Monkey Matters

Why Monkey Matters?

The narratives of conflict and contestation with wildlife are rife in news portals across the country, and equally so in Assam’s landscapes. While the focus is mainly on charismatic species like elephants, leopards and occasionally rhinos and tigers, the non-charismatic rhesus macaques have found a large place in the everyday conversations of urbanizing landscapes of Assam. One such is the urbanizing rural landscapes of Puranigudam in the Nagaon district, as the city of Nagaon grows.

Beyond the common narratives of “conflict”, what are the other emotions and observations of people with monkeys? How do people and monkeys adapt - with each other and because of each other? How does the changing landscape shift their relationship? Why do these interactions and ‘conflicts’ get more frequent?

Monkey Matters explores these questions while building a deep repository of experiences and emotions relating to monkeys. It brings forward narratives of young people and women through arts-based methods and photovoice, in addition to traditional research methods.

Monkey Matters is an active collaboration of ecologists, development practitioners, artists, filmmakers, young field researchers and stakeholders of the region to work towards solution-thinking that is mutually beneficial for the human and more-than-human lives of the region.

Digital Archive

With Canopy Collective, Monkey Matters builds a digital archive of the many stories and emotions of the intertwined human-macaque lives in this landscape.

Photovoice

Photovoice “entrusts cameras to the hands of people to enable them to act as recorders, and potential catalysts for change, in their own communities.” (Wang & Burris, 1997). This participatory method empowers individuals, especially children and other often sidelined groups, to document, interpret, and share aspects of their lifeworlds, communities, and environments through their own lens.

Photovoice is used here as a tool to document interactions with macaques—whether anticipating, experiencing, or reflecting on these encounters. Cameras can be easily used by different groups, helping young collaborators observe their surroundings and assign meaning to what they see. They are at the centre of the process, engaging with the environment and reflecting on their photographs. The method captures how individuals cognitively construct and interpret experiences and events (Oh, 2012), treating children and other participants as social actors navigating complex realities.

Gaurab Talukdar, a documentary filmmaker and member of the Monkey Matters working group, conducted three-day workshops with young people in Ohidor Khaat (January-February 2025), Na-ali Mur (February-March 2025), and Majgaon (April 2025). The workshops introduced participants to bridge cameras, including basic features, handling and balance techniques, framing, angles, and photography ethics such as consent, keeping distance from wildlife, and mindful observation. Each day included a guided photo walk to practise specific types of shots.

Through this process, participants developed technical skills while engaging with the world around them in new and reflective ways.

All photographs by Gaurab Talukdar.

My new year resolution read “…I look forward to a year of finding joy and playfulness..”, not quite knowing what those words meant in real. An early spring morning of watching a group of young monkeys (juveniles and sub-adults) frolic in water did more to define it than any of my own experiences. The adults were scattered in the area while a large group of 20-30 young ones moved around - dived straight into water, played water (volley)ball with a coconut, dried themselves on the bank until someone shoved them back in, balanced themselves on thin bamboo sticks in water. It seemed like a lot of fun!

Three of us, Gaurab, Mugdha and I, continued to watch them, capture them on our phones and cameras, smile, and laugh at them dunking one another in the water. For a brief moment, all I could think was am I capable of this fun? Do I have a large community of friends like this? The three of us walked around and kept documenting monkeys around us all morning. I guess, there’s joy in watching others have fun too.

Photographs by Gaurab Talukdar

Art-based Methods

What are art-Based Methods

Art and science are increasingly acknowledged for their shared purpose in illuminating diverse facets of the human experience. Both domains are rooted in exploration, revelation, and representation, striving to enhance our understanding of the world (Leavy, 2015).

In various manifestations—ranging from visual arts and drama to poetry and creative writing—art serves as a powerful investigative tool. This approach is guided by two foundational objectives: first, it creates a space within research that is accessible, participatory, and empowering, enabling collaborators in the field to delve into specific challenges; second, it captures subconscious and subjective interpretations of the research inquiries.

When the artworks become the focus of discussion, they transform into precursors for verbal data, offering tangible reference points for both participants and researchers. These artworks act as prompts for deeper reflection and critical analysis. Acknowledging that not every piece of data requires verbal explanation, this methodology engages the senses, emotions, and intellectual faculties—collectively known as the aesthetic dimension. As a result, the information resonates on both rational and visceral levels, marking this approach as particularly influential. Moreover, it is also utilized to break free from entrenched narratives of conflict, often perpetuated through spoken dialogue.

