with nature. However, detailed and specific references to this linkage, has rarely been explored. During expert interviews this aspect was brought out specifically. Warlis have their houses in the jungles and are highly dependent on the resources from the forest. The major resource that they used to get from the forest was the Karvi stalks, which they use to make the walls of their huts. Karvi has been collected from the forest by the Warlis for generations and generations. However, in the last few decades, the Forest Department has become very strict and has prohibited the Karvi reeds to be collected by the Warlis to make their homes. This has led the Warlis to now make their homes with Jowar stalks.

1031 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Another resource collected from the forest are the medicinal plants and herbs by the 6Bhagat to cure wounds and ailments of the people. This is still done by the Bhagat, as the tribals believe that herbs or plants need to grow naturally for them to be effective, and thus cannot be cultivated. The Bhagats are the only ones with knowledge of the medicinal plants. Another non-timber forest product that is collected on a large scale in the jungles around the Warli villages is palm wine. Palm wine, commonly called toddy or ‘Taadi’ is an alcoholic beverage that is created from the sap of various palm trees such as Phoenix

Figure 13: Tapping the date palm for ’Taadi dactylifera (date palm), Cocos nucifera (Coconut) and

Source: Author Borassus sp. (Palmyra). Fuel wood, fruits, small game are other resources that are collected from the jungles around their hamlets, by the Warlis.

1.9 MUSIC, ART AND DANCE 1.9.1 MUSICIJSER Indian tribal music with its closed-group form of ethnicity, is remarkable in the sense that it can never be studied in isolation from the social and ritual contexts of the people concerned. Tribal music possesses a well-built community basis. The fact can be comprehended in the domains of musical-socialization, kinds of ownership, levels of participation and nature of specialization. In the Natya Shastra, compiled by Bharat Muni dated 200 B.C. – 200 A.D., musical instruments have been divided into four main categories on the basis of how sound is produced- A. the Tata Vadya or Chordophones – Stringed instruments

B. the Sushira Vadya or Aerophones – Wind instruments

C. the Avanaddha Vadya or Membranophones – Percussion instruments

6 Bhagat is a local term for the designation of a Doctor. 14

1032 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

D. the Ghana Vadya or Idiophones – Solid instruments which do not require tuning.

In the Sushira Vadya group, sound is produced by blowing air into a hollow column. The pitch of the note is determined by controlling the air passage and the melody is played by using the fingers to open or close the air in the instrument. The most popular musical instrument of the Warlis is the Tarpa, which is an essential accompaniment to the dances. It is a part of Sushira Vadya group. The size of the Tarpa may vary from one foot to six feet. It is a long instrument prepared by the Warli musician himself.

It consists of three main parts, the topmost part which is a long dried gourd made hollow with a hole made near the top and a hollow bamboo stick inserted in it through which it is blown. If the Tarpa is small, it is blown from the top of the gourd. The lower part of the curved hollow is made from thin palm leaves stuck together. The two parts are joined Figure 14: A local playing the Tarpa by two short hollow bamboo sticks with holes Source: Author to produce variations in the frequency. This is the middleIJSER portion of the Tarpa. The whole assembly is made from locally available natural material. Two forms of recreation for the Warlis are music and the dances, which accompany the music. Together they comprise the performing arts of the traditional knowledge systems of the Warli folk. Playing music is an art restricted to a few Warlis but the dances are performed by all the Warli folk. Any given tribal community as a whole initiated its children in learning music, i.e. singing, drumming or dancing, from an early age. For example, “children from Santhal tribal group are initially supplied with a katic murli (small sized flutes) of five or six inches in length with three to four envoys to blow and the drums of smaller size to beat. Originally, the dances were reserved for the youngsters and the adults took no part in them. Musical instruments are played on ceremonial occasions like marriage and dancing is restricted to auspicious days like Diwali and Holi.

The Warli musicians’ band consists of three to five players. It is called the ‘dholi’. The band plays three musical instruments; the dhol (a drum leathered on both sides), the timki

1033 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

(a drum leathered only on one side) and the pipori (a flute-like wind-pipe). When the band has five players, there are two dhols and two piporis. The piporiwala is responsible to keep the tune and his task is particularly arduous. The dholya hangs the dhol around his neck by a strap and beats it with two sticks, one thick and one thin. The Warli dhol is similar to the well- known Indian tom-tom made by hollowing out a tree trunk.

The leather on one side is fastened tight and makes a sharp sound; while that on the other side is a bit loose and produces a dull sound when beaten by a thick stick. The timki is a very tightly leathered and beaten by two thin sticks to produce a sharp sound. The less important musical instruments of the Warlis are the dak, a small drum leathered on both

Figure 15: The Warli band of ‘dholi’, ‘timki’ and ‘pipori sides and beaten with the fingers and zanz

Source: Author which are cymbals.

These instruments are played during funeral ceremony. Ghangli, a string instrument is played only during the harvest ritual. In the IJSERsouthern parts, Warlis play on the thala (a brass dish-tune) and the dera in the northern parts. The Dera is an earthen pot filled with water and its mouth tightly covered by a piece of thin leather. A thin stick is attached to the leather at

Figure 16: The ‘dak’ and ‘zanz’ the centre. The instrument is placed on the

Source: Author ground and the musician holding the stick between her fingers allows the stick to dip in through the hole. The movement of the fingers on the stick produces a vibrating sound. Musical instruments are played on ceremonial occasions like marriage and dancing is restricted to auspicious days like Diwali and Holi. The Warlis circle facing the musicians

1034 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

holding one anothers’ hands. Their movements become rapid or slow depending on the tune of the pipori.

1.9.2 DANCES

Figure 17: The ‘ghangli’ is seen in the left corner inside the ‘lagna chowk’ Source: GoogleIJSER Images Warlis dance during the Diwali and the Holi festivals and also at the ceremony of the propitiation of the Naran dev. There are no individual dances among them. The swaying body and clapping hands follow the rhythm of drum-beats and speaks about the many dances involved in the tribal culture. One popular tribal dance form is the Karma type, highly performed by the tribal people, the Gonds, the Baigas and the Oroans residing in the interior of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in India. The Warli dances form is quite similar to the Karma dance, in the way it is performed.

Diwali Dances: The most popular dance of the Warlis are the Diwali dances, which are exclusively accompanied by the Tarpa music. These dances have a definite pattern and show many variations. The Diwali dances are mixed with two separate groups of men and women. The man with the Tarpa stands in the middle and the party makes a complete or semi-circle around him, either in one row or two different rows. The first man in the group holds a stick in his hand. The dance begins with the blowing of the tarpa, the dancers facing the tarpawala 17

1035 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

throughout the performance. The dancers traditionally stand in an alternate manner of one male and one female, but this is not strictly followed. The dancers hold each other round the waist and dance in a sweeping fashion, sideways in a spiral form. A variant of this dance form is the one in which the people take two-three side steps in a sweeping fashion and then free their hands to clap once. After clapping their hands, the person again holds the waists of the people on both side of him and continuous this step after periodic intervals. The tune of the tarpa is called chala and the rhythm of the dance depends on the chala. The people of Raitali were persuaded to put up a five minute demonstration of the tarpa dance during the visit. It was a surprise to see more people of the older generation dancing, while the younger generation looked reluctant to join in. This could be because of the urbanization and modernization of the people from the younger generation. The young people are reluctant to learn their traditional music and dances, while the older generation, who learnt it in their youth, use it as a reminder of the good old days that have gone by.

Shimga Dances: The dancers are exclusively male for these dances. They are accompanied by the music band consisting of the dhol, timki and the pipori. The musicians stand in the centre and a circle is formed round them. The party moves in circle facing the musicians holding one anothers’ hands. Their movements become rapid or slow depending on the tune of the pipori.

1.9.3 ASSORTEDIJSER DANCES

Ranodi: In this dance, the dancers form a wide circle by keeping a hand’s distance in between themselves. The movements are quick. After every three steps, they take a little jump and thump both feet on the ground.

Usalya: In the usalya or jumping dance, two circles of the dancers are formed, one within the other. Persons in both the circles move only three paces sideways lifting the legs very quickly and dashing them on the ground with great force. In another variation of this dance, rows are formed on either side of the musician in the centre. The two rows while dancing come closer and move away in rhythm. Ogalia: The only dance in which the tarpawala stands outside the circle is the ogalia. Two groups of male and female dancers form a circle. A male and female dancer hold each other’s hand and form an arch. The two persons, one from each group come in a pair holding hands and pass through the arch.

1036 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

MOR naach: In this dance, the dancers stand in a circle in a slightly bending down position, as if sitting on an imaginary chair. They keep both the hands on their knees. With this position, they move their hips this way and that way at the same time making slow movements of the feet. This is an imitation of the peacock’s movements. Many of the tribal dances are accompanied with songs. The songs to which the Warli people dance are mainly the songs of marriage. The dances performed during Diwali are to the tune of the tarpa alone. They do not have any songs accompanying them.

1.10 FOLKLORE

Folklore are commonly believed to be the oral literature that is handed down from generation to generation through oral tradition. It generally incorporates folk songs, folk tales, myths, superstitions, etc. Thus, folklores are an important traditional knowledge system for passing valuable teachings from one generation to another. The folktales talk about the linkages of man to his environment. The simple stories which were narrated highlighted the importance of conservation and preservation of biodiversity and natural resources. This folklore is the essence of their culture and the spirit of their living. Narrated below are a few short stories from the ' Fables of Forest' translated into English directly from the locals by Pradip PrabhuIJSER of Kashtakari Sanghtana: 1. A Warli folktale about Agriculture

"The Goddess of Harvest, ‘Kansari’, once came to a Warli village disguised as an old woman with boils all over her body and went from door to door asking for shelter for the night. The Warli people did not give her shelter because of her dreadful appearance. This indifference of the Warli people to a woman in need, angered ‘Kansari’ and she cursed the Warli people to a yield that would be just sufficient for their own use each year. Thus, the Warli has no surplus to sell in the market and remains poor."

This story teaches the Warlis to be compassionate for all fellow beings.

2. A Warli folktale about the forest

"A Warli man whose wife died had two children. He wanted to marry again, but the prospective second wife was not happy about having to care for another woman’s children. She convinced the father to take his children to the forest and leave them there. The man with

1037 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

a heavy heart took them deep into the forest and left them there. 'Mahadev’ and ‘Ganga Gouri’ found the children and taught them how to live in the forest from the locally available abundance of resources."

This story highlights the fact that Warlis are a part of nature truly and their lives can be sustained if they live close to nature. Nature God will always take care of them.

3. Warli folktale about Rann Bhoot

The Warli people believe that the mythical Rann Bhoot or “Forest Ghost” is the protector of the jungles. Parents often scare the children with the Rann Bhoot, so that the children will learn why and how to protect the forest for its religious significance.

1.11 RELIGION AND ANCIENT BELIEFS

1.11.1 GODS

Warlis are animists in their deep reverence to the spirits and deities. They regard these spirits as mostly evil and unfriendly and make them offerings to ward off their ill will. The Sun and the Moon are regarded highly by the Warlis. The Sun is regarded as the only God who ‘reveals himself’. Rain is also considered to be God Pavasha deva, because he helps grow theirIJSER crops. It is because of the invaluable contribution of the rain to human life that Warlis hold Pavasha to be Parameshwar – the supreme god.

