The concerns regarding the wellbeing of planet Earth and the natural environment began to be first raised in Europe and North American sometime around the mid- to late-19th century, and yet, two centuries later, the concerns still exist, and we as an entire race of people are at a loss infinding a middle path that strikes a balance between exploitation of natural resources and conservation of the resources that nature’s bounty has bestowed upon us. At a juncture when the entirety of the human race is standing at crossroads trying to figure out how best to strike a balance between use of natural resources for the purpose and development, and at the same time maintaining the wellbeing of Planet Earth, it would be pertinent if we sought to take a lesson or two from the people who have, since almost the prehistoric times, served as the umbilical cord of nature. A naturecentric lifestyle and sustainable living have always governed the very ethos and cultural discourse of the adivasis, irrespective of their nationality, region, tribe, community or clan. A study of the writings of adivasis, and even of dikus, who have written about adivasis, be it in poetry, fiction or non-fiction, reveals that the very culture of the adivasis is irrevocably intertwined with the world of nature. In their discourse, not only does nature occupy a prominent pride of place but figures as an individual entity with its own independent existence, laws and principles of being. Yet another aspect brought to light during the study of the aforementioned category of works is that the tribal way of life is the most sustainable one – be it in the observation of rituals and ceremonies, or the celebration of festivals – such that even though they may rely heavily upon nature and its resources, they are committed wholeheartedly towards its wellbeing, health and safekeeping.
Radha Govind University, Ramgarh, Jharkhand
