The thugs…
How is climate change impacting India? There have been scientific studies, predictions, and debates based on data about what it will look like.
But the Todars, the ancient inhabitants of the Nilgiris, are facing the impact of climate change through changes in their lifestyles and culture.
Day by day, they see the stability of the mountain collapsing, and the destruction of the oasis forest that crowns the mountain is the destruction of their race.
The people of the Todar tribe say that their daily lives have undergone many changes as the rare grassland found in the Nilgiris is diminishing.
They worry that many youths have now turned to agriculture, abandoning the pasturing occupation of their forefathers hundreds of years ago due to the availability of fertile grasslands, and are not even getting grass to build their houses.
“We’re missing grass to build houses on.”
image source, Adayalakuttan
Identity
Talking to Indhikuttan, a member of the Tamil Nadu Rainforest People’s Association and an elder of the Todar tribe, he says that the oasis forests were closely related to the life of their tribe and now they are losing their culture due to the depletion of grasslands.
“Once upon a time we used to build our houses with the grass of the desert forests. Currently, availability of grass is a major challenge. So, we build concrete houses to live in and only build our temple with grass.
We have to go in search of grass. That too many restrictions have been imposed on us. “We have to tell the forest officials what we are taking the grass for and go,” he says.
He further says that when women are pregnant, even for the ritual of bowing with special plants, the plants are not seen.
“You will feel the pleasant coolness as you travel along the curves of the Nilgiris. Also, while enjoying the beauty of the mountain, you will see tall trees, mountain ridges and scattered buildings on the mountain. Many of you know the Nilgiris as a place of pleasure tourism.
We are native worshipers of this mountain. Now, when we look at the mountain and bow down, we can see the layered resorts, tea plantations and tall foreign trees that have destroyed our oasis forests. We see the destruction of this mountain as the destruction of our cultural identity, the destruction of our race. So we believe climate change has arrived,” he says.
Tarun Chapra has deep knowledge about the life of Todar people. He has written a book on the topography of the Todars, collected grass from the desert forests and set up a nursery. “For thousands of years, the Todar people have depended on the grass in these oasis forests. Buffalo is their sacred animal.
They were pastoral people whose main occupation was buffalo herding. As the oasis forests have dwindled, pastures have shrunk.
Now most of the Todar people have shifted to agriculture. “They are forced to leave their traditional pastoral occupations to rely on crops grown in the hills, including carrots,” says Tarun.
“In earlier times, a house would also have a place for a buffalo. At present buffalo rearing is confined to the inner villages. A few people raise it amid problems as the buffalo is very important in traditional events.
We have reconstructed 40 ancient Todar houses with oasis grass. At least there should be a place for the next generation to see the traces of their forefathers…,” says Tarun.
Explaining why the houses of thodars were built with grass found in the oasis forests, he said, “A house made of this grass will provide pleasant warmth in the cold season.
The front of these barrel-shaped houses will be constructed with bamboo gutters. The entire top of the house is built with this grass. A lawn once built will last for about 10 years. There will be a small gate. So the heat will be full in the house,” he says.
What happens when grasslands die?
We contacted botanist Rajan to find out about the need for oasis forests and the reasons for their destruction. Rajan, a resident of the Nilgiri Hills, was engaged in research on the flora there.
Botanist Rajan
“There are many reasons for the destruction of desert forests. Tea plantations were brought under British rule. A lot of foreign trees including Vetil and Eucalyptus were planted here.
They have reduced the range of indigenous plants here. One of the reasons is that shelters have been melted down for many years. Landslides have also occurred because grasslands are not seen as forests and their importance is not realized,” he says.
“Because the grasses in the rainforest have dense roots, they retain more water when it snows. These oasis forests are the source of small streams.
Due to their destruction, water flows directly onto the roads of the Nilgiris during heavy rainfall, causing soil erosion. So landslides are increasing. At least, if the existing grasslands are not destroyed, they may grow back in time,” says Rajan.
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