Medaram Jatara, classic blend of rusticity, devotion, hi-tech gadgets

##SMALL-IMAGE#Medaram (Warangal): The biannual Sammakka Saralamma Jatara celebrated at Medaram in deep forests of SS Tadwai mandal in Warangal district is a classic blend of rusticity, devotion and ultra-modern technology at work.

The number of devotees attending the Jatara crossing a crore in a time span of just a few weeks is spectacular and awe-inspiring by all means. The faith and devoutness set in a most rustic form is catered by state-of-the-art services on a massive scale to match the enormous size of pilgrims come here from all over the country.

From the queue lines stretched into kilometres to the number of officials and employees serving the devotees, from a tiny hamlet with just hundreds of residents assuming the proportion of a mega town with millions of faithful seems magical phenomena. The Jatara, which began as a simple offering celebration of faith by tribals eight hundred years ago, now moved ahead of its time. Top notch mobile apps, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, drone mounted cameras, high end LED screens and even helicopter services to ferry the devotees and VIPs have become part of the Jatara now.

Nevertheless, the rustic goddesses and their devotees rustic form worship have not changed a bit. “Despite all these hi-tech gadgets at work we strive to keep our traditions and customs intact as they are our greatest treasure,” said Medaram Jatara Committee Chairman Kaka Lingaiah.

Though the event is mainly called a tribal fest, over the past decades the towns’ folk from all castes and creeds have owned it making the celebration become universal in nature. ‘Many feel that the Jatara is just meant for fun and frolicking but the devotion to nature and to the goddesses is the elementary aspect of all,’ he explains.

Though the number of towns’ folk worshipping the deities grew it is the presence of Muriyas, Dhurves, Gonds, Gothikoyas, Chenchus, Koyas and Nayakpods from of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana that adds beauty to Medaram Jatara. Explaining the phenomenon of rise in the number of towns’ folk at the Jatara, an Associate Professor at Kakatiya University, K Damodar Rao says that major cultures eating up minor cultures is a common feature.

‘It happens all over the world, but retaining the fundamental manner of worship as desired by the tribal population is the key to preserve the purity and sanctity of the celebration,’ he added.

By James Edwin