A tribe out of time: how Chenchus have been caught between ancestral past and uncertain future in Andhra Pradesh
The Chenchus of Penukumadugu have lived in the dense Nallamala forests for centuries, their existence intertwined with the wilderness around them. However, their inability to keep up with the relentless pace of modernisation has led to dwindling work opportunities under the MGNREGA. Nellore Sravani writes how the Chenchus, caught between an ancestral past and an uncertain future, are grappling with isolation, poverty, and an erosion of their traditional way of life