Gangireddu, a fading tradition

Warangal: Festive spirit soared high as the skyline got dotted with the myriad colours of kites while the terrain looked like a Kashmiri carpet with Rangoli all over it, this Sankranti. All that pomp and gaiety was there… but the charm of the harvest festival - ‘Gangireddu’ – appeared missing gradually as the years were gone by.

The festive ambience of Makara Sankranti, which includes – the Bhogi, massive Rangolis, Gobbemmalu, Gangireddulu, Haridasus, Bommala Koluvu and kites, is in danger of losing its sheen. The yells of – “Ayyagariki dandam pettu, ammagariki dandam pettu” by the heavily-dressed Gangireddulodu were missing, so was “Krishnarpanam” by Haridasu, giving evidence of changing times.

The fetes of the Gangireddu, the ceremonial bull is decorated with bells and colored clothes, are delightful to watch. It dances to the music, kneels down, bows and nods its head as its master orders. “It’s difficult to eke a livelihood,” said 52-year-old Pothula Mallaiah, a resident of Mupparam, stating that all his relatives turned into farm labourers. Very few of them come out during the festival just for the sake of keeping the tradition alive, he added.

“In my younger days, school managements used to call us for performance,” he said, pointing to the lack of patronage to his profession. Though the festival was marked with competitions in kite-flying and Rangoli, only a few households in Warangal had come up with ‘Bommala Koluvu’. As villages continue to shrink, it appears that future offers little for the traditions unless there was some initiative to hold the quintessence of Teluguness.

By:A Mahender