Lending a Voice

So,in July,2012,after she completed her course,Hembrom,along with two friends Joy Tudu,36,an Adivasi social activist in Pakur,Jharkhand,and Luis A Gómes,46,a Mexican publisher in Kolkata established Adivaani,a trust that publishes books written by Adivasis. Hembrom looks after the editorial side,Tudu is in charge of marketing and Gómes handles the designing and printing.

In less than a year of its existence,the trust has launched three books. The first was Santal Sirjon Binti ar Bhed Bhangao,an academic book about the lifestyle,beliefs and history of Santals,written in Santal language by theologian Timotheas Hembrom; the second was Whose Country is it Anyway?, written by Gladson Dungdung,an activist based in Ranchi,in which he tells the story of his people and their struggle in 1980,one-year-old Dungdung and his family were displaced from their agricultural land for the construction of Kelaghat dam in Jharkhand. Both books have been bought by research scholars and libraries. The third is a childrens book written by Ruby Hembrom and called We Come From The Geese; it is the first part of the Santal Creations series that talk about how the Santal tribe came into existence. It has been bought by schools in Santal Parganas,Jharkhand,says Hembrom.

Books are a great way to announce Adivasi presence and claim our stake in this country. Our aim is to create a database of authentic Adivasi voices. We want to document every Adivasi narrative,record oral traditions,art,stories and folklore, she says.

The journey hasnt been easy though. We dont have enough money to keep this going. We and some of our friends have pooled in what we could, says Tudu. The authors and illustrators havent been paid as they all believed in Adivaani and didnt expect a payment. Attempts to raise funds on a crowd-funding site were futile,he adds.

Another challenge is distribution as most distributors are not interested in these kind of books. However,after a number of failed attempts,the group is tasting success in small proportions. Now,three book stores Earthcare Kolkata,Goodbooks Ranchi and People Tree Delhi,are selling Adivaani books. Were now getting ready to send our books to Bookport Thiruvananthapuram and Other Books Kozhikode, he says. The group has published 1,000 copies each of all three books,of which half have been sold.

The team is working on part 2 and 3 of the Santal Creation stories. While one book in Santali is on Santali folklores,the other book,which is in two parts,is on the history of linguistics of Santali. We have also discovered a wonderful Santali artist who is storytelling through illustrations. Besides,we have Dungdungs next book and stories on Munda and Oraon tribes, says Tudu,whose father has donated half of their ancestral house in Pakur for setting up a bookstore that will stack all Adivasi writings.