Telangana govt felicitates two elderly women folk singers of Adilabad

Adilabad: Two elderly Adivasi women folk singers belonging to Adilabad district were felicitated by the department of Women and Child Welfare for their outstanding contributions to the field of tribal music on the occasion of International Women’s Day. They were presented with a cash award of Rs 1 lakh each. They received the award from tribal welfare minister Satyavathi Rathod at a programme held in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

They were Marsakola Kalavathi, a resident of Thosam village in Gudihathnoor mandal and Madavi Drupati Bai, a native of Muthnoor village in the same mandal. Saraswthi mesmerises audiences with her mellifluous voice and powerful rendition. She can render over thirty mythological, ritual and historical narratives of the Adivasi Gond and Kolam tribes dwelling in erstwhile Adilabad and adjoining districts of Maharashtra.

The 52-year old is one of the few Thoti and Pardhan bards who can recite these stories in full. She is a rare female who has risen to the level of a lead bardic singer with great ease thanks to the teaching she received from her father late Thodasam Bheem Rao, a renowned Thoti artiste. Usually, the lead singer is always a male among Thoti and Pardhan bards. Drupata Bai, an 80 year old singer can sing women’s songs of Gond adivasis, preserving the cultural, mythological, and religious-ritual heritage of their great tribe. Drupata Bai is a fine repository of such songs and narratives. She has recorded the great mythological stories of Jangubai and Kelapur Nagoba for All India Radio, Adilabad which are 15 to 20 hour long puranas.

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