Two books based on oral stories of the Kadars, a small adivasi tribe in South India, have been written by Madhuri Ramesh and Manish Chandi who spent much time with the Kadars in their forest. The Kadars no longer live in the dense jungle but they walk its uneven, muddy paths every day.
A vivid description of the forest with its thick gnarled trees and winding uneven trails begins, as the narrator finds his way along with Madiyappan, his elderly and sure-footed Kadar companion. Madiyappan is a mine of information on the seasons, the inhabitants and the flora and fauna of the forest where it is only too easy to get lost.