Chakma dwelling houses
Chakma children, waiting....
Chakma men at work
Chakma women at work
A young Chakma girl with her sibling
A young Chakma boy with his sibling on the back
A young Chakma boy: A burden too heavy?
A Chakma woman selling home-made "rice cake" at market
At a local market in a Chakma village
Fetching water from river
A bamboo raft as mode of travel
A Jhum: traditional and chief occupation of Chakma tribals
Going home
Going to catch fish in the river
A note from the author: Through the above pictures, I have tried to capture the lives and struggles of the Chakma tribals who are very simple people with simple minds and ambitions. All they want are basic facilities which still elude them. These pictures have been captured by me from different Chakma villages/places in Mizoram. Copywrite of these pictures belong to me (Paritosh Chakma). Hence, they can only be used by others after obtaining prior permission.
The Chakmas have their distinct culture, tradition and script. In Mizoram, they live mostly in the Southern part (Chakma Autonomous District Council) and in the western belt, along the India-Bangladesh borders.
Mostly, they live on the river banks. Hence, rivers are crucial for their livelihood, culture and survival. Various modes of transportation are used by Chakma villagers to sail in the rivers – to visit relatives in other villages, to go to market and to go to Jhums (as seen in the pictures above). The only other mode of travel is on foot.
The Chakma tribals are peace-loving souls and they toil really hard in the hills. Their villages are secluded and serene, where time still moves slowly. They are cut off from the hustle and bustle of life. But they are economically very poor and their habitations lacked development. This makes them vulnerable to diseases, illiteracy etc and makes them less relevant to the fast changing times. As their traditional means of livelihood, Jhum, is rapidly dwindling, they fear for their future.
4 comments:
Nice pictures. keep blogging
Thanks David for your appreciations. That keeps me more spirited and inspired to blog.
Hi Paritosh...I have great respect for the beautiful chakma people...one of my dreams is to oneday visit a chakma village and make some friends...it's so sad how they are treated by the bangladeshi and indian governments...the chakma people should be treated equally and given opportunities they deserve. The pictures are breathtaking!
@bengaltiger77: Thanks bro for your love and affection for the chakma community.I hope one day you will be surely able to visit a chakma village, and know them better, first hand...
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