T. R. Shankar Raman

David C. Vanlalfakawma

Sharmila Joshi

Text Editor

large_01-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

medium_01-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

small_01-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

thumbnail_01-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

01-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

At noon in mid-October, despite the sunrays filtering through the cloud-strewn mountain-top forest at Hmuifang, Mizoram, it remains cool and dark under the dense canopy of evergreen trees. A serene silence pervades the forest – the only sounds are birdsong and the rhythmic
 
 thwack thwack
 
 of a wood-gatherer at work.
 
 She is bent over, absorbed in her task, a small stack of firewood already arrayed around her. Lalzuiliani, or Zuiliani as she is called, 65 years old, is busy gathering wood for her home in nearby Hmuifang village. At her feet lies the maul. Its wedge-shaped heavy blade is fitted at the end of a long wooden handle worn smooth with use. With it, she had swiftly split the logs of the
 
 batlangken
 
 tree (
 
 Croton lissophyllus
 
 ) into 3- to 4-and-a-half foot lengths. The gathered wood, not fully dry yet, weighs nearly 30 kilograms.
 
 As she prepares the wood to carry back home, the
 
 dao
 
 (machete) in her hand blurs in efficient and fluid movements, in a seeming effortlessness that only comes from long years of daily use.

02-13_serene-forest-of-Hmuifang_TR-Shankar-Raman-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket.jpg

03-2_bent-over-work_TR-Shankar-Raman-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_firewood.jpg

04-3_flinging-to-stack_David-VanlalfakawmaCrop-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_o.jpg

05-4_starting-to-fill_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fir.jpg

06-5_Zuiliani-portrait_TR-Shankar-RamanCrop-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_f.jpg

07-6_a-filling-basket-propped_TR-Shankar-Raman-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_o.jpg

08-9_strapped-on_David-Vanlalfakawma-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_firewood.jpg

09-10_hoisted-up-on-her-feet_TR-Shankar-Raman-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of.jpg

10-12_and-off-back-home_TR-Shankar-Raman-TRSR__DV-Zuilianis_basket_of_fire.jpg

Zuiliani’s basket of firewood

ஜுலியானியின் விறகு கூடை

ଜୁଇଲିଆନିଙ୍କ ଜାଳେଣି କାଠର ଝୁଡ଼ି

झुइलियानीची सरपणाची करंडी

زوئلیانی کی لکڑی سے بھری ٹوکری

Hmuifang

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Zuiliani’s basket of firewood

A wood-gatherer at work in a mountain-top forest in Hmuifang, Mizoram

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit