In India’s southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, the settlement of Poonjeri is home to around 40 Narikuravar families. They belong to a semi-nomadic community of around 30,000 people that are spead across the state. Historically, their main source of livelihood was hunting. They were long considered “untouchables” and continue to be marginalized to this day. The Narikuravar, who are portrayed here, live today in small stone houses built for them by various organizations after a tsunami destroyed the community’s settlement a couple of miles away in 2004.
Steff Gruber (1953) is a Swiss photographer and filmmaker. He worked as a press photographer for Keystone Press and was one of the first filmmakers to deal with the docudrama genre. Based on his interest in documentaries, Gruber began shooting photo stories in various countries that focused, in particular, on human interest subjects and humanist concerns. He produced many of his photo series over a period of several years, visiting places and people on repeated occasions. Steff Gruber is a member of the Swiss Association of Journalists and Photographers IMPRESSUM.