1. Waghya Deva

The Warlis worship the Waghoba or Waghya, Tiger God. He is the primary God of the tribe. Every village has an image of the tiger-god in the form of a standing stone, usually

1038 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

cylindrical in shape, under a tree. The stone is partly buried in the ground. The tiger-god is worshipped to please the tiger so that he does not kill the Warlis or their animals. Also they believe that the Waghya will kill any animals which try to destroy their crop. Warlis’ conception of the Waghya has not changed. Warlis feel that it is not merely the stone that protects them, but there is something in the stone that does. The duties of the Waghoba seem to be similar to those of Pushan in the Rigveda, who is the protector of the cattle.

The other important Gods are Narandev, Hirya, Himav, Kansaari, Sanvari, Girha, Cheda and Rann Bhoot.

Figure 18: Waghya Deva Source: Author

1.11.2 WORSHIP OF TREES

Trees are not regularly worshipped by the Warlis, but there are certain trees like Agele marmalos IJSER(Bel), Ficus religiosa (Peepal) and Ficus benjamini (Umbar) which are regarded as sacred. The dry wood of these trees is never used as fuel. It is stated in one of the ritual songs of the tribe that the first two creatures in the world lived in the Bel tree, which is also used in the worship of the god Shiva, who is called Mahadev by the Warli.

The fruit of the Bel tree is used to make a refreshing drink in the summer months. The fruit of the Bel tree is used in Ayurveda to cure constipation. This indicates that the Warli people were aware of the importance of the Bel tree as a medicinal tree, which has been now proved scientifically. The Peepal, which is a holy tree of the Hindus is also Figure 19: Fruit of Bel tree revered by the Warlis. Barambha, one of the tribal Source: Google Images spirits, is supposed to reside in the tree. The Peepal tree has been proved to have uses as a traditional medicine to cure a variety of ailments such

1039 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

as asthma, diarrhoea, gastric problems, etc. Umbar is another tree which is sacred to the Warli people. The twig of this tree is very important during the marriage ceremony. The importance of Umbar lies in the belief that they find sweet water near the roots of the tree. This belief has been proven scientifically, although it is the converse of what the Warli people believe. Sweet water is not found at the roots of the tree, rather the tree grows near a good ground water source.

1.11.3 CEREMONIES Zoli Ceremony The Warli people perform a ritual called the ‘Zoli’ ceremony which is to initiate the young Warli children into the tribe. In this ceremony, the girl is given a sickle, which is used to cut grass and the boy is given an axe, which is used to cut trees. This signifies that the Warli people understand that they depend on the forest for resources such as fuel wood. However, during the same ceremony, the children are also taught about not exploiting the forest resources just because they have the means to do it. They are taught to take only that much which is required from the forest. The people believe that if this is followed religiously, the forest will always provide them with the resources they require. This teaching goes parallel with the story of the Rann Bhoot, the spirit of the forest punishing those who damage the forest. Thus,IJSER this ceremony is to teach the people about managing the natural resources that they have access to. Another important ceremony is the Kaj (First death anniversary).

Diwali and Shimga are the most auspicious days of the tribe.

1.12 VISUAL ART

Traditional cultures have used visual depictions of nature through several generations. These traditions are ancient and can be traced back to the cave drawings in the Central Highlands of India 9000 years ago. Bhimbetka cave paintings are the most famous of these. Stylized, locale specific visual depictions of life are even seen today among a variety of ethnic groups especially in the tribal cultures. A well-known example of this continuum artistic influence is among the Warli tribal community where tribal women made elaborate murals on the walls of their homes especially for festive occasions. This however, was concentrated only in a part of the Warli belt between Dahanu and Jawhar. In other areas while Warli

1040 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

respondents knew about the frescos and paintings, this had never been a traditional practice in areas such as Nashik. The original motifs of these paintings mainly consisted of the ‘lagna chowk’, marriage square and the ‘deva chowk’, God’s square, which were drawn during the marriage ceremonies. These drawings are an integral part of the rituals performed during the ceremony, somewhat like the Rangoli done by Hindus for festive occasions. The Warli paintings gained commercial appreciation during the 1970s, due to the work done by the anthropologist Sharad Kulkarni. He is reported to have taken well known Warli artist, Jivya Soma Mashe with a group of Warli women to New Delhi where the first Warli paintings were introduced to the world. Jivya Soma Mashe since then has come to being regarded as a pioneer in the commercialization of the Warli art. Jivya has been awarded the Padmashree in appreciation of his contribution to Warli painting. Due to the commercial success and demand for the paintings, this art style evolved from basically being 'a consumptive’ art used as a home decoration to a ‘productive’ art form for sale. This evolution started from the 1970s, and has continued into the current popular form. 7 The attempt at Cultural Mapping of India by the Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts has attempted to identify why certain traditional art forms are rapidly disappearing. The report suggests that skilled workers (experts) at remote locations are faced with a hand to mouth situation and are bound to leave their traditional work. The report also links this to rapid changes in lifestyle. The report suggests that there is an urgent need to preserve and revitalize IJSERthese traditions and make them an integral part of our economic development. The work with Warli people done for this research output has however shown that the process of commercialization of this art form has led to extensive changes in its nature and inclusion of new motifs and a shift from an internally used domestic wall pictograph done mainly by a fairly large proportion of women, which has now become restricted to a few commercially oriented male members of the family who use this as a basis for an additional income. This value addition however has not only led to alterations in style but to newer motifs which are alien to those used in the original artwork that we studied from the 1970s. Unfortunately, visual references to the wall frescos done by the women for ritualistic purposes before the 1970s could not be accessed. Through analysis of the older paintings and according to verbal accounts from the older generation, the paintings done earlier were simple and were designed for a specific purpose. However, in the last 50 years as the basic function of the artwork has changed from

7 (Mrs. Phiroza Tafti, 2016) 23

1041 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

traditional to commercial it has undergone a process of change and is modified in several ways.

1.12.1 ANALYSIS OF WARLI ART

Warli paintings are aesthetically simple, unlike other folk paintings of India which consist of myriad primary colours in such abundance. Instead they are painted in white on an austere red surface decorated with occasional dots in red and yellow. It basically consists of geometrical patterns.

Circle: Represents the Sun and Moon.

Triangle: Triangle is derived from mountains and pointed trees.

Square: indicating a sacred enclosure or piece of land. So the central motif in each painting is a square. These geometric figures are joined together to form beautiful patterns .Like two apex of triangles are joined together to form a human figure. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. The figures and traditional motives are repetitive and highly symbolic inIJSER a Warli painting. An interesting feature to note about the Warli paintings is that different motifs are shown from different views, in the same painting. For example, the wells, agricultural fields and the stalls in a marketplace are shown from the top view, while all other motifs are always shown from the side view. The analysis of frescos and paintings show that each Warli painting has a hierarchical pattern. The highest in this hierarchy is the Main theme. The main theme is established by the looking at the painting and seeing what is most dominant in the pictures. The main theme also typically takes up the most space in the painting. The second in the hierarchy are the Sub-theme. A sub- theme is defined as that constituent of the painting which may be elaborate but are over shadowed by another much larger or more elaborate main theme. Each Warli painting consists of a variety of figures, human or animate or in-animate objects. These are labelled Elements. The elements in a Warli painting are often a part of the motif. Multiple elements in a Warli painting are those which may be drawn to fill gaps, or in the case of some paintings, such as the ones with village scenes as the main theme, the multiple elements together create the main theme of the painting.

1042 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

1.12.2 THEMATIC ALTERATIONS

There is a marked difference in the paintings done in the early 1970s and the ones done now. The paintings earlier mainly focused on the ‘lagna chowk’ and ‘deva chowk’ and showed some natural elements around them. The paintings done today, for commercial purposes or on the walls, have become very elaborate and varied in their themes. They now depict Warli folklore, their dances, agricultural practices, village scenes and various elements of nature. Looking at the short span of 50 years in which the thematic alterations have sprung up in the paintings, it would be safe to assume that this has happened mainly due to the commercial demand of these paintings along with rapid urbanization in the tribal belt. The artists have now deviated from their traditional themes to those that have proved to be more popular themes for sale. These have led to the inclusion of new motifs and are a manifestation of cultural adaptations to the outside world.

1.12.3 STYLISTIC ALTERATIONS

When the belt of the Warli tribal people, from Dahanu to Jawhar is studied it is found that there are differences in the ways the same motif is drawn. For example, in the paintings done in and around Dahanu, the animals and birds do not have defined faces and the human figures do IJSERnot have clearly depicted hands with fingers. However, in Jawhar, these elements are well defined. It is very difficult to say whether these motifs have always been different in the two areas or that the differences have evolved in the past 50 years to form two different schools of Warli painting. Interviews conducted in the Jawhar area, indicate that these differences have always been there in the style of painting in the two areas, which barely cover a stretch of 60km between them.

1.12.4 TRIGGERS OF CHANGE

The triggers of this change indicate multiple factors. There are three things that can affect any art form – the economic changes, the social changes and the environmental changes in the area where the art form is present. Each of these three pillars of development can influence local lifestyles and alter cultural values as a fall out of change processes inherent in any society over time. In the past, such changes were extremely gradual. It is only in recent

1043 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

decades that change processes have rapidly accelerated.

Economic Social Trigger Trigger

Ecological Trigger

Figure 20: Pie chart showing factors that triggers changes in art forms

Source: Author Economic trigger– As the paintings have gained popularity in the urban markets and demand for them has increased, the artists have started painting what the buyers want. Their folklore and dances have found a prominent place in the paintings, whereas these motifs were non- existent earlier. Motifs that had a deep meaning for the tribal people in the past such as ‘lagna chowk’ and ‘deva chowk’ are not appreciated by non- Warli buyers as they do not know their meaning. Thus they have been less frequently used. However, in recent wall frescos one finds them becoming highly ornate. Social trigger– The social factors pertain to the lifestyle of Warli people themselves. In the last half a century,IJSER the lives of the Warlis has changed drastically. These changes have affected all the areas of the Warli lifestyle and thus it is only natural that their paintings would be affected. The Warli people who once were traditional agricultural people, have now become attracted to the external influences of everything ‘new’ that they see around them. This includes the development process of urbanization, industrialization, communication, outside exposure to consumer products, media and bollywood. It is seen not only in the commercial paintings but also on the wall frescos made during the marriage occasions. This is seen in the paintings with modern amenities such as vehicles and factories. The external influences can also be seen in the changes in the ‘lagna chowk’, which is drawn on the walls. It has become very elaborate and the chowk itself is becoming smaller and its borders broader. Traditionally, geru (red mud) was used to plaster the walls of the hut and then the painting was done with paste of rice powder with a bamboo stick. Today, brown and white paint is used to make the paintings with paintbrushes. Environmental trigger– The above changes in their lives, are a part of the changing

1044 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

environment in which the Warlis live. This change is demonstrable in the paintings. Hunting scenes have appeared in the recent paintings and also modern amenities appear. Paintings with factories as the main motif show the alterations in the land use pattern of the Warlis. Village scenes and agriculture have become major themes in the paintings in the recent past, which is driven by tourists along the Warlis to create a semblance of their lives.

