Voices from India's indigenous communities
Lakshmi Murmu (Santhal Tribe)
The ancient trees speak in rustling tongues,
Their leaves like pages of nature's book.
We children of the soil listen,
To wisdom that no school ever took.
Arjun Gond (Gond Tribe)
My mother's hands, stained with henna,
My father's brow, dusted with field,
Our colors don't come from bottles,
But from the earth that we wield.
Meena Devi (Warli Tribe)
The drums awaken the sleeping hills,
Our feet remember what words cannot say,
The spirits dance between the beats,
As night gives way to day.
Rajesh Prajapati (Bhil Tribe)
The wheel turns like seasons change,
Clay remembers the potter's hand,
Centuries spin beneath my fingers,
Yet the craft still takes command.
Durga Munda (Munda Tribe)
First rain drops kiss the thirsty earth,
A fragrance rises, sweet and wild,
The frogs begin their evening chorus,
The jungle smiles like a child.
Shanti Devi (Toda Tribe)
Thread by thread, the pattern grows,
Each knot a memory, each color a tale,
My grandmother's hands guide mine,
Though her body grows frail.