Pathbreaking project,in snaps

A man is about to sprinkle salt on his meal and the setting appears rudimentary from his attire.

A man is about to sprinkle salt on his meal and the setting appears rudimentary from his attire. The photograph has caught the composure of the Madia Gond man as he gets set to consume his first meal of the day crushed red ants.

Red ants are a staple diet of the Madia tribals. They find nests of red ants,crush it and eat it with salt, said Jagan Machkale,popularly known as Jagan Bhau. He is a senior member of the Lok Biradari Prakalp,a movement founded by Baba Amte and developed by his son Dr Prakash and daughter-in-law Mandakini Amte,at Hemalkasa in Ghadchiroli.

Today,Lok Biradari Prakalp is vibrant hosting medical facilities,schools and a vocational training centre for the Madia Gond tribals. The place also hosts an orphanage for wild animals. And a photo exhibition in Thane seeks to introduce this project by depicting its evolution from the mid seventies,for which the doctor couple has received the Ramon Magsaysay award.

Hemalkasa is about 1,200 km from Mumbai-Thane and the probability of people from here visiting the place is bleak. This exhibition is an opportunity for them to appreciate the pathbreaking work, said Ravindra Nachane who hosts the event along with his friends.

The resident school,started by the project in 1976 with 25 students,today boasts of 650 students. The orphanage for wild animals has 60-odd inmates,including lions,panthers,hyenas,bears,crocodiles,monkeys and several rare birds.

Why do wild animals get orphaned so often? These tribals are primitive and eat every living thing they hunt. When I say everything,it is not an overstatement. There is an understanding between the tribals and Dr Prakash Amte that whenever they hunt an animal they would hand over the offspring to the orphanage, said Jagan Bhau.

It was a baby monkey that kicked off the concept. Dr Amte happened to come across a tribal hunting party laden with a dead female monkey with the baby still clinging to the mothers body. Moved at the sight of the baby monkey still trying to feed,he struck a deal with the tribals and bought the baby monkey for five kg of rice. This is the same monkey that you see here, said Jagan Bhau,pointing to one of the photographs at the exhibition.

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There are hundreds of pictures,each with a unique story. There are photographs of the first batch of the resident school established in 1976. The collection also includes snaps of two of the five alumni from the first batch who went on to become medical practitioners. The tools and utensils of the tribals,and their lives,are well depicted in the photographs. Handicrafts made by tribals for sale also form part of the exhibition.

The exhibition is open at Shubamkaroti Hall near New English School,Thane,till September 21.

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