1.12.5 ANALYSIS OF PAINTINGS

When an item used in daily life begins to change to a commercial enterprise, the traditional indigenous way in which it has evolved spontaneously over a long period of time is rapidly altered to suit the needs of buyers and intermediaries who encourage this to become “modern”. Commercially oriented artists in the Warli tribal community who are males, and ladies who once painted on the walls for marriages thus have vastly different objectives. As there is no documentation available of old wall paintings, it is difficult to visualize these in great detail.

The chowks have always had the same continuous square with typical four rounded corners. The older paintings and descriptions of wall images shows that the six traditional bands in the square were thinner and less elaborate than in the past. No paintings were done in the past IJSERon paper. All the paintings were done on the inner walls of the Warli huts. The transition to a commercially attractive ‘lagna chowk’ or ‘deva chowk’ has begun to emphasize a greater complexity in design elements. This apparently gives less importance to

elements within the chowk as compared to the simpler frescos done in the past.

The ‘lagna chowk’ has seven bands surrounding it which signify different articles used in the Warli marriage ceremony. The innermost band is the silver chain that the bride wears around her neck. The next is the ‘Bashinga’, a crown that the bride and the groom wear during the ceremony. The checker band after that depicts the border of the bride’s sari. The next band depicts the silver chain around the groom’s neck. The fifth band is the ‘dumroo’, an hourglass shaped musical instrument which stays in the god Isar’s hand and the sixth is the design of the border of the sari worn by the goddess Palghata. Palghata is the goddess of fertility and is shown prominently inside the ‘lagna chowk’. Traditionally the chowk is the main focus of the wall fresco, with the borders adding meaning to it.

The ‘deva chowk’ depicts the god ‘Panchmukhdev’ of the Warli people and always

1045 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

accompanies the ‘lagna chowk’. The ‘deva chowk’ may not have been as important as the ‘lagna chowk’ for the wedding ceremony, but it always had a place of prominence along with the ‘lagna chowk’. However, in the recent wall frescos it has reduced to an insignificant motif and sometimes is altogether absent.

Figure 21: A ‘lagna chowk’ and ‘deva chowk’ made in recent times IJSERSource: Author

1046 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

1.13 CONCLUSIONS

Access to this community to gather information for the research has been a very satisfying experience and an eye-opener to the simplistic lifestyle of these people surrounded by communities that have already become consumerist. Their ability to welcome research workers and outsiders who genuinely want to delve into their lifestyles is a remarkable feature of their nature. There are specific, precise linkages which pertain to a variety of landscape elements in which the Warlis live. The natural resources and wildlife of the region influences their culture in terms of artwork, artefacts like musical instruments and the folktales that have come to them from their forefathers. The spectrum of wildlife that they depict in their drawings, are invariably those which are dangerous to human life and livelihood such as tiger, deer, snakes and scorpions. The strong depiction of village life is their strong association with agriculture on which the Warlis have survived for so many generations. For them their paddy lands are a source of their very livelihood and they continue to thus, depict this even today. The reason for the loss of the culture in sections of the Warli belt is attributed to the diminishing appreciation of their traditional values by the younger generations of the Warli people. They believe that as they are getting integrated into urban societies, they have no need for their cultural values. The Warli people are true example of how urbanizationIJSER is leading to homogenization of cultures. The outcome of this extensive research on the Warli tribe will have to be strategies that will provide a variety of options that can enhance the economic situation of the Warli people as well as preserve their intangible cultural heritage.

1047 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2. DAHANU- EPITOME OF ENVIRONMENT V/S DEVELOPMENT DEBATE

2.1 HISTORY

Dahanu is one of the last green belts left in the state of Maharashtra and the only remaining habitat of the indigenous Warli tribe. Squeezed between Mumbai and its sprawling industries to the south and the numerous industrial zones of Gujarat state to the north, Dahanu is like an oasis. It is the 'fruit and flower basket' of the two states.

8 Dahanu’s historical significance can be traced back to 16th century AD. When the Portuguese had firmly established their dominion on the west coast of India between Daman in North and Karanja in the South, they divided their Thana territories into two divisions viz. Daman and Vasai (also known as Basai by Muslims, Bacaim by Portuguese, Bajipur by Marathas and Bassein by the British), then an important ship building center whereupon Dahanu (then called ‘Danu’) was included in the Daman division along with three other districts -- Sanjan, Tarapur and Mahim. Dahanu has also found itself being mentioned in the historical records during the 1634 AD era as celebrated for its images of Nossa Senhorades Augustus, who it is believed to have wrought miracles. Dahanu also finds place in the trade map of the east during the beginning of the 18th century. In January 1739, the Marathas captured theIJSER fort of Dahanu, under the leadership of Chimaji Rao Appa and with their successive capture of Mahim, the Portuguese began to lose their control on the west coast of India.

Around 1817 AD, Dahanu was passed into the hands of the British under the ‘Treaty of Bassein’ with the Peshwas of Pune. The Dahanu fort has been once described as “The fort, on the north bank of the river at a little distance from its mouth, is of cut-stones and well built." In 1818 the walls, which averaged 38 feet high and 10 feet thick, were in excellent

8 Anon., 4th June 2013. Dahanu: The city of dreams. [Online] Available at: http://dahanucity.blogspot.in/ [Accessed June 2016].

1048 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

condition, defended by four casemated towers with ruined terraces.” Dahanu was shown as a port in the list of ports shown in the map in Milburn's Oriental Commerce (1800-1812).

Dahanu has also been described in 1882 under the title of “Places of Interest in Thane”, as a fort and a seaport. “Dahanuka” also occurs in one of the Nashik cave inscriptions as the name of a town and a river

Figure 22: Dahanu Fort at the junction of the creek and the sea during the on which Vishwadutta, the Portuguese Rule son-in-law of Nahapan Source: Google Images (100 AD) made a ferry. Today, theIJSER fort houses the Tehsildar's office, a police chowky, a watch tower outpost in one of the bastions, a local jail, a customs office and a few residential quarters for the police. There is a well within the fort premises, which has been covered up. This area once ruled by its first Maharaja (King) nearly 700 years ago, the heirs of its last Maharaja, H.H. Maharaja Shrimant Yeshwantrao Martandrao Mukne (Tribal King) have abandoned their hilltop palace to live in cities.

2.2 DEMOGRAPHICS

9Dahanu taluka is geographically located on 19°-51' to 20°-10' north latitude and 72°-45' to 73°-46' east longitudes. It is towards the north west of Thane district. The total area of Dahanu taluka as per MRSAC (Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre) area statement provided with satellite imagery map of Dahanu Taluka for 2003-2004 is 988.52 Sq. kms. As

9 Dahanu(1995-2015), R. P., 2015. Report on Regional Plan (MOEF) for Dahanu Taluka, Proposed land-use plan, s.l.: s.n.

1049 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

per 1991 census, the area of entire Dahanu Taluka is 980.50 Sq. kms, out of which Municipal Council area is 20.74 sq.km and rural area is 959.76 sq.km. It is surrounded by Jawhar and Mokhada Talukas on the east, on the west by Arabian Sea, on the north side partly by Talasari Taluka and partly Dadra-Nagar Haveli area of union territory and on the south by Palghar Taluka.

*Dahanu was a part of Thane District until 2014. Now it has been added to Palghar District. All the information discussed hereafter is a part of the Regional Report generated for Thane District up to 2001 and it is the latest official information available.

CENSUS RURAL URBAN TOTAL Total 1991 2,37,461 33,599 2,71,060 population of Dahanu Tehsil. 2001 2,82,699 57,838 3,40,537 S.T Population 1991 1,71,107 7,771 1,78,878 of Dahanu Tehsil 2001 2,12,755 10,808 22,35,563 % OF S.T 1991 72.06% 23.13% 66.00% Population to IJSERtotal population

Figure 23: Ratio of ST population to total population in Dahanu Taluka as per 1991 and 2001 Census

Source: Report on Regional Plan

1050 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

The total area under Dahanu Taluka comprises of 174 revenue villages and Dahanu Municipal Council Area. The details of the population and area of villages have been mentioned in the table below.

SOURCE YEAR AREA IN H.A Sanctioned Regional Plan (1996) 1991 95991

Census-1991 (174 villages: Rural & 1991 98050 & 124567

Urban) Census 2001 (Rural & Urban) 2001 98050 & 122344 MRSAC-Report 2003-2004 101749.04

Figure 24: Area of Dahanu Taluka as per different sources

Source: Report on Regional Plane

Decadal growth rate: This gives an overview of the percentage of total population growth in a particular decade.

CENSUS TOTAL MALE FEMALE DECADAL GROWTH

RATE %

1981 2,06,575 1,04,174 1,02,401 IJSER 1991 2,37,461 1,20,054 1,17,407 14.95

2001 2,96,136 1,47,783 1,48,353 24.70

Figure 25: Rural population and decadal growth rate

Source: Report on Regional Plan

1051 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2001 TOTAL POPULATION SCHEDULE TRIBE % TO TOTAL POPULATION POPULATIO TOTAL MALE FEMAL TOTAL MALE FEMAL N E E RURA 2,96,13 1,47,78 1,48,353 2,15,33 1,06,00 1,09,330 72.71 L 6 3 5 5 URBA 44,401 22,907 21,494 8,228 4,035 4,193 18.53 N TOTAL 3,40,53 1,70,69 1,69,847 2,23,56 11,040 1,13,523 65.65 7 0 3

Figure 26: Tribal population in Dahanu Taluka

Source: Report on Regional Plan Thus it can be concluded that Dahanu Taluka is predominantly a tribal taluka and the tribal population though predominantly resides in the rural areas of the taluka; the trend of rural population shifting to urban areas is chief.

LITERACY RATE TheIJSER overall literacy rate of Dahanu is considerable lower as compared to the overall literacy rate of Thane district and the literacy rate of the rural areas of Dahanu Taluka is lower as compared to the rural literacy rate of Thane district.

CE TOTAL LITERATES ILLITERATES NS Total Male Female Rate % Total Male Female Rate % US 199 Rural 2,37,461 64,230 42,601 21,629 27.04 1,73,231 77,453 95,778 72.96 1 Urban 33,599 19,835 11,744 8,901 59.03 13,764 5,711 8,053 40.96 Total 2,71,060 84,065 54,345 29,720 31.01 1,86,995 83,164 1,03,831 68.98 200 Rural 2,96,136 1,24,864 76,771 48,153 42.18 1,62,504 66,732 95,776 54.87 1 Urban 44,401 31,216 17,554 13,662 70.30 13,185 5,353 7,832 29.69 Total 3,40,537 1,56,140 94,325 61,815 45.85 1,75,689 72,085 1,03,608 51.59

Figure 27: Literacy and Illiteracy in Dahanu Taluka

Source: Report on Regional Plan

1052 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2.3 SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHICS

2.3.1 SOCIAL AMENITIES

All villages of Dahanu have the facility of drinking water either by well water, bore well, tank, river, tap water and hand pump. All 181 villages do not have the facility of Primary/Elementary School. This needs to be provided so that all villages have the basic amenity of primary education and school going children do not have to travel far to other places to avail basic primary education.

The basic primary education facilities should be provided to all the villages. It is seen that the north-western, north-eastern and the south eastern portion do not have the facility of Middle/High school. It should be ensured that this facility is made available in these pockets within a commutable distance of 5 kms. Health facilities (at least a dispensary) should be provided within commutable distances especially in the eastern southern and south-eastern portion of Dahanu Taluka. Basic amenities need to be provided so that people can reach out easily. The Pad land (barren lands) adjoining the existing Goathan can be utilized to provide basic amenities.

