Of grasslands, blackbucks, and pastoral nomads

The Hindu

23-04-2025

'My first sighting of a male blackbuck was ethereal. This huge, big male with horns sticking out like swords, body glistening, standing against the sun in the morning,' remembers the Bengaluru-based natural history filmmaker and the co-founder of Trailing Wild Productions, Sumanth Kuduvalli. It was in 2013 at Maidanahalli at the Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve, in Tumakuru. His film Land of the Blackbuck: A Story of Hope and Resilience, whichpremiered in Bengaluru earlier this month, chronicles his long association with the captivating animal.
He knew he wanted to film them even back then, but unfortunately, the idea fizzled out due to unforeseen circumstances. 'Then, in 2020, seven years later, an opportunity to revisit that dream cropped up. He had just returned to Bengaluru from North Karnataka, where he was filming hornbills for Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR), when they asked him if there was a pet project that he wanted to do, one that they could support logistically, he recalls. 'So, I told them about this blackbuck project.'
Little literature
It turned out that JLR had a property in Bidar, and they offered to host him there while he filmed the blackbuck. He began researching for the film, soon realising that there was very little literature about the wildlife of Bidar, except for one paper that H.N. Kumara, a faculty member at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), had written. 'But that was mostly just a reference to Bidar, so I went there, mostly shooting in the dark,' says Sumanth, whose film is based on his encounters with the grasslands of Bidar.
It was only when he visited and began talking to its inhabitants that he realised 'that the land had more to offer than what could be seen on the surface,' he says, recounting the names of some of the people who helped him on this journey, such as Vinay Malge of Team Yuvaa, a volunteer-based organisation based out of Bidar, UNESCO researcher, Majid Labbaf Khaneiki and naturalist Vivek Baburao.
In 2021, he applied for and received a fellowship from Jackson Wild, a non-profit based out of Wyoming, USA, which describes itself as 'an inclusive global forum, inspiring our community, celebrating excellence in storytelling that illuminates our connection to the natural world and collective responsibility to the wild.' As part of the fellowship, he attended a workshop where the fellows were mentored by a leading professional in the industry, he says. 'I was partnered with a BBC producer and director, Simon Baxter, and then the story started to take shape,' relates Sumanth. 'We realised that it could be a full-fledged film on grasslands.'
In love with the wild
As a child, growing up in Bengaluru, one of Sumanth's favourite hangouts was a patch of swamp on the campus of the Indian Institute of Science. 'I studied in the Kendriya Vidyalaya here and would spend a lot of time in this place, watching geckos, frogs, snakes…' he says. 'I found refuge in it.'
Not surprisingly, he also thoroughly enjoyed watching nature documentaries, which his school made the students watch. '(I was) fascinated to see that something I enjoyed watching in action was happening on TV. And I remember thinking that it was such a beautiful thing to do.'
But then Sumanth went on to pursue a degree in engineering. He never, however, lost his fascination with the natural world and, while still a student, began volunteering at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARR). During one such stint at Agumbe, he met someone who would introduce him to photography – the biologist, broadcaster and photographer, Tim Cockerill.
'He told me that, without an academic background in wildlife, there was very little chance I could get into the scientific aspect of it. But if I wanted to stick to wildlife, film and photography was one way of doing it,' says Sumanth, who went on to do a diploma in documentary filmmaking at the Centre for Research in Art of Film and Television in New Delhi before joining Nikon India Pvt Limited and then branching out as an independent natural history filmmaker in 2015.
Over the last decade or so, Sumanth has been part of various documentary projects, featuring animals like the rhinoceros, mudskippers and the sangai deer before making his directorial debut with the film, The Naga Pride, in 2018, about the community-led conservation of the Amur Falcons of Nagaland. The film, which was part of several international film festivals, was nominated for 12 awards and won the best Indian documentary award at the Nagaon International Film Festival, he says. 'In our films, we try to showcase the natural history of a species as well as highlight the conservation issue of a particular landscape,' says Sumanth, who co-founded Trailing Wild Productions in 2019. 'That way, it becomes more engaging and pertinent.'
Open natural ecosystems
The blackbuck, also called the Indian antelope, is a hoofed ruminant found mostly in the open natural ecosystems of India, with a small population in Nepal. While often misidentified as deer, antelopes belong to the same family (Bovidae) as cattle, bison, buffalo, sheep, and goats, with all males and some females sporting simple, unbranched horns, instead of the branched antlers found in the deer family (Cervidae). 'As I learnt more about these species and the landscape they live in, I found myself drawn to these animals,' says Sumanth.
Sumanth began visiting Bidar to shoot the film in 2021, finishing the filming by 2023, before taking it to the editing table. The 23-minute-long film, which not just focuses on the behaviours of and challenges faced by blackbucks, but also offers scattered glimpses of other animals found in this region, including spiny-tailed lizards, laggar falcon, feral dogs, and wolves, hopes to create more awareness and concern for these 'very critical ecosystems.'
Pointing to a study published by researchers from the University of California, Davis, Sumanth argues that grasslands are better carbon sinks than forests, since they hold the carbon in the earth below, 'unlike trees, which, once they die, when cut down or during a wildfire, release the carbon back into the atmosphere.'He adds that in the face of climate change, 'it became evident that grasslands have a very important role to play.'
Biodiverse ecosystems
Not only are they highly biodiverse ecosystems, but these pasture-rich lands are also home to several nomadic and pastoral communities. 'They move from place to place, allowing their sheep or goat to graze, enriching the land with their manure,' he says, alluding to the age-old, symbiotic relationship between pastoralists and farmers. 'With the reduction of grasslands, these people are finding it hard to move from place to place.'
Grasslands also play a vital role in creating an underground water system, essential in a country that relies so much on underground water. Bidar, for instance, has something called the karez (or qanat) water system created by the Bahamani Kings in the 15th century, which the film showcases. 'It was a major factor in fighting the drought that North Karnataka went through in 2016 and 17,' he says. 'When this area was heaving under very bad heat waves, it survived thanks to this.'
Sumanth now hopes to travel with the film, with multiple copies in regional languages, to ensure that he can 'reach places where it matters.' He says he intends to go beyond the film and create a grassland movement, trying to help set communities and individuals they work with resources that can help them scale their conservation work. For instance, he says that in Bidar, Trailing Wild supported local conservationist Vivek Baburao with financial resources and scientific support in conducting a study on the grassland ecosystem. 'For us, it is about arming anyone who can make a difference. We all need to join hands and conserve grasslands.'