Researching with the Bharia in Central India was a rare opportunity as it is perhaps the only tribal community in the region who are not dispossessed from their habitat in Madhya Pradesh, the Indian province with the largest number of tribal people. Dominant debates rarely take cognisance of the perceptions of the tribal communities. The article tries to map the Bharia voices, their worldview and knowledge that counter the processes of hegemony thrust upon them by the state, the market and non-state players.