The Dravidian University campus reverberated with the performances of artisans from different parts of South India on the occasion of World Folklore Day celebrations on Monday.
A gathering of about 1,000 participants, including teachers, students and artists representing different styles of fine arts from different departments, gathered at the entrance of the university in the morning and took out a march to the temple of the Dravidian monastery on the campus, where the traditional ‘Pongallu’ ( food offerings) were offered to the deity.
Vice-Chancellor T. Ramakrishna while addressing the gathering said that the World Folklore Day celebrations were important for the people of Andhra Pradesh, as on this day, on 22 August, Alluri Sitaramaraju started the famous Rampa Rebellion in 1922.
“During the last two decades, Dravidian University was organizing World Folklore Day by involving artists and artisans from different parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The local people of Kuppam have cooperated a lot with the university in organizing cultural events. The role of women artists in the traditional forms of Harikatha, Burrakatha and various genres of fine arts is significant,” he said.
Shyamala of the Department of Folklore and Tribal Studies spoke of the contributions of British author William John Thomas, who first coined the term “folk-lore” in 1846. After a century-long hiatus, American literary associations brought back the glory and legacy of “folklore” through their publications in 1946. “The rural side of India is replete with rich oral, literary, historical and cultural institutions of fine arts, giving a prominent place to the folklore tradition. Dravidian University has always been in institutionalizing the importance of folklore by creating a separate department for the study. has been at the forefront,” she said.
Cultural programs of Dappu’s performance, singing and rendition of folklore traditions remained the highlight of the festival.