CANOPY

  A lady working in her agricultural field, Sirmour, HP Women have always been an intricate part of traditional forest conservation practices in India. Apart from the feminine deities and Goddesses venerated in relation to nature and sacred groves dedicated to Goddesses, women have always lead the path of conservation. The ever-respected Amrita Devi led the villagers to save khejri trees from axe in a village of Rajasthan about three centuries ago. The Chipko movement in Western Himalayas saw momentum only with the participation of women in large numbers. There are numerous occasions when women exemplified the theory that forests are better protected by them. The feminine gender is always associated with compassion, care, love and benevolence. It is this very character of women that prompted communities to attribute feminine values to earth as Mother Earth and nature as Mother Nature. The definite connection between forests and women though conspicuous, is still less understood. ...

  As I walk down the meadow and pass through the oak forest along a trail, a little girl child appears from behind the trees and greets “ namastey ” and runs away towards a pair of huts yelling “ biskoot wale uncle aaye! Biskoot wale uncle aaye!! ” indicating the uncle who brings biscuits has arrived.  This little girl is Amna. She is announcing my arrival to her siblings who would gather around me to receive their share of goodies I would be distributing. I am at Deoban in Chakrata Forest Division of Uttarakhand – a gift of nature situated above 2800m adorned by kharsu oak forests and patches of high-altitude meadows. I am here to study the forest dependence patterns of the transhumant Van Gujjars – the people who believe themselves to be the part of forest ecosystem. Mystique forest of Deoban The Van Gujjars are a transhumant community probably having their roots in Afghanistan later descending across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of  Uttar...