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Research Paper

Explore our research papers and publications that delve into the rich biodiversity and cultural heritage of the Nilgiris.

Book Reviews

Alok Pandey

Marie-Claude Mahias

PK Misra

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Other Publications

1992a  Toda Festivities. The Hindu Magazine12 July, p. 2.

1992b  Who Were the Stone Circle Builders? The Hindu (Magazine) 20 Dec, p. 12.

1993a  Biodiversity Management: A Toda Perspective. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 4 (1): 3-4.

1993c  A Journey to the Toda Afterworld. The India Magazine of her People and Culture 13 (Sept), 6-17..

1993b  Cinchona Forests: Sinking Rapidly. The Hindu (Magazine) 6 June, p. 4.

1993d  Myths of Creation: Toda. The India Magazine of her People and Culture 14 (Dec), 34-42.

1994   Forgotten Culture: Todas, their Life and Times. Frontline 23 September, 87-89.

1995b  Toda Myths and Natural Sites. The Downs Town Chronicle 7 July, 7.

1995a  Journey to Nyool(z)n: A Toda Migration. The India Magazine of her People and Culture 15 (Feb), 62-71.

1996b  The Sanctity of Nature. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 7(3): 1-2.

1996a  Kwattein: A Tribal Pilgrimage. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 7(1): 3-6.

1997a  Nilgiris: Flowering Paradise. Sanctuary Asia 17(2), 14-29.

1997b  Flowers in my Toda Garden. The Hindu (Magazine) 27 July, p. 11.

1996  Niligiri Wildlife and Environment Association, news letter, TAHR, Vol 12 No.4 Flora And Fauna Of Coonoor Reserve Forests

1997c Nilgiri Deity Peaks. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 8(1): 1-2.

1997e    The Buffalo People. The Downs Town Chronicle 25 October, 12.

1997d  A Culture that is Unique The Todas of the Nilgiris. Stainless News (Newsletter of the Steel Authority of India) 17(4), 32-33.

2000a   Rare Balsams in the Hills. The Hindu (Magazine) 6 Feb, p. 7.

1998a Eco Psychology. Tahr Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association 9(1): 1-3.

1998b   The Mountain Spirit. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 9(2)

1999a   Effect of Development on the Todas. The Downs Town Chronicle 27 March, 13.

1999b   The Nilgiris: Flowering Benedictions. Environ 6(4): 34-37.

1999c   Todas of the Nilgiri Hills: Where Honey Enters Every Facet of Life. Beekeeping and Development 52 (Sept): 8-9.

2001b  The Toda Landscape. In The Human Landscape. India International Centre Quarterly 28(1): 53-69. Also published in book form in The Human Landscape, edited by Geeti Sen and Ashis Banerjee. New Delhi: Orient Longman Limited and India International Centre.

2000b A Wild Bouquet from the Nilgiris. Hornbill (Bombay Natural History Society) July-Sept, 4-8.

2000c  The Monsoon Season. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife & Environment Association) 11(4): 1-2.

2000d   Toda Embroidery: Art Par Excellence. In Blue Nest: The Millennium Souvenir of the Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Association, 23-25.

2001a   Satyrium nepalense D. Don in the Upper Nilgiri Plateau, with Emphasis on its Ethnobotanic Link the Toda Tribals. Zoos’ Print Journal 16(1): 408.

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2001c  Wilderness and Dependent Peoples: The Todas of the Nilgiri Hills in Southern India. In Wilderness and Humanity: The Global Issue.

2001d The Toda People: Wildland Plants and Values. International Journal of Wilderness 7(3): 35.

2002   Sacred Context. Down To Earth 11(6): 46-48.

2006   Restoring the Toda Landscapes of the Nilgiri Hills in South India. Plant Talk 44 (April), 28-32.

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2003    A Green Record. The Hindu (Magazine) 27 July, p. 5.

2008 The Toda Relationship with Wild Nature: Indicators of Ecosystem Health in Tamil Nadu State, India. In Protecting Wild Nature on Native Lands: Case Studies by Native Peoples from around the World. Proceedings of the First Native Lands and Wilderness Council, edited by Julie Cajune, Vance G. Martin, and Terry Tanner. Boulder (CO): Fulcrum Publishing. Vol. 1: 113-141.

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2005a  Orchid Haven. The Hindu (Magazine) 3 April, p. 7.

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2005b  How Toda Traditional Ecological Knowledge Addresses Global Climate Change. Paper presented at the Global Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration (www.ser.org/iprn Earth in Transition [EIT] project showcase and on Compact Disc), Zaragoza, Spain.

2006   Restoring the Toda Landscapes of the Nilgiri Hills in South India. Plant Talk 44 (April), 28-32.

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2007a   Balmy Balsams of the Nilgiris. Frontline 23(26): 66-73.

2007b The Traditional Relationship of the Todas with Honey. In Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains, 253-264.  Kotagiri: Keystone Foundation.

2007c  Toda Relationship with Nature as an Indication of Ecosystem Health. In Science and Stewardship to Protect and Sustain Wilderness Values. Proceedings of the Eighth World Wilderness Congress, compiled by Alan Watson et al., 487-495. Fort Collins  USDA Forest Service Proceedings, Rocky Mountain Research Station; RMRS-P-49.

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2007d  Churning Stick Flowers. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 16: 14-15, and subsequently in The Local (Nilgiris) 1(7): 2.

