K. Sunil

Sharmila Joshi

Text Editor

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K. Sunil lives in Kaniyanpura Colony, which is located
directly on the boundary of Bandipur National Park in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. Kaniyanapura is a tribal hamlet as well as a
larger village of the same name. He is from a
family of Soliga Adivasis – his mother and father are labourers, and he has one
sister who lives at home.
 
 Sunil is 19
and has completed his Class 10. He is now working in Kargudi  village in Mudumalai, a national park and wildlife sanctuary at the tri-junction of
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, which is a continuation of the Bandipur National
Park. He has been employed by the Indian
Institute of Science to accompany students when they measure trees and do other field
studies.

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Sunil’s photo essay is
part of a larger collaborative photography project about living with wildlife,
and the third in a series of six on PARI. Over the course of six months, he took photos of his daily life, (using a Fujifilm FinePix S8630). In addition
to the pictures presented here, Sunil says he enjoyed taking portraits of
his friends and family, as well as videos of cultural events in his village.

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Kaniyanpura
 
 
 Colony:
 
 “This is my
village. Earlier there was no colony, there used to be a rich landlord who
everyone worked for. Later, the government gave us land to build houses and
that place became known as Kaniyanpura Colony.”

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Veerabhadra
Kunita:
 
 “This is a wedding in my village. The man dressed
in red is called to perform during weddings [Veerabhadra Kunita is a popular folk art and dance
form]. He is from the Lingayat caste. He performs
several ceremonies during the wedding.”

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Mariamma:
 
 “This is goddess Bokkapuram
Mariamma. The deity is taken out in a procession once a year. She is
decorated with jewels.”

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Milking:
 
 “This is my neighbour, he is milking his cow. He has only two cows. He
sells the milk to the diary. Each cow gives about two litres and he sells one
litre [of each] to the diary.  He will
get 22-25 rupees for a litre of milk, so about 50 rupees a day. He can no
longer walk.”

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Bullock cart:
 
 “The farmers here have harvested and are now taking
the produce to their home. This is in Mangala village.”

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Sunset:
 
 “This is near Kaniyanpura. I took this while I was going back from work.
Mangala village is where the hills are seen.”

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Kyathambara gorge:
 
 “This place is called Kyathambara
 
 .
 
 It is a valley and there is water down there. There is no shortage of water
even during summers.”

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Elephant:
 
 “I took this photograph near Abhayaranya. This tusker belongs to a elephant camp. Some of my friends
work there as mahouts.”

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Gaur:
 
 “We don&#39;t usually find gaur in this area, they are only seen in big
tracts of forest.”
 
 
 This work was facilitated by Jared Margulies, in
coordination with the Mariamma Charitable Trust, located in Mangala village,
Karnataka. It was made possible with the support of a 2015-2016 Fulbright Nehru
Student Research Grant, a Graduate Student Association Research Grant from the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in-kind support from the Mariamma
Charitable Trust, and above all, the participation, enthusiasm and efforts of
the photographers themselves. B.R.
Rajeev’s help in the translation of the text was invaluable, too. All copyrights for the photo are held
by the photographers alone in accordance with PARI’s Creative Commons policies.
Any questions about their use or reproduction should be directed to PARI.
 
 Related stories:<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/when-jayamma-spotted-the-leopard">When Jayamma spotted the leopard</a> <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/we-have-hills-and-forests-and-we-live-here/">‘We have hills and forests and we live here’</a> <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/close-encounters-with-the-prince-of-bandipur/">Close encounters with the Prince of Bandipur</a> <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/that-is-where-the-leopard-and-tiger-attack/">&#39;That is where the leopard and tiger attack&#39;</a> <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/this-calf-went-missing-after-i-took-this-photo">&#39;This calf went missing after I took this photo&#39;</a>

Home with the harvest in Bandipur

ফসল নিয়ে বান্দিপুরে ঘরের পথে

ବାନ୍ଦିପୁରରେ ବାସଗୃହ ସହିତ ଶସ୍ୟ ଅମଳ

باندی پور میں فصل والے گھر

बांदीपुर में फ़सल वाले घर

বন্দিপুৰত শইচেৰে ঘৰখন

Kaniyanpura

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Home with the harvest in Bandipur

From weddings and wildlife to landscapes and harvests – glimpses of everyday life in and around the Bandipur National Park, Karnataka, through the eyes of K. Sunil, a Soliga Adivasi who lives and works there

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