SR. NAME OF AMENITY NO. OF NO. OF NO VILLAGES VILLAGES AVAILING LACKING IJSERAMENITY FACILITY 1991 2001 1991 2001 1 Primary/ Elementary 162 177 19 7 School 2 Middle School 53 74 128 107 3 Higher Secondary School 17 30 164 151 4 Industrial School 2 2 - - 5 Training School 1 1 - - 6 Medical facility 66 88 115 93 7 Drinking water 174 174 7 7 8 Approach by Pucca road 103 156 78 25 9 Power supply 166 169 15 12 10 Post and telegraphs 34 56 147 125

1053 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

11 Telephones 10 27 171 154 12 Weekly markets 12 12 - - 13 Transport facility 94 133 87 48

Figure 28: Villages having various amenities in Dahanu Taluka

Source: Report on Regional Plan

2.3.2 WORKING CLASS

Census handbook of Thane district 1991 & 2001 clearly state that in Dahanu Taluka, the main source of livelihood is agriculture. It is basically an agriculture oriented Taluka.

CATEGORY OF NO. OF WORKERS % OF WORKERS MAIN WORKERS AGAINST TOTAL POULATION 1991 2001 1991 2001 TOTAL 2,71,060 3,40,537 - - POPULATION TOTAL WORKERS 1,22,821 1,51,536 45.31 45.70 CultivatorsIJSER 57,215 46,019 21.11 30.40 Agricultural 23,953 48,483 8.84 32.00 labourers Livestock, forestry, 10,336 - 3.81 - fishing, hunting, plantations, orchards & allied activities Mining and quarry 76 - 0.03 - Constructions 1,970 - 0.73 - Trade and commerce 5,609 - 2.07 - Manufacturing, 2,592 - 0.95 - processing, servicing

1054 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

and repairs in household indoor Manufacturing, 11,973 7,853 4.42 - processing, servicing and repairs in other than household industry Transport, storage 2,530 - 0.93 - and communication Other services 6,567 - 2.42 - Marginal workers 14,534 34,416 5.36 10.40 Non workers 1,33,705 1,82,293 49.33 54.30

Figure 29: Working class details

Source: Report on Regional Plan

2.3.3 HOUSING

Dahanu Taluka had a population of 2, 22,241 as per 1981 census and it increased to 2, 71,060 asIJSER per 1991 census. There were 40,508 houses in 1981 which increased to 51,107 houses in 1991. Average household size in 1981 worked out 5.36 people whereas in 1991 the average household size has declined to 5.27 people.

1055 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

CENSU TOTAL NO. OF NO. OF HOUSELESS AVERAGE S YEAR POPULATIO HOUSEHOL HOUSE HOUSEHOL HOUSEHOL N D S D D 1981 Rural 2,06,575 38,557 37,646 911 5.38 Urban 15,666 3,045 2,862 183 5.14 Total 2,22,241 41,602 40,508 1,094 5.36 1991 Rural 2,37,461 44,842 44,586 256 5.29 Urban 33,599 6,559 6,521 38 5.12 Total 2,71,060 51,401 51,107 294 5.27 2001 Rural 2,96,136 57,816 54,431 558 5.19 Urban 44,401 9,356 11,583 600 4.99 Total 3,40,537 67,172 66,014 1,158 5.15

Figure 30: Number of houses and households

Source: Report on Regional Plan

IJSER 2.4 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

RAINFALL: In Dahanu Taluka, the rainy season starts at the beginning of June and ends in the last week of September. The average rainfall is 1573.08 mm.

HUMIDITY: The maximum and minimum relative humidity of Dahanu Taluka is 91% and 67% respectively.

WINDS: In Dahanu Taluka, the wind direction is generally from North-west to South east and West to East for major period of the year. The mean annual wind velocity is 15.48 km/hour during the hot season. However, the velocity gradually increases reaching its peak in the month of July with the direction from South-west and West.

TEMPERATURE: The maximum mean temperature is 34.4° C in the month of May and minimum mean temperature is 17.5° C in the month of January. The climate of Dahanu is

1056 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

wet and hot in the month of October and November followed by cool and pleasant weather from December to February and dry-hot weather from March to June.

RIVER SYSTEM: In Thane district mainly two rivers viz. Ulhas and Vaitarna drain the rainwater. Vaitarna is one of the most important rivers of Konkan. Its length is 154 kms. And its drainage area practically covers the entire northern portion of the district. It has a number of tributaries viz. Pinjal, Surya, Tansa etc. River streams which are tributaries of River Vaitarna, such as Surya, Kalu and Susar, flow across the Dahanu Taluka along with other small tributaries. Mainly the direction of flow of these rivers is from east to west. There are a number of hot springs in Thane district. Dahanu Taluka is mostly covered by the forest and hilly area. Similarly a small part of this Taluka is under marshy and Khajan lands.

SOIL AND CROPPING PATTERN: There are three main type of soils in Thane district (as per the information collected from census hand book 1991 & 2001) The black coloured soil, occurring on plains, the lighter coloured course soil occurring on hill slopes which is also known as 'Varkas' and the black coloured soil on the coast. The coastal soil is blackish and contains sand. Coastal soil is further divided into sweet lands that support horticulture, paddy cultivation and vegetables and the Khar lands, which grow course varieties of paddy after partial reclamation. Towards the east, the soil is red and brown. It is not very deep but is suitable for rice. Further east on the hill slopes the soil is poor and is used for growing grass and coarseIJSER grains like Nagli and Vari. There are patches of black soil where rice is grown. Fruits are mostly grown in coastal areas. This pattern also applies to Dahanu Taluka. The important fruits grown in the taluka are chickoos, mangoes and coconuts.

NATURAL WEALTH:

(a) SALT- Common salt is collected by evaporation in salt pans along the coast of Dahanu. Salt pans are also good sources of livelihood and income.

(b) FOREST PRODUCE- The major forest produce is timber, which is used for construction. The main species of wood being Sag, Yen and Hirda. The other forest produce are Subabhul, Bamboo, Nilgiri, Palas, and Bel etc.

(c) SINDI TREES- The sindi trees and its produce specially 'Tadi' or 'Sindi'; an extract collected from these trees are significant feature. These extracts in the form of liquid have nutritional as well as medicinal value. The majority of people; mostly the tribal and other population from low income groups are habituated of this Tadi as an alternative to the Deshi

1057 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

alcoholic liquor. As per the information gathered from the local state excise office of Dahanu, there are atleast 30,000 trees in which at an average of 3 litre/day; around 90,000 litres of Tadi is collected daily. There are around 75 retail shops of Tadi.

FISHERIES: Dahanu has a coastal line of about 35 kms. Along this coastal stretch, a number of fishing villages are located. Marine fishing is extensively done all along the coast from September to May. Chinchani, Dhakti Dahanu, Dahanu, Narpad, Pokhran are important fishing centres in the taluka. The important marine fish catch consists of Bombay duck, Golden Anchovy (Mandeli), Pamphlet, Eel, Prawns, Shrimps, Zinga etc.

About 60% of the total fish catch is dried, 25% is sent fresh to Mumbai markets, 10% is sold fresh in local markets and 5% is retained for household consumption and for barter dealings. Sweet water fishing is a very good source of income in the area because most tribes are fish lovers and catch fish in streams and rivers.

BEACHES: Along the coastal stretch of Dahanu Taluka, from south to north; there are atleast 12 beach towns. These are- Chinchani, Varor, Vandhavan, Pokhran, Dahanu, Thakur Wadi, Narpad, Ambewadi, Gholwad and Bordi. Out of these the main and ideal for tourism developments are Dahanu, Bordi, Gholwad and Chinchani.

WATER BODIES: The total area covered under water bodies is 1677.87 HA. The water body area to the total area comes to 1.70%. This comprises of cooling pond, rivers, nalas, lakes and dams. ThisIJSER area is the major source of water for irrigation, drinking water and sweet water fisheries.

2.5 LAND USE PATTERNS

2.5.1. GREEN AREAS

As per the general guidelines frames by the Environment/Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra, the green areas include- forest lands, command area of irrigation projects and land irrigated by canal water. In green areas, lands under horticulture have not been included as they have been separately mentioned under 'Orchards' on the map.

In Thane District, as far as agriculture is concerned the soils are mainly classified into 3 types viz. coastal soils, mid-plane soils and Varkas type soil. Majority of Green areas contain mid- plane soils. The northern and the eastern portion of Dahanu comprises of forest and the south-

1058 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

eastern portion along Surya River comprises the lands with plain topography containing maximum Command Area of Irrigation project.

2.5.1. (A) AREA UNDER FOREST

The Thane forests are one of the valuable and well-preserved forests in Maharashtra. The forest area as occurring in the district do not consists of a single block, but are scattered all over the district and are mainly situated on the stiff western ghats, on the spurs, ridges and out layers extending from these ghats. Dahanu Taluka being rich in forest, has been allotted a separate Forest Division.

As per the information received from Forest Department, the area of forest in the Tehsil is 39280.92 HA. The area under forest admeasures 39.73% of the total area of Dahanu Region. Except a few patches of agricultural lands, the entire eastern half of the Taluka is occupied by forests. The yield per hectare is considerably more in Dahanu Forest Division as compared to other divisions. The quality of timber from these forests is also better than other divisions. These facts obviously speak about the sensitivity of Taluka towards the environment.

2.5.1. (B) COMMAND AREA

Command area is the area which is fit for cultivation and can be economically irrigated from a schemeIJSER without considering a limitation on the quantity of water available. Around 44.94% of land in Dahanu Taluka falls under agriculture land, but only 10.41% of that agriculture land has command area. Lands along Surya River and its tributaries offer Command areas.

2.5.2 AGRICULTURE LAND

2.5.2. (A) KHARIF AGRICULTURE LANDS

The kharif agriculture area includes the areas were kharif crops are grown once a year. The major crop is rice. These areas exclude areas falling into command area and orchards. They are mostly dependant on monsoons for the crop produce and sustenance farming is carried out by the tribal communities on this.

1059 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2.5.2. (B) WASTE LANDS

Waste lands are mainly pad lands, where natural grass is grown for fodder cattle. These are generally less fertile with poor soil type as Varkas land. Total area falling under waste lands is approximately 2.47%

2.5.3 ORCHARDS

Orchards are basically lands yielding horticulture produce such as Chickoo, Mango and coconut. The soil all along the coast particularly in parts of Dahanu is blackish and contains sand. It is very suitable for horticulture. Lands under horticulture come up to 6.08% of the total land. The prime horticultural produce of Dahanu Taluka is Chickoo and the village Gholwad is famous for quality chickoos. The bulk of chickoo fruits sold in the Mumbai market comes from Dahanu. Due to increase in transportation facilities over the recent years, Delhi market is also being captured by this region.

It is necessary not only to retain the existing orchards, but also to promote horticultural produce of the Taluka.

