National tribal fest in city from today

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Limited, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India is organising the 10-day National tribal festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ from October 27 to November 5 at Shilparamam premises.

The tribes constitute over 8% of the country’s population. This is a very significant number. In real terms it corresponds to over 10 crore Indians. As the name of this event Aadi Mahotsav suggests, it is the ‘aadi’ factor that is important about them. The Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. The greatness of the tribes lies in this that they have managed to retain the primal skills, the natural simplicity.

Their creations issue from the depths of time. This quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The crudest tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us. This is particularly true of tribal music and dance.

The tribes of India have a wide range of handicrafts. These include handwoven cotton, wool and silk fabrics, woodcrafts, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, masques and other objects. They also produce compelling paintings. It is true that the tribes did not develop these arts and handicrafts for the market. They developed them for their own captive use. But we all live in a changing world. Nobody can remain unaffected by these changes. Not even the tribes.

Like all of us, the tribes too now need cash for sundry purposes. It is therefore important that their natural skills must be channelled to promote their sources of income. It is for this reason that the government seeks to promote interaction between the tribal artisans and the mainstream designers from reputed design organizations. This festival is a great opportunity for tribal people to showcase their talent to the world.