The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : The ‘pied pipers’ of Adilabad

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Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

The ‘pied pipers’ of Adilabad

S. Harpal Singh

Tribals who were hitherto reluctant to approach doctors now make a beeline to clinics, thanks to the awareness songs of ‘khikri troupes’

Welcome move: The ‘khikri troupe’ of Pendur Tukaram performing in a village in Narnoor mandal in Adilabad district.

ADILABAD: As the ‘khikri’, a unique stringed musical instrument of the Thotti bards is ensconced in the system of Gond tribals, the move by the Information Department to deploy khikri troupes for an awareness campaign in tribal areas to control fever deaths seems to have paid off.

The Gonds, who are normally a reluctant lot when it comes to approaching a doctor, now say, “Mava tapp manta, sarkar vehval kharal manta (It was my mistake, what the Government says is true),” in response to the ‘awareness’ songs of the khikri troupes.

Unique instrument

The khikri is unique in that its three strings are actually finely wound horse hair.

The upper string or ‘dobi vari’ is made of 35 horse hair, the middle or ‘maduri vari’ is made of 30 and lower or ‘cheedi vari’ is made of 25 horse hair.

The ‘khujja’ is used to vibrate the strings, while the ‘dakki’ or small percussion instrument complements the notes of the khikri.

A troupe consists of the khikri playing singer, a dakki player and a chorus artiste.

Pendur Tukaram, one of the few remaining Thotti tribals who eke out a living by giving performances of khikri, sheds some light on why they are popular during the current campaign.

“The Thottis are bards of Gonds. We sing their ballads on occasions associated with their culture and religious beliefs. On some occasions we sing all through the night and no one from the audience gets up until the performance is finished,” said Prabhakar, whose audience list also comprises former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Bleak future

Only a handful of Thotti families follow their tradition these days. A dozen families live in Tosham in Gudihatnoor mandal while a few others are scattered in other agency mandals.

“Because our children are opting for education the tradition will soon come to an end. The younger generation does not learn from the elders any more,” said Tukaram, worried over the bleak future of the khikri tradition.

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