2.5.4 TRIBAL LANDS

Excepting a few villages of Dahanu Taluka, all others have tribal population ranging from smallest fraction up to 100%. All tribals are not land holders. From revenue records, it is seen thatIJSER there are 15,898 tribal khatedars owning 14,576 Ha. Of land. The average land holding of tribal agriculturist family comes to 0.91 Ha. Percentage of total tribal population dependant on agriculture is still 35% No tribal land is allowed for any other non- agricultural uses. However it is possible that tribal lands are included in proposed residential/ industrial zones. Such lands are not allowed for development, unless the due procedure of law is followed for conversion of tribal lands.

2.5.5 OTHER ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS

Dahanu Taluka has been declared as an ecologically fragile area. This notification also expresses deep concern over green areas, orchards, tribal lands and ecologically sensitive area. Under no circumstances shall this land be converted for any other land use. Other environmentally sensitive areas include-

a. Khajan (Marshy/Mud flat/ salt pans/ Mangroves)

b. Beach land 42

1060 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

c. Coastal Belt /CRZ Zone

d. Water bodies

2.6 LAND USE ANALYSIS

The table below shows existing land uses area of Dahanu:

SR. LAND USE EXISTING AREA % TO No. ( H.A) TOTAL AREA IN H.A 1. ORCHARD i. CHICKOO PLANTATION 3956.48 ii. CASUARINAS 2045.09 iii. OTHERS 5.64 TOTAL 6007.21 6.08 2. AGRICULTURAL LAND i. IRRIGATED 10292.69 10.41 ii. IJSERKHARIF 34135.13 34.53 TOTAL 44427.82 44.94 3. FORESTS i. RESERVED 27133.56 ii. PROTECTED 10153.62 iii. FOREST LAND HANDED 1933.63 OVER TO CULTIVATORS iv. OTHERS 60.10 TOTAL 39280.93 39.73 4. KHAJAN i. MUD FLAT ii. SALT PANS iii. MANGROVES TOTAL 3271.03 3.31

1061 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

5. LAND UNDER DEVELOPMENT i. RESIDENTIAL AREAS 940.85 ii. INDUSTRIAL AREAS 96.10 iii. PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC 52.72 iv. RELIANCE ENERGY POWER 220.84 PLANT (DTPS) v. TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT 437.00 TOTAL 3271.03 3.31 6. WATER BODY i. COOLING POND 285.69 ii. RIVER 491.51 iii. CREEK 273.38 iv. WATER BODY 627.29 TOTAL 1677.87 1.7 7. WASTE LAND 2444.63 2.47 GRAND TOTAL 98857.00 100

Figure 31: Land use analysis IJSER Source: Report on Regional Plan

1062 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

2.7 'LAND TRAPPED'- CONCLUSION

10 Situated in the picturesque Sahyadri mountain range in western Maharashtra, merely 125 km north of Mumbai, is the serene and sleepy region of Dahanu. Sandwiched between the chemical corridors of Vapi, Gujarat, to the north and the industrialized zones of Palghar-Boisar to the south, Dahanu remains one of the last surviving green zones in this region. One amongst 15 Talukas of Thane district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, Dahanu is known as the fruit and food bowl of the region. Home to a predominantly large Adivasi community of Warlis forming 64.84% of the total population of 3, 31,829 lakh (Census 2001), Dahanu also has a large fishing and farming community. With a total of 174 villages and only one municipal area, the main source of livelihood is agriculture and its allied activities.

Whether the battle for ecological equity inevitably compromises opportunities for economic development is a question the communities of Dahanu have grappled with for over a decade. While there may be no simple answer, Dahanu's communities live in a paradoxical reality. Even as the environmental movement has sheltered them from the hazards of unregulated industrialization, it has been unable to provide an alternative viable reality, while restricting many of the benefits of the modern economy.

Forests: 11 Dahanu has the third highest area (47,606 ha) under forests amongst the 15 talukas of Thane district.IJSER The proportion of forest area to total geographical area is 45.91%, making it the predominant land use of the region. A large part of the Adivasi community residing in this zone, lives in remote, almost inaccessible, villages. In spite of a rich history of resistance, the Adivasis are today either marginal farmers or work as daily wage labourers in orchards, brick kilns, or on boats earning a wage of Rs 50-80 a day, struggling to live off their slowly eroding forests. Many migrate for several months of the year to nearby places for work. It can be safely assumed that the entire tribal population is Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in Dahanu given that the figure of BPL families is a high 69% which is approximately the population figure of the region.

10 (Chawla, 2016) Michelle Chawla is a social activist with a masters degree in social work. She is the founder of Tamarind Tree Trust in Dahanu. She has contributed to the research done for Infochange media. Infochange Media fellowship (2008) talks about issues related to the environment in Dahanu and how it is affecting the tribes. 11 (Dahanu(1995-2015), 2015) 45

1063 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

It is interesting to note that in the last decade there has been no mobilization or inclusion of the Adivasis in the environmental campaign in any significant form. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which disagrees with the environmentalists, has held rallies and demonstrations of Adivasis demanding the removal of the special environmental status granted to Dahanu. “A blanket ban on a number of industries is not a balanced view of development, and while concerns about the environment are important, the creation of jobs and livelihoods for a marginalized community are equally critical,” states Mariam Dhawale, member of the Maharashtra state secretariat of the CPI (M) and of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, an organization of the CPI (M) active in the region.

The forest department is unable to provide a systematic assessment of the potential benefits of the Dahanu notification on the forests and consequently on tribals. Anecdotal accounts indicate that there has been considerable degradation in the last ten years, suggesting that the Notification has not led to any meaningful ecological improvement of Dahanu.

Orchards: Aware of the havoc pollution can wreak on their crops, most orchard owners support the environmental movement and the resulting restrictions on development.

However, the farming and orchard-owning community in Dahanu also grapples with its own realities.IJSER With declining yields since the late-1990s post the attack of a seed borer and reduced viability of the orchard economy, the challenge facing farmers is to be able to retain their tranquil way of life while still redefining their sources of livelihood. Prabhakar Save, a progressive orchard owner running Tarpa, a rural tourism center on his farm at Gholvad, states, “The constant monitoring and vigilance of the environmental campaign has played a critical role in ensuring that the region is largely protected from the impact of industrialization and pollution. However, as farmers in a constantly changing economy, it is our responsibility to innovate and ensure that horticulture and associated activities can bring about increased incomes while still protecting the environment.”

Dahanu may have been saved from becoming a toxic hotspot like its neighbour Vapi. Additionally, the legal restrictions on industrialization may have played some role in protecting the cultural identity and livelihoods of the diverse communities of Dahanu. However, for environmental justice and equitable growth to happen in tandem, much more would need to be done. Efforts to create a parallel economy based on rural tourism are options

1064 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

that need to be urgently explored. The need of the hour is to demonstrate alternative and sustainable forms of development that are economically and ecologically viable.

2.7.1 TRAPPED IN FARMING

The declaration of Dahanu as an ecologically fragile zone in 1991 has had repercussions on the orchard economy too. Farmers, already troubled by declining yields and globalization, cannot convert their orchards to non-agricultural use. They feel they are trapped into farming by an environmentalism that is out of context. The main difference between a farmer today and one 50 years ago is that today's farmer has a mobile phone, said a principal scientist from the Institute of Horticulture Research, during a seminar on knowledge dissemination in agriculture. While this metaphor may be an exaggeration of the conditions today, the reality is that in the India-booming narrative, the agricultural sector has been left behind.

In spite of employing about 60% of the population, it grew at a slow rate of 2.7% in 2007-08, relative to 11% growth in both the services and industry sector. Agricultural incomes are lower and growing slower than incomes in other sectors. The reasons for this range from the adverse impact of globalization to inadequate access to credit and direct markets, poor infrastructure and post-harvest facilities and lack of technology. Ironically, until very recently,IJSER prior to the economic slowdown, a booming real estate market had skewed land prices in many regions, making it more lucrative to sell land rather than farm it. Ecological realities such as climate change and impact of industrial pollution add to the farmers’ woes.

2.7.2 IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION

Besides the agro-ecological challenges, farmers are confronted with challenges from a new economy. During the same period, globalization led to the opening up of the agricultural markets, permitting the entry of various fruits and vegetables into India.

With a diverse variety of international and Indian fruits available to the consumer throughout the year, the common man's fruit, Chikoo, now competes with apples from 47

1065 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Australia and kiwi from New Zealand. Very often orchard owners are stuck with selling their produce at low prices of Rs 2-3 a kg. The critical challenge for them is to be able to directly access the markets, innovate, introduce fruit processing and most importantly remove their dependence on the cartel of brokers that currently dominates the prices. G Kolhe, head of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Dahanu states that there is an urgent need for value addition in these competitive times. The KVK in a report authored by him clearly outlines the need for the development of products such as dehydrated Chikoo slices and Chikoo powder, direct retailing and better packaging as the way forward.

2.7.3 IMPACT OF PROTECTION OF ORCHARDS

The declaration of Dahanu as an ecologically fragile zone in 1991 has had its own repercussions on the orchard economy. While the restrictions on industrialization ensured controlled and limited pollution, the Notification led to a freeze on all orchard lands. The Notification categorically classifies orchard land as an environmentally sensitive area along with tribal lands and other green areas and stipulates “no change in land use” of these zones.

Few private farms, specifically in the growing urban area of Dahanu, are barely viable given the reduced yield with the age of the trees and the increased developmental activities around. Yet,IJSER because of the environmental laws they are forced to continue to farm since it cannot be converted into non-agricultural use. This contradiction has led to resentment and frustration amongst some orchard owners who would like to opt out of farming. Feeling trapped in an environmentalism that seems out of context, many of them have tried various ways, both legitimate and illegitimate, to 'de-reserve' their lands in the Development Plan of Dahanu.

2.7.4 ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS

There are hardly any large-girthed trees left in the forest for the Warlis to build houses with. That is why today they are not constructing a traditional Adivasi home. While this may seem ironic given that the village is in the declared ecologically fragile zone of Dahanu taluka, it is the reality in most parts of the region.

1066 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

The reality is that the pressures on the Warli community to eke out a livelihood from their eroding forestlands has increased tremendously, with the growing urbanization and industrialization all around – Mumbai to the south and the Vapi-Valsad industrial corridor to the north. Meanwhile, systematic and large-scale efforts to save and rejuvenate the forests in partnership with the community have not taken place simultaneously.

IJSER

1067 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

3. COLLECTIVE EFFORTS FOR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION – CASE STUDIES

3.1 WALL ART FESTIVAL WITH NoCo 2016 Wall art project is a non-profit organization based in Shibuya-Ku in Tokyo, Japan. It had started as an international art exhibition in India in 2009.Wall art festival, NoCo project, Earth art project are the 3 projects running under this every year in India. This activity is sponsored and supported by The Arts Council in Tokyo & INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). Projects are carried out in Bihar and Ganjad (Dahanu Taluka)

The organization strives for social and cultural exchanges of both the countries and all the programs organized promote education in tribes, enhancing and displaying their artwork and preserving their culture. INTACH members along with the localities who are a part of the Wall Art Project work collectively to organize these programs every year. Padmashree award winner Rajesh Vangad (famous for his Warli painting) met this team in Bihar and happened to display his artwork. Inspired by the work and from his social background, the team decided to take up Ganjad (hometown of Rajesh Vangad) as the running centre for these activities to be carried out in the next years. IJSERWALL ART FESTIVAL 2016 The Wall Art Festival organized by the Wall Art Project was conducted in Ganjad during the month of February in 2016. “Transforming School walls into a Giant Canvas” was the motto behind this Festival. The Festival was conducted in Khadkipada Zilla Parishad School in Ganjad. This festival aimed at connecting India and Japan through art and NoCo design. The main artist of the festival was Rajesh Vangad (Warli painter and Padmashree award winner) who painted and conducted workshops on Warli Art and displayed his work through a set of Exhibitions.

