Uttarakhand, India – On a cloudy summer afternoon in the Shivalik forest, Jumman is sprawled on a charpoy, enjoying the monsoon breeze. His grandchildren have taken the cattle to graze in the forest, while his sons have moved up to the mountains near Uttarkashi, hoping to escape the heat.
Jumman had wished to accompany them on the seasonal migration, but his age no longer allows him to walk long distances. The 72-year-old is now settled in a mud hut, very close to Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand in northern India – in an area that covers close to 1,279 square miles of forest.