November 2008, Nallamalla Forest, Andhra Pradesh.

With this the second part of the series on The Chenchus posted earlier comes to an end. You can follow the complete photo essay here.

The old man is the chief of the Chenchu hamlet Appapur which is inside a protected reserve forest. He was a very jovial person but behind his ever present smile I sensed a sadness caught as he and his people were between an overbearing government on one side and until recently far left radicals who used to threaten him and his villagers if they co-operated with the police.

November 2008, Nallamalla Forest, Andhra Pradesh.

This is the second part of the series on The Chenchus posted earlier. You can follow the complete photo essay here.

This is the wife of the chief of the Chenchu hamlet we visited last. She also serves as the priestess for the hamlet. You will see her husband in the next photo.

November 2008, Nallamalla Forest, Andhra Pradesh.

This is the second part of the series on The Chenchus posted earlier. You can follow the complete photo essay here.

The house in the photo was actually built by the government for the Chenchus. But they prefe to stay in their traditional thatched huts. So the government built house is being used as a shelter for the calf.

November 2008, Nallamalla Forest, Andhra Pradesh.

This is the second part of the series on The Chenchus posted earlier. You can follow the complete photo essay here.

The old woman in the photo was collecting fallen seeds from the tree behind her. The seeds which are not high in nutritious value were the primary but unreliable food source for her.

November 2008, Kudichintalabayalu Village, Nallamalla Forest.

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

November 2008, Kudichintalabayalu Village, Nallamalla Forest.

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

November 2008, Kudichintalabayalu Village, Nallamalla Forest.

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

November 2008, Kudichintalabayalu Village, Nallamalla Forest.

Kodala Bayanna contracted polio as a child. Both his parents passed away a few years back and he now lives with his old grandmother. A couple of years back the government had given him a tricycle but that soon fell into repair and he does not have the money to get it repaired. Now the only way for him to move is by crawling and sliding.

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

November 2008, Kudichintalabayalu Village, Nallamalla Forest.

Ramulu lives alone. His wife left him taking their kids with her. He only replied in monosyllables and sat outside his house staring into infinity. The doctor with us speculated that Ramulu might be suffering from depression based upon his behavior and his wife might have left him because he might have contracted AIDS. Apparently, going to prostitutes is another vice that the Chenchus pick up upon exposure to civilization and not being aware of safe sex practices inevitably suffer the consequences of unsafe sex.

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.)

November 2008, Sarlapalli Village, Nallamalla Forest.

Ever since the Chenchus have been forbidden to hunt animals in the forests they live in they have had to subsist on the wild roots, tubers and seeds (above photo) they gather in the forest as well as the occasional rice and pulses doled out by the government. This lack of access to a ready protein source is one of the causes for the greater incidence of skin and other malnutrition diseases among the tribals. 

(To read this photo essay in sequence from the beginning please go here.)