This story is from June 2, 2020

Folklorist revives aural storytelling: Tales of Uttara Kannada tribes compiled in books

Folklorist revives aural storytelling: Tales of Uttara Kannada tribes compiled in books
Sukri Bommu Gowda was among the aural storytellers who visited schools in Uttara Kannada
Mangaluru: The tribes of Uttara Kannada passed on to future generations the wealth of stories preserved in memory, and passed down through word-of-mouth. However, it is a sign of the times that this immeasurable wealth could be lost to oblivion, with a bulk of the younger generation of these communities keen on joining the mainstream. But folklore expert Savita Uday has taken on the herculean task of keeping the aural culture alive by compiling the stories that Gopi Siddi, Nugli, Padmavathi and Sukri Bommu Gowda recited to children at the Angdibail Government School in Uttara Kannada into books in Kannada and English.
However, the publication of these books has been delayed owing to the lockdown.
“The project is funded by the India Foundation for the Arts during the 2019-20 academic year. Our aim was to impart to children a way of life through storytelling. Folklore helps understand our ties with the soil. The women of tribal communities who stores these stories are the forbears of folk wisdom. We felt it was vital to make children understand their connection with the soil at a time when schools are preparing them for a life far from home,” Savita told TOI.
The school in Uttara Kannada where the project was launched has a strength of 50 children from classes one to seven. “We wanted students to be able to connect to nature. All the illustrations in the books are by kids. They were initially keen on using sketch pens, crayons and colour pencils, but we asked them to use coloured mud from their homes. They were apprehensive initially, but they finally made rangoli with the mud. We later used the colours to make dry motifs by rubbing it with paper,” Savita added.
Savita said that the humble origins of many of the storytellers who came to recite tales came as a revelation for students, who were shocked to learn that many were daily wage labourers.
Many of the stories compiled in the book tell tales of the downfall of the king owing to his misdeeds, ill-treatment of children by their stepmother, the fates that the virtuous and the evil meet, et al. “There are also stories that depict the grim reality of certain societal practices. We have recorded all stories but are publishing a few of them,” Savita said.
Elaborating on the empahsis that the stories laid on nature, Savita pointed to the description of communities living in harmony with nature, agricultural practices, and the depiction of birds and animals, which were the result of close obersvation.
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About the Author
Deepthi Sanjiv

Deputy Chief of Bureau at TOI, Mangaluru. Writes on crime, environment, health, politics, education, civic issues, art & culture and human interest stories.

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