Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

In harmony with rural life

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

MOUNTAIN MELODIES: Badaga singers performing at the British Council in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Singing songs to pass time, the Badagas watched over their cattle as they fed on the vast green lands of the Nilgiri mountains.

The lawns of the British Council in the city came alive recently with Badaga song and dance as a small group had come down from the Nilgiris to perform for the city dwellers. Dressed completely in white from head to foot (turban, dhoti, shirt and angavasthram), the all-male group sang to the accompaniment of a harmonium, drums, cymbals and a bamboo pipe.

The Badagas are the largest native group in the Nilgiris, numbering over 2 lakh and comprise six major sub groups of Wodeas, Kongaru, Haruvas, Adikaris, Kanakkas, Gaudas and Toreas. The lyrics sing the praises of Goddesses Gangamma and Heththe, talk about the misfortunes of the villagers and a drought that lasted for 7 years.

While those familiar with Kannada thought they were listening to that language, it was not quite so. It was Badagu, long believed to be a dialect of Kannada. The songs had uncomplicated rhythms and simple tunes with high morality and righteousness.

One song, ‘Melle Mellena’, told the tale of how tragedy strikes in the form of a water dispute at a buffalo herding camp.

“For the Badagas, music and dance are spontaneous expressions of their good and bad times. There is music in every aspect of their life. For them, the sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts, ” explained Dharmalingam Venugopal, honourary director, Sulivan Memorial, managed by the Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC), NGOs, a committee of officials and supported by the Development Promotion Group (DPC), Chennai.

The programme was organised by the NDC, Sullivan Memorial, The Nilgiris and Association of British Scholars, and sponsored by The Hindu, Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society and DPC.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

‘Education U.K.’ exhibition opens in Chennai today
Rakesh Sharma shares his experiences with students
Dismal participation at marathon
Get your rental lingo right
In harmony with rural life
Japanese grant for Wayanad campaign
Go ahead with Sethu project, Left parties urge Centre
Technology’s role in tackling climate change highlighted
Plan panel agrees to provide Rs. 16,000 crore for State
AIADMK members stage demonstration
Companies urged to be ready for “global innovator economy”
Japanese grant for Karnataka NGO
Magic memory named Venkatesh Ramesh
Youth advised to learn Sanskrit
Consumer forum directs bank to pay compensation
BSNL urged to brace up to face challenges
Attack on police station: “Karunanidhi should assume full responsibility”
More alert for testing times
Meet the man of many talents
“Queen’s English model no longer relevant”
Kamal Haasan honours fans
Stench of biomedical waste stalks yards
Waste management strewn with unkept promises
Rescheduled
Three held for abducting youth
Drive against spurious packaged water
Students told to strive to become job-providers
No proper guidelines yet on e-waste disposal City Pulse
Water supply likely to be affected near Padi junction
10-year RI for two drug peddlers
Japanese grants sanctioned for grassroots-level projects
Swamy flays Left on nuclear deal
Chennai today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu