A GENERATIONS-OLD practice associated with the Pahadi Korwa community continues to remain visible in Jashpur’s tribal hinterland, according to a visual account documented by Jashpur-based photographer Ashwani Chauhan, who recently photographed children carrying traditional slingshots at Dangiri village under Bagicha Janpad. A wildlife photographer, Chauhan frequently ventures deep into Jashpur’s forested and hilly interiors in pursuit of wildlife and nature photographs. It was during one such field trip that he came across the Pahadi Korwa children with slingshots, a chance sighting that brought before his lens a striking facet of the community’s traditional life. Chauhan said the children were sitting in the open with slingshots in their hands, appearing to wait and watch for possible quarry. His photographs, he said, offered a direct glimpse into a practice that has traditionally formed part of life in remote Pahadi Korwa settlements.

 

According to Chauhan, Pahadi Korwa families inhabiting the forested stretches of Bagicha and Manora retain customary practices shaped by their close association with nature. Locally fashioned implements such as bows, arrows and slingshots, he said, have long figured in their traditional way of life. Chauhan further said slingshots, generally fashioned from wood and rubber, have traditionally been used for targeting birds and small creatures, driving them away and, when required, for protection. Chauhan, however, underlined that practices involving wildlife remain subject to prevailing forest and wildlife conservation laws, under which hunting of protected wildlife is prohibited. “The sight of these Pahadi Korwa children with slingshots captures a tradition that has survived for generations and reflects the community’s close association with the forests and natural surroundings in which it lives,” Chauhan told The Hitavada.