The biker Mowgli...
When young Jothi Viknesh, a former student of The American College embarked on a biking journey to document the folk dances of India, life came a full circle for him. “I am basically a Zumba dancer conducting classes and shows. Only two years ago, I realised my passion for bikes. After doing few biking trips, I wanted to take my passion forward with a purpose. That's when my interest in dance got rekindled and this time, it was the folk dances,” says Viknesh, who has travelled to over 500 villages across 20 states in India, learning about various local dance forms.
Called the India Dance Trail, Viknesh has clocked over 12,000 kilometres in two phases, going in search of nondescript hamlets and dancers. “Some of my routes were planned as I had read about some dances that are famous in certain places, like the Karagam or Oyilattam. But I also took detours and sometimes stumbled upon tribal settlements and discovered a dance there. For example, on our way to Bellary, we happened to see a Lambani village and took a short break there. Incidentally, we found out that the Lambani women dance for occasions at home,” he says. “Last month, I did a trail for 20 days in Karnataka, travelling 50 odd villages. Almost every place had some kind of an indigenous performance art and it was heartening to learn about them. Documenting them includes learning the myth or history behind the dance, the community that performs them, the costumes, steps and the occasion on which they are staged.”
Viknesh expresses concern that many of these folk dances are on the verge of getting lost. “There are fewer dancers these days and the arts is becoming a thing of the past. The youth are not interested in learning and the old performers are forgetting the nuances of it due to lack of patronage.” For instance, Maankombattam is actually a martial art which is now only performed as a dance, that too restricted to remote areas of Kanyakumari district. Likewise, the Devarattam and Urumi melam of Kodangipatti near Aruppukottai is a dying dance form.
“In North Karnataka, there's a whole village of transgender dancers who perform during festivals. The versatile performers do both male and female roles, enacting stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, there's little or no recognition for them and they are paid meagre wages,” rues Viknesh. “Many a times, we were referred by dancers to other places of importance. We documented dances like Bhoothakola, Pujakunitha and Dollu Kunitha in the nearby area, before going in search of Karadi Vadhyam, another performance art.”
“Tribals like Gorukana and Soligaru have different dances for various occasions, but they don’t teach anyone else as the art form is specific to their community. This is also a major reason for the folk dances getting lost,” he says. “Apart from documenting them, I plan to bring these dancers to the cities for performances and help them earn money. The other way of helping them is by taking the city dwellers to the villages to experience the performances. I would like to start by taking people from the biking subculture.”
Viknesh says that biking has given a new dimension to his life. “Riding a bike is not just about the pleasure and philosophy of travelling, but also making a difference in someone's life.” “I realised it last year, when I was riding somewhere near Kanpur. I rescued a baby monkey from a truck driver, fed it and took good care of it. The animal got so attached that it travelled with me on the bike from Kanpur to Bangalore for three weeks. Sometimes, it would cling on to my back or sit on the helmet while I rode,” says Viknesh. “I felt like Mowgli. In the villages I visited, people started worshipping it as Lord Hanuman. Later, I dropped it at a wildlife rescue centre in Bangalore.”
