In eastern India, villages employ centuries-old musical tradition to stop wildfires

NEW DELHI: Pramila Pradhan led a normal life in her eastern Indian village, managing household chores and occasionally performing devotional songs for the community. But two years ago, everything changed when forest officials placed her at the forefront of efforts to revive a 15th-century musical tradition — a new tool in preventing wildfires. Keonjhar district in Odisha state, where Pradhan lives, is an ecologically sensitive region with vast stretches of tropical forests, where most trees shed their leaves during the dry months, making the area highly prone to forest fires.

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