The decades following independence saw many forests in southern India (particularly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka which share borders) being turned into wildlife reserves and parks to address the mounting demands of tourism and that of environmental and animal activists.

The Jenu Kurubas had to let go of a way of life that had sustained their forbears for generations gathering honey and other forest produce. Many tribal groups were re located outside scheduled forest areas and given agricultural land to begin new lives. The change, according to Sivanna, was not an easy one. Though they now embraced the life of farmers and casual wage earners their spirits still lived in the forests and freedom of their past.

For a while they were permitted restricted entry into forests to gather honey and herbs for traders. But now this is getting less so with forests getting more regulated. They have reconciled to a life that is no longer sustained by the forests that once sheltered and nurtured them.

Sivanna says that the Jenu Kurubas are realistic enough to understand and accept the changes that come with time. Though he sorely misses the life of his forbears he is grateful for the land he has been given along with many other governmental interventions for the tribal communities at large.

Though unschooled himself, he has come to appreciate what education can offer future generations of his community and hopes that a peaceful transition can be made over time from one way of life to another. While he is uncertain of what the future holds for the Jenu Kurubas as a community, he is certain that there is not going back.