Indian
Express: Pune: Thursday, 19 March 2015.
A few months
ago, when city-based artiste Kundalik Kedari needed to refer to the audio and
video recordings of the songs and dance forms of a few tribes of Maharashtra
for a project that he was working on, he approached the organisation where he
was sure to get the material he needed the Tribal Research and Training
Institute (TRTI). But, to his surprise, this decades old institute that not
only carries out research but also does evaluation studies to gauge the impact
of developmental programmes and schemes on the life of the tribal people in
Maharashtra, could not give him any information.
After making
several enquiries about the recordings, when Kedari didn’t get any concrete
reply from the institute, he filed an application under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act about the availability of the said oral literature.
Surprisingly, the response he received from the Archives and Information
Officer of the institute said no research had been done so far on the various
kinds of ceremonial songs of the tribal communities mentioned in the
application. It also mentioned that the institute only had recordings of the
folk songs of the Madia community in the Gondvana and audio tapes with sounds
of instruments like “tatpa, ghagali, chirki and dhol”.
“The tribals
have songs for various ceremonies and occasions, which form a major part of the
oral literature. It includes wedding songs, dance songs, songs sung at the
birth of a baby (palna), kanyadaan (songs sung when a daughter is being given
to the groom during marriage), Bhalar songs, Zulwas, devotional songs, grinding
songs, pounding songs, folk songs, Dhawaleri songs (Warlis), Holi songs, Tarhar
songs (Pardhan), Dorli songs (Korkus) and so on. If an institute as big as TRTI
does not have any recording of such oral literature then what will be the
future of these art forms,” rued Kedari, who had established Lalit Rang Bhoomi,
a theatre unit, in 1986 under which he has presented dramas revolving around
tribal issues across Maharashtra.
Belonging to
tribal community Mahadev Koli, Kedari is from Junnar district and currently
works as a supervisor at the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. For the last 10
years, Kedari has been organising the Tribal Film Festival in Pune, showcasing
films made on the tribal population by various individuals.
TRTI
Commissioner Sambhajirao Sarkunde said, “We realise that it’s important to
preserve such art forms but since its inception the focus of TRTI has been on
the livelihood and development of the tribals. However, in the near future, we
will look into this area as well and do the needed preservation.”
On the other
hand, Kedari feels in order to bring the tribals to the mainstream, it is
important to protect their art forms as well. “There are 47 tribal communities
in the country. The population of the some of the communities, such as Katakari
and Kolam, is extremely
low; it is vital to take steps towards documentation of the related art forms
of these people,” he said.
Bhaumik
Deshmukh, a professor at Pune University who has done extensive research on
tribals and related issues, said, “The onus of development, preservation and
promotion of the tribal culture is on the government and the governmental
bodies should take necessary steps in this direction.” He has researched on the
Kokna tribes for over eight years. “Behind every song and dance, the tribal
communities have some philosophy or belief; these need to be recorded,” said
Deshmukh who has so far penned three books on tribal-related issues ‘Tribal Education’,
‘Kokna-Kokni Tribe History and Life’ and ‘Tribal Development’ (compiled work).
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