Figure 32: Wall Art Festival 2016 logo The other artists were from Japan who portrayed their

Source: WAF 2016 artwork and their styles of paintings.

1068 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1069 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1070 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1071 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

3.1.2 NOCO PROJECT

Warli tribal knowledge, skills and craftsmanship is slowly being lost along with their grass root culture and it is a heritage too precious to be forgotten. With this in mind INTACH Dahanu Chapter proposed the construction of a Model Warli Hut to teach this traditional method to the next generation and promote the Warli Culture. The NoCo Project 2016 was an effort initiated by the Wall Art Project and INTACH to accomplish the above goal. During the NoCo Project, architects, volunteers and local people from the tribal areas build structures / houses using local materials and techniques of building. The program consists of staying there for a month with the tribes, eat their food, learning their language, and helping them build the structures. This way cultural exchange takes place and it is an effort to help sustain local architecture. This project was observed in a close relationship to the local village architecture back in the villages of Japan where similar sustainable techniques and materials were used. Those communities were farming based as well and it found an immediate connection to the ecological context here.

12 PROJECTIJSER DETAILS FOR NOCO HOUSE Location: Khadkipada, Devgaon

Dimensions of the House: 9 m x 5.4 m x 5.4 m

Approximate Cost of Building the house (inclusive of labour cost paid): Rs. 60,000-70,000

Material Usage: Local hence sustainable

Advantages over R.C.C: Environment friendly, sensitive to traditional practices and yet Cost effective.

12 The data collection for the following case study was done by the author from INTACH. 54

1072 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1073 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1074 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1075 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1076 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

CONCLUSION

This Model Warli Hut can be used as an example to preserve and promote traditional practices of Architecture and Building materials. Workshops that provide a hand-on experience in materials and construction are very vital for the newer generations. This could gradually develop into a centre that promotes the traditions and can house artefacts used by the Warlis in their day-to-day lives.

Tribal tourism is growing in popularity where tourists can also take part in hands on activities like Warli painting and cooking on a wooden fire. Workshops can be conducted using the Warli hut as a base for students to interact with tribal kids and get a glimpse into their culture and lifestyle. In the Warli area the artwork can constitute an important focus of eco development and alternate income generation. The Warli tribal people have a rich traditional knowledge system which is linked to the environment and thus it can be assumed that community-based tourism by Warli people would hold a great attraction to people. This needs to be infused with local school education as a part of their curricula so that the local appreciation of natural resources and biodiversity preservation becomes a part of local thinking. Each village can develop their own centre. Traditional knowledge of the Warli people, namely their art and folklore with their linkages to the environment can be promoted with the help of venture. The folklore of the Warlis can be used to educate everyone about the environment,IJSER the music and dances can be taught at workshops in the villages and the lifestyle of the tribal people would bring about appreciation and understanding in the urban tourists as well.

The main purpose of the village would be to depict the authenticity of the daily life of the Warli people. The model village can be a centre for the Warli artists to display and sell their paintings. The model can also be used as a tool for schools and colleges to educate people about the Warli culture. The folklore of the Warli people can be taught in the tribal schools to educate the children about the environment. This has a dual benefit of teaching the children about the environment as well as educating them about their traditional culture.

The bigger outcome would be promoting and expanding this project as an architect by stimulating the required environment, thus preserving the roots and eventually generating opportunities for communal growth.

1077 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

3.2 CHICKOO FESTIVAL

HISTORY

Dahanu, being a small coastal town, not many are aware of its history, its natural topography, its tribal interiors with rich culture and abundance of primary art & craft and more; so of the many reasons for being called as the ‘Lungs of Mumbai’. The social mosaic of the region is dotted with agriculturists, horticulturists, floriculturists, artisans, potters, basket weavers, jewellery die-makers, salt manufacturers, balloon manufactures, toddy tappers and fisher folks apart from primitive activities like boat repairing and net making.

Well-equipped with hotels, resorts, organic farms, sightseeing, hands-on village experiences, games and nature trails, a very good educational tourism opportunity can be generated which will help not only the existing hospitality industry but also provide new avenues of income generation to the orchard owners, local shops and establishments as well as the local tribal population, the Warlis, who constitute 66% of the total population of the area. To provide a platform to showcase all this, ‘Discover Dahanu’ was initiated in 2011. Due to the increasing financial support from MTDC and INTACH, a better event in 2013 came up to promote Dahanu more towards Sustainable Progressive Development. Thus ‘Discover Dahanu’ became ‘The Chickoo Festival’. 13

IJSER

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Dahanu taluka is today at crossroads – ecologically, socially, culturally; surrounded by the rapidly advancing industrial and commercial metros of Mumbai, Tarapur and Vapi. With over 50% land under fruit orchards, forests & mangroves, this region has a lot to offer through agro tourism. The Chickoo festival intends to showcase what this region has to offer its visitors. The basic aim of the Chikoo Festival is to entertain, educate and sensitize its visitors. Their mission is to create opportunities for individuals and communities to celebrate, share and sustain the arts and the rich cultural traditions of the local area thereby creating alternative sources of income and sustainability. The first festival started

13 https://parsikhabar.net/events/the-chikoo-festival-of-dahanu/4915/ 60

1078 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

in the year 2013 and 4th Annual Chickoo Festival was conducted in Bordi on 6th and 7th of February, 2016.

The events range from organizing a small fun-fair wherein stalls are set-up to showcase different offerings; tribal art and craft, agricultural products, fresh fruits & their products, photo exhibition on the region, to outdoor attractions like Kite making and Kite flying, Nature Stroll, Games and Adventure, workshop related to agro tourism, tribal village visits, local market visits, Bon fire with Finger foods at the beach, etc. Warli paintings, local hand-woven baskets and sculptures made by local artists are among the highlights of this festival. Every year the Chickoo Festival Committee strives to give a different look to the festival by introducing new and unique concepts that represent the taluka in its ruralistic form to encourage and promote rural entrepreneurship development.

List of events organized at The Chickoo Festival 2016:

 Chickoo Safari

 Tribal Folk Dance

 Visit to Weekly Bazar  SandcastleIJSER Competition  Warli Painting Workshop

 Kite show and making workshop

 Visit to Tribal Village (Life of a Warli for a day)

 Chikoo Run and treasure hunt

 Local cuisines, chickoo products and artefacts fair

1079 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1080 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

CONCLUSION

 Chickoo festival is a social affair organized every as an attempt to promote the traditions and culture which will soon be lost advent of western cultures.  It is a perfect example to portray how a different communities could participate and create social awareness and exchange of ideas and tradition  It also opens up alternatives ideas for income generation and broadens up the development scope.  The venue chosen for the festival is undoubtedly one of the best possible scenic landscapes that can be provided for such events, but the participation in this festival is limited to Dahanu Town and its neighbouring areas like Bordi and Gholwad. To ensure more participation from root levels, it should be easily accessible to most parts of the Taluka. This will add more to what already exists.  This festival is a short affair today and happens only once a year. If more participation is ensured through awareness, it could be done at a larger scale and maybe even twice a year.  This festival attracts people from cities and urban areas to quite some extend, so the exposure of the tribes to the outer fabric becomes easier .This could also expand the event to a higher scale. IJSER

1081 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

4. ROLE OF KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA (CASE STUDY)

LOCATION

Krishi Vigyan Kendra is located in Kosbad of Kainad Village in Dahanu Taluka.

The Dahanu Taluka lies in the north- western part of the newly formed District of Palghar. The taluka comprises of 174 villages. The village of Kainad is a large village Panchayat and it is situated in the rural part of the taluka. It is 7kms away from the Dahanu Municipal Figure 33: Location map of Kainad Village Limit. Kainad is Source: GoogleIJSER Maps surrounded by Talasari Taluka towards East, Umbergaon Taluka towards North, Palghar Taluka towards South, Dadra Nagar Haveli Taluka towards North. Kosbad forms a major part of the village of Kainad.

ACCESSIBILITY

Kainad is accessible by road and by rail. The nearest major station is the Dahanu railway station which is located at a distance of 7kms. Gholvad station is at a distance of 10kms and Bordi is 14kms. Vapi; situated in Gujarat is at a distance of 47kms by railway. Kainad lies at a distance of 4kms from the Dahanu- Jawhar road which connects to Charoti at the National Highway 8. It is located at a distance of 28 kms from the NH8. Kainad is situated at 17kms from the coastal road that runs from Dahanu and stretches up to Umbergaon in Gujarat via Gholvad and Bordi.

It is well connected to the urban areas of Dahanu by means of road. The major public transport in the region is the shared auto rickshaw which runs from Dahanu, Gholvad and Bordi. There 64

1082 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

are State Transport (ST) buses also running along the coastal road on daily basis within peaks hours of the day for minimum fares.

IJSER

Figure 34: Satellite image showing the location of Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Kosbad

Source: Google Maps

CLIMATE

The region has a very tropical climate which is humid most of the times in the year due to the proximity to the sea. Winter is from December to February, followed by summer from March to June. The southwest monsoon season is from June to September. October and November months constitute the post-monsoon season, which is hot and humid. In the coastal area, the average daily maximum temperature in summer is 32.9 °C (maximum recorded at Dahanu is 40.6 °C on 19 April 1955) and in winter average mean daily minimum temperature is 16.8 °C (minimum recorded at Dahanu is 8.3 °C on 8 January 1945)

1083 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

The average annual rainfall ranges 318mm from the year 2000-2012 and the average annual rainfall days are 19-20. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in July, with an average of 756 mm.

Figure 35: Map showing the Topology in and around Kosbad

Source: Google Maps

HISTORY

TheIJSER Krishi Vigyan Kendra was founded by the Gokhale Education Society from Mumbai. The society was formed in the memory of Late Shri. Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The objective of this society was to promote education. The society has completed 75 years of its existence. At present there are about one Lac students on roll participating in education, taking instructions in different disciplines in 10 centres located in Mumbai, Nashik and Thane region with the help of 4,000 members of staff. The society is functioning under the leadership of Principal Shri. S. B. Pandit as Chairman and Dr. M. S. Gosavi, the eminent educationalist and Management Expert as the Secretary.

The Society was founded in 1920, a secondary school adjacent to seaside village Bordi in Thane district. Here, a tiny band of workers devoted their time to education under the leadership of Late Shri. Acharya Bhise, earned a unique place in the field of national education. Besides, the institution produced dedicated social workers, who also participated in the National struggle for freedom. After independence of the Nation, the organizers felt the strong urge to work for the upliftment of weaker sections, more particularly the tribals whose 66

1084 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

population in Thane district was more than half a million. Since agriculture is the main occupation of the tribals, they thought of improving tribal agriculture by starting a Centre where research, extension, training and education could be started.

Thus, in the year, 1949, "The Agricultural Institute", Kosbad Hill, Dist. Thane, was started under the leadership of Late Padmashree Harishchandra Patil , a founder of Japanese paddy cultivation method and Ex Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra Agriculture University, and Dr. Jayavantrao Patil , an Agricultural Expert, Ex- Member of Planning Commission, Government of India and Training Organizer of This KVK. He worked with Padmashree Patil and took keen interest in developing the Agricultural Institute for intensifying agricultural development in tribal areas.

