HOW A DENTIST IS HELPING THE TODAS OF THE NILGIRIS REDISCOVER THEIR HERITAGE

Thirty years ago, Tarun Chhabra, then a young dentist in the Nilgiris, devoted himself to keeping alive the world of the Todas — their chants, embroidery, myths, names and songs — mapping their sacred landscapes, documenting customs and collecting samples of a language spoken by barely 1,000 who live in the Nilgiris. Today, that one-man mission has grown into a collective effort. Under Tamil Nadu ’s Tholkudi Makkal Scheme, the govt has chosen the Kuttawddy Centre in Ooty, founded by Chhabra, to lead a year-long project, ‘Revitalisation of the Toda Language in Prose, Song and Cultural Ecology’, to raise awareness among the younger generation about the community’s forgotten traditions, culture and songs. “Kuttawddy is the Toda name for elk. The centre sits below Elk Hill in Ooty,” says