Bharia is one of

Dravidian Dravidian, Dravidan, or Dravida may refer to: Language and culture *Dravidian languages, a family of languages spoken mainly in South India and northeastern Sri Lanka *Proto-Dravidian language, a model of the common ancestor of the Dravidian lang ...

-speaking tribes of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They are classified as

Particularly vulnerable tribal group A particularly vulnerable tribal group or PVTG (previously known as a primitive tribal group), in the context of India, is a sub-classification of Scheduled Tribe or section of a Scheduled Tribe, that is considered more vulnerable than a regular ...

. The Bharias live in Patalkot, which is completely isolated valley some 400 metres below

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with War ...

Chhindwara Chhindwara is a major city in India and a Municipal Corporation in the Chhindwara district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city is the administrative headquarters of Chhindwara District. Chhindwara is reachable by rail or road fro ...

district of Madhya Pradesh. This valley is the source of

Dudhi River Doodhi River is a river in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is tributary of Narmada River. Mainly Doodhi River flowing in Chhindwara and Narsinghpur District. See also * Narmada River * List of rivers of Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh is a state ...

. Patalkot is totally inaccessible by road and one enters along a footpath only. But recently The Madhya Pradesh government established good road inside the Patalkot valley. There are hundreds of

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

species in the Patalkot valley, and the Bharias have a deep knowledge of the herbs and medicinal plants growing within their valley. Herbal healers from Bharia community are known as

Bhagat Bhagat is a term used in the Indian subcontinent to describe religious figures who have obtained high acclaim in their communities for their acts and devotion. It is also a term ascribed to one of the clans in the Mahar caste, with their clan ...

References

External links

Patalkot.com
Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Chhindwara {{India-ethno-stub