The Warlis of Mumbai & The Leopard God

Mumbai, India's "City of Dreams," is known for a great many things. It is the heart of the Bollywood film industry, India's financial capital and one of the most populated cities, and a melting pot of cultures embracing migrants from all parts of the country and the world throughout history. However, only a few know that this multicultural city is also home to a small population of tribal communities who are desperately struggling to retain their indigenous heritage and lifestyle in a rapidly evolving city in an era of globalization. This article is the story of one such Adivasi family living with wild leopards in the wild side of Mumbai.

-  Dr. Oishimaya Sen Nag

Located in the Aarey Milk Colony of Mumbai, adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (the world's largest urban protected area), are a series of tiny hamlets called 'padas.' These are the homes of the indigenous tribal communities of Mumbai or 'Adivasis,' people who have called the place home for thousands of years. Unlike the rest of the city with its sky-high buildings and sprawling slums, these hamlets are an otherworldly place. Enveloped in greenery and thriving with all forms of wildlife, these places are the epitome of being at one with Nature. But what is most incredible is the fact that wild leopards also call this area home, sharing space with the human inhabitants of these hamlets. Last year in December, I had the fortune of visiting the home of Prakash Bhoir from the Warli tribal community in one such hamlet called Kelti Pada.

"People think we tribals are poor and in need of development. But we do not think so. Look around this place. We live amid so many trees. We have plenty of fresh air to breathe. People in the rest of the city have cats and dogs as their companions, but here we live with leopards. How can we be poor?" claimed Prakash Bhoir, a local Adivasi leader who also holds a job in the city's municipal corporation, as he showed me around his beautiful home.