2009     A Unique South Indian Tradition: Toda Dress and Embroidery. In Pika-Pika: The Flashing Firefly. Essays to Honour and Celebrate the Life of Pauline Hetland Walker (1938-2005), edited by Anthony R. Walker. New Delhi: Hindustan Publishing Corporation. Pp. 183-218. 

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2011 Prisoners of Time. Tahr (Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association) 18: 1.

2012a    Toda Sanctification of Freshwater Sources. In Protecting Wild Nature on Native Lands: Case Studies by Native Peoples from around the World. Proceedings of the Second Native Lands and Wilderness Council, edited by Vance G. Martin, and Sharon Shay Sloan. Boulder (CO): The WILD Foundation. Vol. 2: 84-110.

2012b  Toda Nalavaazhvu Sangam. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 930-932.

2012c    Balsams (Impatiens). In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 114-116.

2012f   Nilgiri Peak. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. P. 650. 

2012d   Sacred Peaks. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 802-804.

2012e  Todas and Rhododendrons. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 785-786.

2012g   Sacred Waters of the Todas. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 804-810.

2013a   Toda Relationship with the Mukurti National Park. Newsletter of the Nilgiri Natural History Society 3(2): 12.

2012h  Toda Floral Knowledge. In Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Manohar. Pp. 306-309.

2015a  Sacred Hills of the Toda People of South India: A Plea for World Heritage Status. In Science and Stewardship to Protect and Sustain Wilderness Values. Tenth World Wilderness Congress Symposium, compiled by Alan Watson et al, 176-181. Fort Collins (CO): USDA Forest Service Proceedings, Rocky Mountain Research Station; RMRS-P-74.

2013b  Greater Coucal. In Birds and People, edited by Mark Cocker. London: Jonathan Cape. P. 270.

2018a Dairy Temples and the Sacred World of the Todas. Pastoral Times 31 March, p.7.

2017   Toda Food Habits over the Years. In Anthropology of Traditional Indian Food, edited by B.R. Vijayendra et al. New Delhi: Aayu Publications. Pp. 71-81.

2016b  Development and What it means to the Todas. (Paper presented at the inauguration of the Devaraj Urs Centre for Developmental Studies, Mysuru; available on YouTube).

2016b  Development and What it means to the Todas. (Paper presented at the inauguration of the Devaraj Urs Centre for Developmental Studies, Mysuru; available on YouTube).

2018c   The Todas. In Lions 100 The Nilgiris, edited by N. Krishnamurthi and Tariq Aziz. Ooty. Pp. 82-83.

2018b Todas: The Naturalistic People. Vikalpsangam.org 28 March. 

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2020a   The Toda People: Stewards of Wilderness and Biodiversity. International Journal of Wilderness 26 (1): 18-33.

2020 Cheetal,Journal  Of The Wildlife Preservation Society Vol  57 No.2(2020)  

2020b   The Toda Balsams. Sanctuary Asia June 34-41.

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2020c   Toda Environmentalism (Part I). Indica Today  Sept 19

2020d   Toda Sanctification of Nature. In Forest Dweller’s Art of Living: Their Values and World View, edited by P.K. Misra and B.V. Raviprasad. Mysuru: INSC Publishing House (IPH). Pp. 26-34.

2023   Twenty-First Century Toda Recollections of the British Raj. In The Nilgiri Hills, edited by Paul Hockings. New Delhi: Orient Black Swan.

Chhabra, Tarun, D. Mohandass and J.P. Puyravaud (2002). Eriochrysis rangacharii Fischer: A Keystone Resource for the Todas and an Emblematic Species for Nilgiris Wetland Conservation. Ootacamund: Study Report, Toda Nalavaazhvu Sangam.

Puyravaud, Jean-Philippe, D. Mohandass and T. Chhabra (2003). A Rediscovery of Eriochrysis rangacharii C.E.C. Fisch. (Poaceae) in the Nilgiri Mountains of Southern India. Candollea 58: 97-100.

Mohandass D., A.C. Hughes, Bruce M, P. Davidar and T. Chhabra (2016). Floristic species composition and structure of mid-elevation tropical montane forests (sholas) of the western ghats, southern India. Tropical Ecology 57 (3): 533-543.

Prabhukumar K.M., Tarun Chhabra, A.J. Robi, R. Jagadeesan, C.N. Sunil and I. Balachandran (2017). Rediscovery of Arisaema translucens (Araceae) and notes on A. Tuberculatum, two strict endemics of Nilgiris, India. Phytotaxa 306 (1): 85-90.

Prabhukumar K.M., C.N. Sunil, V.V.N. Kumar, N. Bhavadas, Tarun Chhabra and I. Balachandran (2017). Eleusine multiflora (Poaceae), A New Record for India. Nelumbo 59 (1)

Mohandass D., Tarun Chhabra, Ramneek Singh and K.C. Beng (2016). Recruitment of saplings in active tea plantations of the Nilgiri Mountains: Implications for restoration ecology. Tropical Ecology 57 (1): 101-118.

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The Toda people of the Nilgiris District in south India are one of the oldest indigenous groups in South Asia; they are also reportedly among the most studied and written-about in the region. While the field was dominated by Western scholars in the beginning, Indian researchers and writers began contributing to Toda studies from the early twentieth century.

The Toda Landscape 

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