Local culture comes alive under one roof

From Thursday, the Guttu house of Dr Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama is open for general public.

The project was taken up under the Janapada Loka project of the Department of Kannada and Culture and Rs 4.98 crore was sanctioned in this regard with Rs 1.49 being released in the first phase. With effective utilisation of this fund, the Guttu house has been developed as a museum.

Every room in the Guttu house has been set up in an authentic way, so as to represent the original glory of guttu houses in ancient Tulunadu. Articles like ‘kalembi’, ‘mene’, ‘marige’ and ritual properties are exhibited in their respective places. A replica of a ‘chowki’, a Yakshagana green room – with life-size mannequins – is facilitated with an audio-visual system. This apart, there are other Yakshagana mannequins of various characters. In a setup featuring a story-telling granny, different stories can be listened through the audio system, by pressing different buttons.

The same facility is provided at the room featuring folk arts. Documentaries on the preparation of palm jaggery and ‘akki mudi’ (rice packs) are played in two kiosks. A video projection room too has facilities to watch documentaries. Also, the real materials are kept near the kiosks. A sandalwood stand is placed at the ‘chavadi’ or veranda of the Guttu house, where the visitors can rub a piece of sandalwood against a stone and feel the fragrance.

Prof B A Vivek Rai, Pilikula Heritage Village Subcommittee president, said, “Two more kiosks will be installed at the Guttu house. There are plans to conduct subject specific exhibitions at the Guttu house, once in a month or a fortnight. A suggestion has been placed to form a research team and gather feedback of visitors.”

Artist Shashidhar Adapa who has designed the artefacts in the museum, said that a team of around 100 artistes has worked on the museum. “The process involved eight months. A thorough study was done before recreating the artefacts. For instance, the ‘Pattada mancha’ at the Guttu house is a replica of the one kept at Aladangadi Ajila Palace, which is 150 years old. Replicas of various other items, too, are placed in the museum,” he explained.

‘Bisukani’ was exhibited on the occasion of ‘Bisu’ or ‘Saura Yugadi’.

A B Ibrahim, Deputy Commissioner and Dr Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama Governing Council Chairman, and  S A Prabhakar Sharma, Pilikula Nisargadhama Executive Director, were present on the occasion.