A brush with folk dance

Back to roots

One cannot imagine cultural festivals in schools and colleges and inter-college competitions without film songs and film-based dance. But if one notices college students performing folk dance such as pooja kunitha, maari kunitha, dollu kunitha, kolaata, kamsaale, laavani or veeragase, here and there, it is due to the efforts of Desiranga in Mysore.

Desiranga, launched by Krishna Janamana, a former member of Janamana — a cultural organisation now defunct — seven years ago conducts training camps in folk art forms for college students free of cost every year.

Krishna, a Kannada professor in Bodhi Sathva PU College in the city, said he does not take any fees or donation, but spends his own money to popularise folk art.

Krishna, who has a rural background — as he belongs to Kollegal taluk — said he did not learn any of the folk dance from anybody formally but by watching those who perform them.

“When I started training seven years ago, I was the only trainer and I had 50 students, after that every year we get at least 100 students and those students who have been trained in our training camps chip in to help me, said Krishna.

This year 130 students from 20 colleges are being trained by Desiranga at the premises of Kalamandira from September 8 to 22 for one and a half hour — 4.30 to 6 pm.

Programme

The participants would present entertainment programme on September 24, 25 and 26 at Vanaranga, Kalamandira premises.

They would stage four plays and five folk dance forms (boys and girls separately) and sing a few folk songs for the public. Entry for the shows is free.

The camp is received well, there are students from even engineering and medical colleges, some of them are doing research. However, most of the students are from Maharaja’s College, Maharani’s College, Government Junior College and Banumaiah College.

Krishna said his trainees were taking folk art to their colleges and villages — villages because even though folk art has its origin in villages, it has lost popularity among rural people, who have been carried away by mega-serial and cinema culture.

They also train schoolchildren for competitions.

Camp

He said the camp also intends to develop leadership qualities among trainees, so interaction with folklore scholars and artistes is being conducted and workshop in communication skills being held.

“Seventy of my trainees over the years have now formed a cultural group named Ranga Hejja and are popularising folk art by giving shows and training. Twenty of them want to take this as a profession,” Krishna concludes.