From the archive record
Maldhari woman walking for over a mile in the scorching heat with two water pitchers balanced perfectly on her head in rural Gujarat. Heat wave of 2002: village women walk long distances to fetch water for their homes... Maldharis are nomadic tribal herdsmen who live in the Gujarat state of India. The literal meaning of Maldhari is "owner of animal stock". They are notable as the traditional dairymen of the region, and once supplied milk and cheese to the palaces of rajas. Maldharis are descendants of nomads who periodically came from Pakistan, Rajasthan and other parts of Gujarat, and finally settled in the Banni grasslands. The Maldhari have been living in the Banni grasslands for nearly 700 years. These semi-nomadic herders spend eight months of the year criss-crossing sparse pasturelan