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A new book will tell what its title says is the ‘extraordinary story’ of the Bishnoi, whom it calls ‘the world’s first ecowarriors’.
My Head for a Tree: The Extraordinary Story of the Bishnoi, the World’s First Eco-Warriors has been written by Martin Goodman, emeritus professor of Creative Writing at the University of Hull, United Kingdom.
The Bishnoi are well-known for their love of the environment and will go to any length to protect the flora and fauna of the arid Thar, which they call home. Bishnoi men and women have died to defend trees from loggers and wildlife from poachers.
“Writer and conservationist Martin Goodman, one of few trusted outsiders, relates the history of the Bishnoi, and asks what a world facing climate change and natural disaster can learn from a 600-year-old sustainable community leading an existence in delicate balance with nature and under threat from rapacious modernity,” a statement noted.
My Head for a Tree: The Extraordinary Story of the Bishnoi, the World’s First Eco-Warriors, published by Profile Books, will be released by Hachette India.
The book, scheduled to hit bookshelves on January 23, will feature a Foreword by Peter Wohlleben, the German forester and author of The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World (2015).
It will offer “a timely reflection on indigenous, community-based activism and how we might adjust our lives to fight for the natural world”, the statement added.
“The planet is in crisis. Where can we learn how to keep nature, and ourselves, safe? India, among the Bishnois. Their ancient wisdom, practiced in their daily lives, is hugely inspiring. I am honoured to share their story,” the statement quoted Goodman.
He is the author of twelve books of award-winning nonfiction and fiction, including his account of eco-lawyers saving the planet, Client Earth. Other books on India include a spiritual biography, In Search of the Divine Mother, and On Sacred Mountains.