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Study traces how folklore uncovered India’s savannas

Published in the British Ecological Society's People and Nature journal the researchers said that folklore helped reveal the history of India's ancient savanna.

3 min readPuneUpdated: Dec 6, 2025 08:21 AM IST

The sacred natural landscape at Shinganapur (Satara district), with the temple town on the mountaintop and a pastoralist herding sheep in agricultural fallows in the foreground. An early 16th-century text lists several savanna-indicator plants from here. (Express Photo)

In a new study, scientists at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research -Pune turned to historical accounts of plants in stories and songs set in Western India to learn what plants and vegetation once grew there.

Published in the British Ecological Society’s People and Nature journal the researchers said that folklore helped reveal the history of India’s ancient savanna.

A savanna is a grassy ecosystem with scattered trees characterised by seasonal rains and a rich diversity of large grazing animals. What is unique is that scientists used written and oral traditional Marathi literature spanning from the 13th to 20th centuries to study the savanna grasslands of Western India.

This interdisciplinary study resulted from a collaboration between an ecologist and archaeologist. Digvijay Patil, a PhD student from IISER Pune in the humanities and social sciences department collaborated with ecologist Dr Ashish Nerlekar (who was affiliated with Michigan State University during the study and now is presently a Ramanujan Fellow at the Biology Department at IISER-Pune.

A folio from a handwritten manuscript of the Bhaktavijaya, an 18th century Marathi hagiographical text.

Researchers use a first-of-its kind approach by integrating data from traditional written and oral literature. “We used savannas of western India as a case study where most speak, read and write Marathi. We reviewed the written and oral traditional Marathi literature spanning the 13th to the 20th centuries. From this literature, we identified 28 excerpts containing descriptions of landscapes and wild plant species associated with specific locations in our study region,” Dr Nerlekar said.

Using botanical literature and dictionaries, the researchers then matched the vernacular names of plants with their scientific equivalents for further ecological and historical discussions. “In fact, the reviewed literature encompasses varied genres, including verse and prose biographies of religious figures, founding myths of sacred sites, ritual songs performed by pastoralists and songs sung by women while performing daily chores,” Patil, who is a co-author of the study said.

The study uncovers rich nature descriptions from centuries-old stories and songs set in India’s savannas that help triangulate the ecological past of the subcontinent. Contradicting the popular notion of a forested-past, researchers found that nature descriptions of the landscape including specific plants, point instead to a savanna in the past. Out of the 44 wild plant species recorded, a clear majority (27 species) were savanna indicators, 14 were generalists (meaning occurring in both savannas and forests) and only three were forest indicators.

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When contacted Dr Nerlekar told The Indian Express that tropical savannas remain misconceptualised as degraded grassy habitats formed by human-induced forest-clearance. “While scientists continue to provide clear evidence to dispel this misconception, the accurate ecological histories of many tropical savannas remain misconstrued in the public and policy spheres–leading to mismanagement of these threatened ecosystems. Clearly then, there is an urgent need to use interdisciplinary approaches and culturally resonant lines of evidence to foster the uptake of accurate ecological histories. Our timely study, which utilises indigenous traditional literature, provides one such line of evidence that has great potential to catalyse tropical biodiversity conservation,” he said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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