Hukrappa bells Beltangadi’s cows
and • Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka

Hukrappa bells Beltangadi’s cows

One of the last remaining artisans of bamboo cowbells in Shibaje village, in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, explains the intricate nature of the craft in this video

May 27, 2022 | Reporter: Vittala Malekudiya | Editor: Vinutha Mallya

In Jabarra: till the buffaloes come home
and • Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh

In Jabarra: till the buffaloes come home

Vishalram Markam’s beloved buffaloes venture on their own to graze in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district. They return to him by evening, but the danger from hungry predators is always lurking

January 20, 2022 | Purusottam Thakur and Priti David

Sangli farmers: milked by private players

Unable to recover production costs due to the private sector's control over milk prices, dairy farmers like Arun Jadhav in western Maharashtra are selling their livestock and scaling down

December 7, 2021 | Parth M. N.

Vidarbha’s pastoralists paying a pandemic price

The Nanda Gaolis and other dairy farmers in eastern Maharashtra are facing losses from the drop in demand for milk and broken supply chains, besides grappling with animal health problems and fodder shortages

April 22, 2020 | Jaideep Hardikar and Chetana Borkar

Where country roads don’t take you home

With the COVID-19 driven lockdown, Chenakonda Balasami and other pastoralists in Telangana, on the road for months, are finding it difficult to access food and new grazing grounds – or return to their villages

March 31, 2020 | Harinath Rao Nagulavancha

The men who go carting in the capital city

In north-central Delhi's cargo hubs, some of the bailgadi owners who have for long ferried goods for transporters are seeking better wages elsewhere, while others say it's their tradition and only work option

March 4, 2020 | Sumit Kumar Jha

Kuruba shepherds lose their security blanket

For long, the pastoralist Kurubas of Karnataka have journeyed for months to graze their hardy Deccani sheep. But with declining demand for their animals' manure and wool, many are seeking other sources of income

December 13, 2019 | Prabir Mitra

‘Cattle and birds, both need a lot of water’

Drought across rural Maharashtra has forced many families into cattle camps. At a camp in Mhaswad, Satara district, Sarika and Anil Sawant speak of their growing struggle with their milk and poultry business

May 7, 2019 | Medha Kale

'No one even asked for the price'

Vithoba Yadav was willing to sell his goat for less than half its market price, but the drought and severe shortage of water and fodder means few buyers at the market in Mhaswad town of Satara district

March 13, 2019 | Medha Kale

Chimnabai gets to eat finally, with 8,000 others

Lakshmi Kalel has moved to a cattle camp in Satara district with her two buffaloes, a cow and a bull, leaving her family in the village, but forging new bonds with others trying to cope with the harsh drought

February 28, 2019 | Medha Kale

Families separated by the search for fodder

An early drought in Satara and other districts of Maharashtra has dried up farm work and cattle feed, forcing people to take their animals to a cattle camp – where women are shouldering the bulk of the crisis

February 18, 2019 | Medha Kale

Sturdy cattle that sustain fragile communities

In villages near the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana, the indigenous Poda Thurupu cattle are a source of sustenance for breeder communities and farmers, and efforts are on to conserve the species

January 11, 2019 | Harinath Rao Nagulavancha

‘When I see him back home, I thank the tiger’

Though Shankar Atram, a terrified cattle herder in Yavatmal, fashioned a near-comical flimsy ‘body armour' against the recently-killed T1, for him and other villagers the problem could now be more displaced tigers

November 06, 2018 | Jaideep Hardikar
Milk boats from the chars
and • Dhubri, Assam

Milk boats from the chars

For the people living on Chalakura island on the Brahmaputra in Assam, dairy farming is the only sustainable livelihood – but a withdrawal of state-subsidised cattle feed has increased the uncertainty of their lives

October 03, 2017 | Ratna Bharali Talukdar

'This calf went missing after I took this photo'

N. Swamy Bassavanna, a farmer from Mangala village, says in this sixth in a series of six photo essays on life in a forest, ‘Everyone should be involved in farming and understand the challenges we face’

August 21, 2017 | N. Swamy Bassavanna

'That is where the leopard and tiger attack'

Indra Kumar, who works in Mangala village near Bandipur National Park, records cattle herders, leopard attacks, folk art performers and the harvest in this fifth photo essay in a series of six on PARI

August 14, 2017 | Indra Kumar

Close encounters with the Prince of Bandipur

K.N. Mahesha, a naturalist and cultivator who lives close to Bandipur National Park, brings images of fighting bulls, sensitive cows, work elephants and raptors, in this fourth photo essay in a series of six on PARI

August 07, 2017 | K.N. Mahesha

‘An animal saved today is an animal earned tomorrow’

Many cattle camps in Maharashtra that offered desperately-needed shelters, water and fodder during the drought have shut down with the monsoon. But Beed is yet to receive good rains and the camp at Palvan is still open

July 22, 2017 | Jaideep Hardikar

Brokpa: ‘The jungle is our mother'
• Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

Brokpa: ‘The jungle is our mother'

The Brokpa of West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh are reclusive herders who migrate in fixed seasonal patterns at high altitudes. A photo story depicting their daily rhythms

June 22, 2017 | Ritayan Mukherjee
Not quite a cash cow
• Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Not quite a cash cow

Across Marathwada, in 45 degrees heat, farmers already trapped in the agrarian crisis are walking many kilometres from market to market, trying desperately to sell their cattle to raise some money – a task made nearly impossible by the beef ban

June 01, 2017 | Parth M.N.

‘We are now self-reliant and organised’

It has taken decades of struggle for the Tirmali Nandiwale, a nomadic tribe of performing artists, to find a permanent home in Kanadi Budruk village in Beed district of Maharashtra, and to get basic facilities

December 13, 2016 | Shirish Khare

When the cows come home in Parkidih

During the 'go-bnadna' festival – a time of earth colours, wall painting, music and games – the Santals of Purulia district in West Bengal offer thanks to their cows

July 04, 2016 | Arunava Patra

Risking bulls, running from puppies

The unique Kangayam cattle of Tamil Nadu are in decline – we meet a rare bull of this species during the Pongal festival in January

January 14, 2016 | Aparna Karthikeyan
Swimming to migrate in Odisha
• Jagatsinghpur, Odisha

Swimming to migrate in Odisha

In Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, buffaloes swim across the local river every day during the summer, seeking fresh pastures

October 02, 2015 | Dilip Mohanty

Cattle class: native v/s exotic

An emphasis on high-maintenance crossbreeds in Thrissur has brought a sharp decline in hardy domestic animals

August 05, 2015 | P. Sainath

Holy cow! Small is beautiful

Native breeds were ruined not by people but by official policies over a long time

August 05, 2015 | P. Sainath
A day at the races
• Yavatmal, Maharashtra

A day at the races

The bullock cart races at Delanwadi in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district are held in a carnival-like atmosphere. But, as this author learned, dangers lurk on the track. And not just for the bullocks

June 14, 2015 | P. Sainath