Stories of Bastar Travel

by K. L. Kamat
Last Updated: June 28,2009

Introduction

Bastar (Ba-stir) is the most underdeveloped district of Madhya Pradesh  (in present day state of Chhattisgarh) in Central India. About 70% of Bastar is full of dense forest with 72% of the population being tribal (1979).

I took up this study at the behest of the Karnataka Literary Academy, and during the year-long  study the scholarship funded, I roamed the forests of Central India studying the lives and customs of the native people. Here are excerpts from the Kannada original, Bastara Pravasa, Pustakalaya 1991.

List of Articles

• Bastar Travelogue: Abujamara- Interview
• Bastar Travelogue: Bus Journey to Bastar- Article
• Bastar Travelogue: The Town of Chotedongar- Article
• Bastar Travelogue: The Jagadalpur Marketplace- Article
• Colorful Life of Dandami Marias- Article
• The Ghotul System of Tribal Education- Article
• Ghotuls: The Schools of the Jungle- Index
• Ghotuls: Pointers to Further Study- Reference
• Bastar Travelogue: Arrival in the Gond Forest- Article
• Map of Bastar District- Map
• Bastar Travelogue: Town of Mundatikara- Article

List of Pictures

• Adivasi Dancer- Picture
• An Adivasi making rope from tree bark- Picture
• Bells of a Adivasi Dancer- Picture
• A care-free woman of Bastar- Picture
• Elderly Woman Belonging to Gonda Tribe- Picture
• Farm Guard House (Manchal) of Adivasis- Picture
• Ghotul buildings, Madhya Pradesh- Picture
• A Gift of Love- Picture
• Gigantic Hat Made with Hay Straws- Picture
• Gonda Women, Chindawada- Picture
• A Group of Memorials at Barsur in Bastar- Picture
• Maidens on their way to Ghotul- Picture
• Never Been Photographed- Picture
• Picture of Sukhdev Rajamestri - Picture
• Savage or Civilized?- Picture
• A Student in a Tribal Educational Institution of Ghotul- Picture
• Tribal Beauty- Picture
• Two tribal youngsters go for a smoke, Jagadalpur- Picture
• Villagers' belongings at the Village Fair- Picture
• Wooden Facial Mask of Bison Horn Maria- Picture
• A Wooden Idol of Ganesh Worshipped by Tribals of Madhya Pradesh- Picture

See Also:

• Tribals of Madhya Pradesh - A List
• Children of the Forest God -- Learn about the little known, but very rich traditions and cultures of the tribals of India

References

• Kamat Krishnanand, Bastara Pravasa in Kannada, Pustakalya, 1991
• Kamat Krishnanand, KalaRanga in Kannada, Manohara Grinth Mala,
• Kamat K. L., The Timeless Theater , CyberCrow, 1999
• Life in Gond Village and other Works of Verrier Elwin

Kamat's Potpourri Timeless Theater Madhya Pradesh Bastar Travels