This article like the one previous makes the point that there is often a strong link between protecting natural resources and a rich culture. In India, there has a long tradition of merging natural resource conservation with cultural activities. Through the act of protecting natural resources, India has also been enriching its cultural diversity.
For example, medicine men use the herbs from the groves in medicines only found in certain regions and annual village festivals are celebrated within the groves.
The groves have numerous other benefits as well. One benefit is to the ecology. In this article, the authors make the claim that 50% of the ecological importance is to wild life, 20% is to medicine, and 30% is in the existence of a clean water source. 50% of the groves in this study provided the only perennial water bodies to take care of the demands of an entire village. The preservation of wild life is also extremely important as the groves act as a gene bank for the surrounding area. The plants found within the grove may even have higher quality plants than those found outside the grove, although this claim merits further research.
Architecturally, the groves in the Pune district often represent the deities by a round or rice grain shaped stone. These stones are often kept in the open under a large tree and painted with vermillion (red oxide). Providing shelter for the deities has only been a recent development. The authors of this study noted three types of shelters observed: (1) stone shelter, (2) stone walls with asbestos or steel roof, and (3) concrete construction either small or large in a temple form. A temple I visited just yesterday displayed similar characteristics. There was a round stone on a platform that had existed for centuries. Only recently had a concrete shelter with a steel roof been constructed. The son of my home stay family showed me that the date of its construction was written on the wall. This temple will be one of my own research documentations.
Source:
1) Waghchaure, Chandrakant K., Pundarikakshudu Tetali, Venkat R. Gunale, Noshir H. Anitia, and Tannaz J. Birdi. “Sacred Groves of Parinche Valley of Pune District of Maharashtra, India and Their Importance.” Anthropology & Medicine 13.1 (2006): 55-76. Print.