A grove revived

It took 15 years for residents of Rajasthan's Sirawas village to bring to life a severely degraded sacred grove, an initiative that has triggered replicative efforts across the region

- BHAGIRATH ALWAR

THIS IS a baura (deity) who only gives and never takes," says 55-year-old Pappu Girdhari, describing Chudasidh Adavad devbani. Situated 2 km from his village Sirawas in Rajasthan's Alwar district, the 150-hectare (ha) sacred grove, or oran, serves as a pasture for his 40 buffaloes and 90 goats. "For the past 15 years, I have grazed my animals here every day, except in May and June," he says.

Ramfal, another cattle-breeder, has been grazing his 50-55 goats in the oran for the past seven years. With sufficient fodder available, he does not have to migrate in the summer months with his goats. Overall, 2,000 animals in Sirawas rely on Chudasidh Adavad—one of Alwar's 12 orans named after the deity Chudasidh.

The practice of developing orans, which are community forests named after deities, nature or ancestral spirits, is prevalent across the country. While in Rajasthan they are called devbani, in Maharashtra they are devrai, in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand sarna, and in Kerala kavu.

But across states, orans have ended up in a degraded state due to lack of proper upkeep, encroachment or excessive development in The name of land reform. “Orans were fine before the 1950s and protected by communities. But with progressive policies and so-called land reform, these forests were put in the revenue category,” Aman Singh, chief coordinator of nonprofit Krishi Avam Paristhitiki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS) that works on protection of sacred groves in Rajasthan, tells