On arriving in Ginnedhari to survey all the villages of Asifabad, I bought a horse, a ‘tatty’. It had a calf that wanted milk from its mother, so was always butting her udder. She was a disturbing mount, so I sold her back to its owner. Instead, I borrowed bullock carts and a pair of bullocks.

In those days I was a pipe smoker. The Raj Gonds grew and cured their own tasty tobacco. The locals smoked it in a rolled up and bent dried leaf pipe. However, they much admired my rosewood pipe. Everyone wanted to borrow my spare pipe.

One of the problems of doing participant fieldwork is getting your hair cut and having to adopt the local style. I was fortunate as Ginnedhari had a small hamlet of ‘dalit’ barbers. But it did mean that they insisted I be a 'true' man and grow a moustache.

Marskola Ramu, in the turban showing me his diesel water pump. It raised water from his well to irrigate his sorghum/millet fields. Beside me is Ada Jalpati Rao, my interpreter. Beyond Ramu is Dhamu, my cook.

A formal photo with the family of Maravi Dhamu, my cook and the village ‘kotwal’, messenger and watchman. Note my enormous 6’ 1” height compared to the average Raj Gond.

Myself with two local transgender ‘hijras’ or ‘alis’ in Guddipet. They usually wear women’s clothes. To their left are Ada Jalpati Rao and Abdul Majid, my two informants and interpreters. Hijras cannot inherit land, nor have a family. Therefore they live by their wits rather than accepting cultural norms, they think outside the box. I have always found them to be the most thoughtful people at explaining the reasons for people’s behaviour.

Myself in the background with the full cast for the Guddipet troop of actors for the Ramayana epic drama.

A photo taken when my elder brother, John Yorke, and his wife, Jeanie, and my wife, Valerie, came to visit me in Ginnedhari in 1977. We are with all the notable people of Ginnedhari. They have positioned all the women on the left and all the men separately on the right.

A formal photo was taken when I visited Bari village. The village headman is on my left, Abdul Majid, my interpreter is on my extreme left and the two village ‘gusarks’ are protecting us.

Taken when my wife, Valerie, and my elder brother, John, and his wife, Jeanie, were leaving Ginnedhari to return to Hyderabad in 1977. As a blessing Valerie and Jeanie were both given a child to hold. My cook, Maravi Dhamu, drives the bullocks and my friend Atram Maru Master, in spectacles, is on the extreme left.

Taken when my wife, Valerie, and my elder brother, John, and his wife, Jeanie, were in Ginnedhari. On the extreme left is my good friend Maru Master. On the right is the village headman. Seated on the ground are the ‘dandari puriks‘, boys ritually dressed as brides. We are protected by two ‘dandari gusark ‘. Note the sparrows nest in the street light which did not work.

The house that I was given to live in, in Ginnedhari. Here a village council, ‘panchayat’, meeting is being held on my verandah.

The Kolam vilagers of Sungapur, with myself standing at the back. Note how much taller I am the everyone else. Seated in the centre is Tekam Katti Patel, the headman. On his left is Bhimu his son.

I am inspecting the final course of masonry lining for Maru Master’s new irrigation well. Being a village elder he was able to raise a loan to do this from the Integrated Tribal Development Agency. Maru Master is seated beside this new irrigation well.