Workshops

December 22, 2024

On December 22, 2024, an art workshop was facilitated by illustrator Labonie Roy, who serves as the Managing Editor of Art and Design at Current Conservation, engaging 38 children in Ohidor Khaat. Participants were prompted to observe their environments and depict themselves within them, utilizing a variety of mediums—from oil pastels to charcoal—to discover what they felt most at ease with and what best expressed their observations. For many of these children, this marked a significant departure from conventional school art experiences. In January, two subsequent workshops were held by Working Group members to further this exploration, gently introducing the concept of capturing their surroundings and illustrating monkeys as part of their daily lives. In March 2025, Dr. Mithun Das, an Assistant Professor at the College of Education in Nagaon, conducted a three-day workshop in Gayan Bairagi. He taught art techniques to 20 children and youth, guiding them in their efforts to document village life and local wildlife through drawing. The participants collaborated to create a collage featuring commonly encountered wild and domestic mammals. Additionally, brief sessions were organized in Ohidor Khaat and Majgaon for around 25 youth, focusing on the artistic representation of monkeys and aiding them in enhancing their abilities with various painting styles and mediums.

The Team

About

As part of the broader Nature Education work at Green Hub, we plan to include nature education sessions and activities in the curriculum, starting with the 9th batch of Green Hub Fellows. These sessions will introduce and encourage the Fellows to contribute to citizen science projects and use identification apps such as iNaturalist, eBird, SeasonWatch, and Merlin. These tools will help them systematically record and document biodiversity, not just for their films, but also for scientific research.

The Green Hub community project on iNaturalist is a collection of all biodiversity uploaded by people from Green Hub and Canopy Collective across India. Some of the previous Green Hub Fellows are part of our Canopy of Learning network and are carrying out nature education work in different regions of the Northeast.

Team Members

Anasuya Borah: Anasuya is a researcher and practitioner working to bridge development practices and environment conservation, and an incoming PhD student at New York University. She is an Inlaks Ravi Sankaran grantee and leads the Monkey Matters project and is from Nagaon, Assam, where the project is based. She also worked as a mentor with Green Hub India. Previously, she was the CEO of Kumbaya Producer Company Limited, a social enterprise that empowers women and people with disability with the art of stitching. She worked on women’s financial inclusion and building sustainable livelihoods in the Central Indian drylands as a Senior Programme Officer at Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Madhya Pradesh.

Mugdha Saikia: Mugdha is an early career researcher, who has worked in the fields of financial inclusion and social security, specialising in a women and children-focused lens. She holds a Master's degree in Sociology. She has been a member of Centre for Climate Action Foundation (CECAF) and worked as a Field and Research Assistant for Canopy Collective’s Monkey Matters project. She has previously worked in a UNICEF-funded research project as a Field Investigator in the tea gardens of Udalguri, Assam. She has volunteered for various projects and organizations such as HelpAge India, Team Everest NGO, Interact Club of Agnigarh, Rotaract Club of SNDTWU, Comparative Education Society of India to name a few.

Gaurab Talukdar: Gaurab is a documentary filmmaker, storyteller, observer of life, and birdwatcher from Assam. Growing up amidst rustling paddy fields, the ever-flowing Kopili River, and lush enchanting forests, he found his earliest inspiration in nature. With a background in economics and a passion for conservation, he began documenting the interconnectedness of humans and nature during his work in conflict mitigation. For Gaurab, storytelling is not just a profession, but a calling. At Green Hub, he honed his craft in photography and filmmaking, blending visual storytelling with community engagement to inspire empathy and action for conservation and the preservation of indigenous knowledge.

Aashish Gokhale: Aashish is a Senior Executive - Education and Grants with The Habitats Trust, contributing to a wide-range of initiatives, including the Education and Awareness Programme. His research focuses on human-nature relationships and political ecology, with past projects exploring child-nature relations in Bengaluru and shifting agropastoral practices in Lahaul, and the biopolitics of conserving the Nicobar long-tailed macaque on Great Nicobar Island. He also taught a foundational course on the environment at Pearl Academy, Bengaluru.

Dr. Partha Sarathi Mishra: Partha is an Assistant Professor at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology and is a multidisciplinary researcher working in the domain of wildlife conservation, animal behaviour using a variety of lenses including behavioural sciences, social science, arts and design. He is a founding member of the Association of Indian Primatologists and a member of IUCN Primate Specialist Group.

Support and Funding

Inlaks - Ravi Sankaran Grant for Field Biology, Ecology & Conservation 2024 (Anasuya Borah)
Royal Enfield Social Mission - Incubation support & Personnel Cost
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies - Incubation support & Personnel Cost