The tribal chieftain of the Warli community in Aarey forest (let's disregard its present-day designation of a "colony") is a man named Prakash Bhoir. He lives in one corner of the 16-sq km area, and there is a traditional painting on the facade of his house of a leopard climbing a tree. This artwork depicts three Warli gods - Waghoba, or the leopard; Heerdev, or the tree; and Bhumata, the earth. Those are the deities that the tribal community worships for protection, sustenance, and life itself. But, this holy triumvirate is now under threat from a mortal adversary. The people behind the Metro project want to fell over 2,700 trees in Aarey to build a car shed, while the authorities in charge of Maharashtra's special Force One security team want a further slice of the pie for their headquarters. And all of this has made Bhoir a rather worried man.

Sutar performs at the gig where The Warli Revolt was launched. Pic/Focusmonk