MANDATES OF KVK:

As per ICAR guidelines KVK is having following mandates for implementing its activities -

1. To undertake vocational training for the farmers, farm women, rural youths and grass roots level Extension Workers in broad band Agricultural Production System.

2. To provide critical skills, so that the trainees may confidently use it to increase agricultural productivityIJSER and became self-reliant through self-employment. 3. To plan and refine location specific technologies developed by research stations / SAUs and blending the Indigenous Technical Knowledge of farmers with the package of technology evolved by the SAUs / Research stations.

4. To conduct demonstrations under FLDs / OFTs to increase the farmers confidence on the newly evolved technology.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

Objective of the Institute: Transfer of agricultural technology and implementation of various rural development schemes is the mandate of this institute. It runs at local level within tribal communities to educate and assist them.

Demonstration, Training, Visits and seminars are the four parts of their educational system. There are two ways in which the KVK will follow this four- fold path: Farmers 67

1085 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

approaching these institutes or these institutes reaching out to the tribal communities. Front - line demonstrations called as the FLD are carried out in front of a small group of tribal farmers for demonstration purposes. OFT called as the on farm testing is done at the institute.

The KVK acts as co-ordinator between the producer, research institute, financing agency and ultimately the consumer.

Functions of the Institute as a campus:

1. Balwadi and Anganwadi Kendra

The concept of a "Balwadi" and “Anganwadi" bore roots in Kosbad. Padmashree award winner Anutai Wagh with her comrades laid the foundation for child education within the tribal community .Madam Montessori's idea of informal education i.e. joyful learning had reached India in 1914. Anutai Wagh started with "Nutan Bal Shikshan Kendra” in all the remote tribal areas based on this concept. Kosbad was chosen for this idea to conceive because it was very remote and had a lot of tribal Padas around. Dahanu had always been a predominant tribal zone of The Adivasi / Warlis. These communities were dependant on nature and forest. They had their own sustainable ways to live. Agriculture was the primitive occupation of this tribe. Promoting education within these communities and making it a very practical and joyous journey through ways in which these children could related lessons given in school IJSER with their own culture, language, occupation and daily lifestyle was the main principle of this movement.

It initially started with the teachers going to individual settlements and calling all the children and then starting with a class right behind in the 'Angan'(Frontyard). Children were never sent to school because they worked at fields and supported the family. Education opened up their vision and taught them why it was important and how it could mould and sharpen their own culture in a better way. Lessons about agriculture, nature, sanitation, education, and self- empowerment were thus imparted to children through these centres.

2. Balwadi and Anganwadi Training Centre

Workshops and training lessons are conducted here for the rural women who go back and run these centres in their own small settlements. The workshop lasts for a whole month where these women live in the campus and training is imparted. The areas comprises of classrooms, residential block and workshop areas.

1086 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

3. Ashram School

Ashram Shala or Ashram schools are residential schools which impart education up to the secondary level to children belonging to the Scheduled tribes.

The campus has one such Ashram school which has live-in classrooms separately for girls and boys. The campus has these live-in classroom blocks, separate classrooms, mess, toilet blocks, playground, water source (well), and open spaces to conduct outdoor classes, etc.

4. Graduation and Post- graduation school in agriculture and allied subjects

Various courses relating to agriculture and allied subjects are taught here. A set of faculty members

5. Gram Sevak and Gram Panchayat training centres.

Training is imparted to Gram Sevaks who in turn go back and reach out to their individual settlements to in a way to impart all the government schemes and educate the uneducated. These workshops are usually for a day or two. There is no residential unit attached to these workshop spaces.

6. Secondary and Higher Secondary School

The campus also has a Secondary school up to 7th Std and a higher secondary school up to 7th Std. IJSER 7. Krishi Vigyan Kendra

This Center has a laboratory for testing soil, pesticides and various crops. It has an information centre, where all the information regarding the flora fauna of the entire Taluka is displayed in local as well as English. This purpose of this is to educate the locals as well the people who come from outside. The centre has seminar halls and classrooms to conduct workshops for the farmers. An administration department in the centre takes care of all the workings of the institute.

8. Instructional Farms

The campus has around 70-80 acres of land which is purely used for experimentation purposes and instructions. Demonstrations are carried out for various crops. This institute has provision for paddy and its various types, chickoo, local leafy and fruit vegetable and flowers.

1087 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

9. Training Institute for Farmers

A structure with a few classrooms and residence is provided for farmers who come for workshops or training.

The campus also has poultry rearing, fish pond, bee-keeping, store yards and machinery rooms required for few tasks at the instructional fields.

INFERENCE OF THE CASE STUDY:

 Krishi Vigyan Kendra plays a vital role in the lives of farmers. It also works at a community level where they come up with community welfare schemes for the upliftment of the tribes from all aspects.  The accomplishment of the aims of the institute fall short because of a limited outreach. The region is very huge and there is no provision or infrastructure to accomplish the mandates.  Many tribal people have left agriculture and are not aware about the existence of such an institute. Awareness has not been created for the need of such a body being a part of community living  The fact that this institute uplifts the social and economic condition through technology becomes even more important. The technology has to be transferred for betterIJSER development.  Due to its location, it is very difficult for the other villages in the taluka to reach the institute.  This main body requires a set of small sub-bodies which could spread out more through all regions and pass on the same assistance more efficiently. It also proves sustainable and region specific.  Due to lack of infrastructure and improper planning, the institute itself is unable to expand today. The land available for the institute has not been pit to proper use. There is no sense of planning or architecture involved. The building scheme does not promote sustainability or the use of local materials.  Farming has become a secondary source of income today; it is not enough to sustain the increasing demands of man. The institute has falls short in generating alternative opportunities for the tribes and the stressing importance of value addition.

1088 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1089 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

5. NEED FOR PROGRAM The culture sensitive tribes of Dahanu have a rich background and they share an emotional bondage to the area they have always belonged to. Detailed study of the living patterns of the Warlis and their close linkages to the region throws light on the fact that there is a sudden need to make a few alterations to the current set-up. As discussed earlier, it is evident that urbanization today has impacted and affected many lives, some of which are yet struggling to maintain their own balance and survive. The situation here denotes how the man and his land is ' trapped’. He needs to have economical alternatives for his personal growth and opportunities that will not only benefit him but also his own community. This will reduce the pressure on the cities and balance both landscapes; urban and rural.

The points mentioned below discuss in detail the conclusions drawn out from the research and the need for a program to be generated:

 The forests are environmentally sensitive areas hence these are to be preserved very carefully and under no circumstances the area under forest should be curtailed or deforestation be allowed. As per the Forest Department, a few species of trees are on the verge of being extinct and they are only found in these forests. Maintaining the forest cover will contribute in preserving the heritage and indigenous culture of the tribal people which inherently thrives on the forests and its environment.  OnlyIJSER 10.41% of agricultural land is under irrigation. Area under irrigation has to be increased to increase the agricultural produce for more than consumptive use. A number of small scale projects at community level which will arrest the run off of rain water and enhance the precious ground water reserves have to be undertaken. Waste water utilization in the community cycles itself should be promoted through education and social welfare drives.  Area under orchards or command areas are less compared to agricultural land, therefore rain water harvesting is a must for every individual and community.  For such a huge Taluka, there is only one Municipal Corporation and the entire taluka depends on it for its urban facilities. Proposal of growth centres have to be stimulated.  Provision for natural growth of the existing important rural settlements have to be made.  Due to environmental issues, appropriate areas in growth centres and suitable places in rural areas have to be proposed for industrial uses.

1090 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

 Considering the fact that the tribal population constitutes the major portion of the total population of the taluka, efforts have to be made to promote enlistment of tribals. Promoting and encouraging customary household cottage occupations or value addition to the possible allied activities should be promoted for the same. This will promote their traditional potential and will discourage their migration.  Experimentations with Chickoo have been restricted only for consumptive uses. Value addition of the same can enhance economic conditions for the tribes. Chickoo is a perishable food item. Chickoo chips, chickoo pickle and other items that are dried naturally reduce the amount of waste and convert the same to positive economy. Promotion of the same has to be done at a larger scale where more people get involved to expand.  Tadi or shindi, a drink produced from the local tree seems to be a major resource in the region. This product is mostly consumed by the local people as a substitute to the other alcoholic drinks. It is necessary though to have a scientific research or study to find out the possibilities of other uses of the liquid as well as processes for the production of other commercial products such as bio diesel, medicines, sugar or khandsari, gool etc. Bottom ash generated from the Dahanu Thermal Power Plant needs to be utilized for manufacturing of building materials, used as an alternative to cement  TheIJSER region demands sustainable practices to regain its stability and can be effectively done if the communities work together towards it.

The shortcomings brought forward due to the case studies and the research on the region justify the need for a program to be developed where the community could go back to its sustainable way of life and thus avail the social, economic and cultural benefits out of it. This is an effort to preserve the indigenous culture and ensuring socio cultural security for tribal recommending the provision of opportunities to carry out their traditional occupations with a few alterations to suit the current contexts.

1091 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

6. SITE

6.1 SITE STUDY

The little hamlet of Ganjad is nestled in the lush verdant beauty of fields and varied natural landscapes around it. The village has managed to make a mark on the Indian Map due to the famous Warli Paintings made by Rajesh Vangad who won a Padmashree Award for his artwork. Ganjad has one of the oldest Zilla Parishad Schools in the region; which even today acts as an important source of education for the children.

Ganjad was originally surrounded by dense forests on all sides. Over the years, the forests are shrinking due to changing ecological patterns. This change has led to changes in the social structure of the communities. Agriculture was the prime occupation of the hamlet. Today, people have owned up to different modes of income.

LOCATION IJSER

Figure 36: Location map of Ganjad

Source: Google Maps and Author

1092 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Latitude: 19°57’01.43” N

Longitude: 72°52’05.61” S

Altitude: 168 ft. from sea level

ACCESSIBILITY

 Distance from Dahanu Municipal Limit: 13.4 kms  Distance from Charoti on NH8 (Now known as NH 48): 10.4 kms  Nearest Railway station: Dahanu Road  Nearest Bus station: Dahanu, Charoti o Bus route: Dahanu- Charoti, Bus top: Ganjad  Other Transport facility: Rickshaws at Dahanu Railway station or private vehicles  Nearest Medical facility: Ganjad Health care on the Dahanu-Charoti Highway  Nearest market: Ganjad market, Ashagad weekly market (4 km)  NearestIJSER bank facility: State Bank of Maharashtra, Ganjad.

Figure 37: Satellite image of Ganjad and its surroundings

Source: Google Images

1093 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Figure 38: Road network in Ganjad

Source: Google Maps and Author IJSER GEOGRAPHY The landscape of Ganjad is dotted by a few hills from the Sahyadri ranges in the backdrop. A few patches of dense forests are seen towards the south and the north east. Lush green rice fields along small rivulets, a few chickoo orchards and a few sparse patches of forest which remain are the other things that dot the surrounding and its landscape.

TOPOGRAPHY

The general topography consists of slight contours along the foot of a few hills of Sahyadris. A few flat lands have rice paddy fields or orchards.

