A peek into the life and culture of the pastoral Kurubas of Karnataka

For seven decades, he walked his sheep through this landscape until his son, Nagesh, died in an accident, and he had to give them away, we learn in the film Bhed Chal (Herd Walk), a documentary depicting the lives of the pastoral Kurubas of Karnataka. But it has not stopped this community elder from reminiscing about the old way of life. “I remember earlier times…this land was very good for increasing our herds…all open grasslands,” he says in the film, ruing how farmers have taken over these grasslands, using them for sorghum cultivation. “Land for animal’s grass, taken over for man’s bread.”