This story is from June 23, 2022

Folk artist hopes govt will nuture his kind

Dressed in the traditional attire of saffron clothes, sporting a peacock feather conical cap and holding musical instrument ‘chiplya’, 70-year-old Ramrao Sarode, a ‘Vasudev’, was the head turner at the Sant Tukaram palkhi procession on Wednesday.
Folk artist hopes govt will nuture his kind
Pune: Dressed in the traditional attire of saffron clothes, sporting a peacock feather conical cap and holding musical instrument ‘chiplya’, 70-year-old Ramrao Sarode, a ‘Vasudev’, was the head turner at the Sant Tukaram palkhi procession on Wednesday.
Sarode, who is carrying forward his tradition of singing songs praising Lord Krishna, was bombarded with selfie requests from people of all age groups.
“People click photos of me every time. The requests have increased in the last 10 years with the advent of smartphones. It pains me that none of them, not even the government, takes any effort to nurture folk tradition,” he said.
Sarode has been participating in wari for the past 41 years when there were no significant means of transportation between his village Karla in Akola district and Pune.
“I visit wari every year barefeet. This is what my routine has been for the past so many years. There must have been thousands of people who clicked photos with me, but I would like them to take notice of the Vasudev folk art and not just click photos. There are very few of us remaining now. In fact, after wari, I too return to my village and work on my farm,” he said, adding that the government should also make sure the few of them who are left in the folk tradition is taken care of.
He said the next generation was not interested in pursuing folk art. “This is the folk culture of the state. I do not do this for money. However, I accept the money only from those who donate willingly,” he said.
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