TIMELINE MAP

1094 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Figure 39: Ganjad in 2004 Figure 40: Ganjad in 2010

Source: Google Earth Source: Google Earth

IJSER

Figure 42: Ganjad in 2012 Figure 41: Ganjad in 2016

Source: Google Earth Source: Google Earth

1095 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

DEMOGRAPHICS

The total population of Ganjad as per Census of 2011 is 1,966. Number of male population is 954 and Female population is 1012.

Population, literacy and working class

Non workers Workers Literates Warlis Children below 6 years Total Population 0 500 1000 1500 2000

Children Total below 6 Warlis Literates Workers Non workers Population years Female 1012 148 920 456 308 704 Male 954 141 862 575 385 567 Total 1966 289 1782 1031 695 1271

Figure 43: Population, literacy and working class demographics

Source: Wikipedia and Author IJSERMain workers Others Household Industry workers Agricultural labourers Cultivators Main workers Total workers

0 200 400 600 800

Household Total Main Agricultural Cultivators Industry Others workers workers labourers workers Female 308 101 28 40 6 27 Male 387 263 99 49 18 97 Total 695 364 127 89 24 124

Figure 44: Main workers demographics |Source: Wikipedia and Author

1096 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Marginal workers

Others Household Industry workers Agricultural Labourers Cultivators Total Marginal workers

0 100 200 300 400

Household Total Marginal Agricultural Cultivators Industry Others workers Labourers workers Female 207 4 184 4 15 Male 124 13 96 3 12 Total 331 17 280 7 27

Figure 45: Demographics for marginal workers

Source: Wikipedia and Author

14The climate in this region is tropical; hot and humid due to close proximity to the sea. The average annual temperature is 26.4° C. Summers are much rainier than the winters. The average annual rainfall is 1843 mm. The driest month is January with 1mm rainfall. The greatest amountIJSER of precipitation occurs in July with an average of 756 mm. There is a difference of 755 mm of precipitation between the driest and wettest months. The variation in temperatures throughout the year is 7.6 °C.

WIND DIRECTION

The major flow of wind is from the south-west and the north -east. The wind patterns do not change much at the micro-level as there is no obstruction to the flow of wind by hills or forests from immediate surroundings. The month of February experiences the coldest and driest winds in the year.

14 Climate-data.org 79

1097 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

Figure 47: Climate and Rainfall graph for Ganjad

Source: Climate-data.org

IJSER

Figure 46: Temperature Graph for Ganjad

Source: Climate-data.org

1098 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

SUNPATH DIAGRAM

Figure 48: Sun path Diagram Source: http://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.phpIJSER

SOIL As we move away from the coast the type of soil keeps changing in the entire taluka. This region has a soil which is red and brown. The soil is not very deep but suitable for cultivation of rice paddy. There are a few patches of black soil to where rice is grown. Further east on the hill slopes the soil is poor and is used for growing grass and coarse grains like Nagli and Vari.

1099 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

VEGETATION

The main crop grown in this region is rice. There are a few places where soil is suitable enough to grow chickoos and mangos. The native vegetation consists of Tadgola Tree, Toddy Plants, date trees, local grass, cactus, coconut, Sag and Nilgiri.

WATER BODIES

The major source of water for drinking and utility purpose comes from wells and bore wells which are dug at a few intervals. Another important source of water is the Municipality line which is only available at a few urban pockets. More than 50% of the community still relies on wells and bore wells. Another important source of water is a small stream which flows westwards and finally joins the Dahanu creek.

IJSER

1100 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1101 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

IJSER

1102 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

SITE JUSTIFICATION

 Accessibility: Ganjad is located on the Dahanu-Charoti Highway which gets connected to NH8 (Now known as NH48) at Charoti. This offers easy connection to the neighbouring urban areas and cities. The location also offers easy access to the neighbouring communities from other villages.  Ganjad has a good set-up of education; it has one of the oldest Zilla Parishad schools in the region. It also has an Ashram School. This ensures good amount of student and youth participation for the scheme which can be easily generated.  Ganjad is well known for its famous Warli Painter Rajesh Vangad (Padmashree Award Winner). He runs a small workshop-studio space where a few people come to observe and learn  Ganjad has its own market place, bus stop, medical facility, and basic public amenities. It is also a source for public facilities for a few villages that are not yet easily accessible.  The region selected for site study purpose has a very interesting background. That region is the oldest settlement of houses in Ganjad .The stream that divides the two settlements live in paradoxical nature. The community pocket enclosed around the Zilla Parishad Ashram School still lives with their older traditions and seem less attractedIJSER to modern ways. While the settlements towards the left of the stream seem to be more advanced in their living patterns due to adoption by the Gram Vikas Kendra .They have also inclined towards allied income activities  There is a drastic difference in the housing patterns in the same region. One pocket displays their exposure to modern living with either exposed bricks house or Pacca structures. Another pocket still prefers to live in traditional houses. They have their own area which is compounded; it has a small multifunctional courtyard, few trees which are essential for daily needs, a small kitchen garden and a cattle shed.  The stream that meanders in the region has an important value. It is a major source for drinking water as well as for utility purpose. The stream holds a strong social value that bonds the community. Along the stream, the community has a school, a temple and a community hall which is being proposed. This clarifies the importance of the region around the stream. It is a strong centre.

1103 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

 The region chosen for study and site purpose is a part of government land (Zilla Parishad land) which is open for and public development. Dahanu being an environmentally sensitive zone, land uses like Green Areas, Orchards, Forest lands, Tribal land and other environment sensitive zones cannot be converted for development purposes. The most important plus point about the site is that it belongs to the government. This eases out the issues related for land conversion.  Attempts at small scale industries have already being started which shows that the community is opting for alternative income sources. Unlike the situation in Ganjad; where people have given up agriculture and have shifted to industry work in factories, the people here have still not adopted to such means. The small scale industries seem to be yet connected to agriculture and its allied activities.  The region chosen has an exposure to modernization which is at a primitive stage as well as an essence of the tradition which will be lost soon. There is art which is still alive, there are agricultural practices and there is still scope for re-construction of a few elements of social structure that needs to be looked upon. This offers an excellent way to accomplish the aims and the objectives of the research and the program that will follow. IJSER

1104 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

7. DESIGN ABSTRACT

 The design abstract has main two branches: culture & opportunity. Both will have to go hand in hand in order to preserve as well as progress.  The design based in this specific community will solve the current problems of the locality and enhance the prevailing economic and social conditions  The design proposal will consist of a centre / built environment which rightfully blends in the surrounding as well as acts an assistance to the surroundings. This centre will have spaces that allow exploration of the culture and art. There shall be spaces where the tribes could experiment and learn with one another. This could lead to income generation as well.  Such areas could be part of huge markets or display spaces where people from outside could come and appreciate the work  Community gatherings or festivals along with celebrations form a major part of community living. Theses spaces could stimulate such activities and promote them.  Agriculture and allied activities lack value addition and the tribes have opted out from agriculture. Teaching various techniques for alternative opportunities or small scale industries related to agriculture could be housed.  TheIJSER community will lend its hand in the construction of such a program which will in turn benefit the inhabitants. It is by the community, for the community.  Technology shall be an essential part of the whole scheme. It could act as a sub -centre to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra so that it can function properly and transfer technology and various schemes to the tribes.  The whole affair will be a sustainable one with local use of materials and construction techniques. Importance to rain water harvesting, water management, recycle and reuse shall be implemented so the community could learn and benefit out of it.  The proposal could be a prototype within all pockets of the Taluka and this can push up the development for the entire region and its tribe.

1105 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

CONCLUSION

The reality is that the pressures on the Warli community to eke out a livelihood from their eroding forestlands and their natural habitats has increased tremendously, with the growing urbanization and industrialization all around – Mumbai to the south and the Vapi-Valsad industrial corridor to the north. The region where these communities reside today- Dahanu, is an environmentally sensitive zone and one of the few green belts left in Maharashtra. The region demands sustainable practices to regain its stability and can be effectively done if the communities work together towards it. This will also reduce the pressure on cities and urban areas in the near future.

A cohesive program that binds the social and economic strength together could make the community could go back to its sustainable way of life and thus avail the social, economic and cultural benefits out of it. This is an effort to preserve the indigenous culture and ensuring socio cultural security for tribal recommending the provision of opportunities to carry out their traditional occupations with a few alterations to suit the current contexts. IJSER

1106 Re-construction of a Community: A sustainable attempt at alternative opportunities

BIBLIOGRAPHY Akiko Oguri, T. G. (2016, February). NoCo Project, Khadkipada, Ganjad. Author. (2016). Clicked at a tour visit to Ganjad, Dahanu. Author. (2016). Clicked on a case study to Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Bijoy, C. (2007). India's aboriginals. Retrieved September 2016, from http://www.grain.org>aticle>entries Chawla, M. (2016, July 20th). Infochange Media. Retrieved from How Dahanu epitomises the Environment v/s Development debate: www.infochangemedia.org Dahanu(1995-2015), R. P. (2015). Report on Regional Plan (MOEF) for Dahanu Taluka, Proposed land-use plan. Dahanu: The city of dreams. (4th June 2013). Retrieved June 2016, from http://dahanucity.blogspot.in/ Deepak Kumar Behera, G. p. (2008). Contemporary society: Identity, Intervention and ideology in Tribal India and Beyond Volume 7. Retrieved August 2016, from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=2- wsjaChM_QC&pg=PR2&lpg=PR2&dq=Contemporary+society:+Identity,+Intervention+an d+ideology+in+tribal+India+deepak+kumar+behera&source=bl&ots=opmHyvNJPV&sig=1 lXjCJ21gphMVyEnL7nbC9vc9BU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_rYuD9PTOAhWLv Jamshedwala, P. (2013, January 25th). The Chickoo Festival of Dahanu. Retrieved from Parsi Khabar: https://parsikhabar.net/events/the-chikoo-festival-of-dahanu/4915/ LinkedIn. (2014). Tribal life of Gujarat. Retrieved September 2016, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tribal-life-gujarat-swosti-travels Majocchi, G. (n.d.). Gond tribe. Retrieved 2016, from http://gcmajo.photoshelter.com/image/I0000eAmQZUuDWKY Michelle Chawla, T. T. (2016). How Dahanu epitomises the environment VS development debate? RetrievedIJSER August 2016, from http://infochangeindia.org/environment/the-paradox-of- environmentalism/how-dahanu-epitomises-the-environment-vs-development-debate.html Mrs. Phiroza Tafti, C. f. (2016, June 26). Life of a Warli. NoCo, W. A. (n.d.). Wall Art Festival with NoCo 2016. Retrieved April 2016, from http://wallartproject.net Prabhu, P. (2016, July 6th June). (Author, Interviewer) Prabhu, P. (2016, June 26th June). Lifestyle of Warlis. Pradip Prabhu, S. B. (2014). Fables from the forest. Vadodara: Sairini and BHASHA. Residents of Karbatpada, K. D. (2016, July 6th). Discussing agriculture and social strata. Trip, E. M. (n.d.). Dahanu Fort, Thane, Maharashtra. Retrieved September 2016, from http://www.exploremytrip.com/location-details/info/NjE2Mg/Dahanu-Fort Wikipedia. (19th August, 2016). List of Scheduled tribes in India. Retrieved August 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scheduled_Tribes_in_India