Undercurrents

Deep inside the Nallamala Forest, where rocky hills rise above dense woodland and narrow paths disappear into the wilderness, the lives of the Chenchu people continue to move with the rhythm of nature.

For generations, the Chenchus have lived among the palugu rallu, the rough stones that cover the landscape of Nallamala. The terrain is harsh, uneven, and difficult for outsiders to cross. Yet for the Chenchus, these forests are home, where every hill, valley, and bend of the Krishna River carries memory. The Chenchus are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group belonging to the Dravidian tribal communities of South India. Though spread across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Odisha, their true homeland lies deep within the forests of Nallamala along the Eastern Ghats. The forest has protected them for centuries, and nature is not separate from their lives; it is life itself.