In the Maddibanda village of Chinturu Mandal, generations at end have never seen a school, and the concept of education has not existed in their lives. This is because the villagers belong to a tribal community known as Kondareddy, which has been classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
The tribals continue to live a nomadic lifestyle of shifting cultivation, and rely entirely on forest produce for their livelihood. The primitive and shy community speaks aboriginal Telugu, and are natives of the land. The hamlets are geographically separated, each having five to ten houses on a hilltop.
Every Friday, they descend the hilltop to sell forest produce and buy weekly supplies, before returning home. The nearest hamlet in the village is an hour-long walk, and the farthest is situated about four hours away from Boddu Gudam, after which there is no road. The tribals are unaware of the specific distance, and their only way to measure it is in the context of the number of…