A message of social reforms is narrated in the practice of ‘Bhoota Kola’ (spirit worship) and it is unfortunate that this culture was dying out, said Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M. Veerappa Moily in Mangalore on Sunday.
Addressing the gathering during the release of the Konkani translation of his Kannada novel ‘Tembare’ at the World Konkani Centre here, Mr. Moily said that Bhoota Kola was the folklore of Tulunadu and it was unfortunate that it was not being passed on to the younger generation.
“There were revolutionary thoughts in the writing. Though mostly practised by illiterates, it has important messages.
“In one story, it is about landlords being told to help the poor; and in another, a curse is placed on a family because they demanded dowry. These need to be studied and the messages learnt,” he said.
While the Konkani Sahitya Academy was a “model” for the way they propagate the language, he lamented that the same was not being done for Tulu.
“Within 30 years, India will obtain demographic dividend, where the average age in the country will be 29. There will be a need to propagate culture and develop character, and Tuluva culture can provide this,” he said.
Mr. Moily’s book ‘Tembare’, translated into Konkani by Goa-based Ramesh Lad, begins at Basavakalyana and traces the journey of two brothers and the philosophy of bhootaradhane or spirit worship.
The minister said though it is a work of fiction, the book was written after gathering information through interviews and research.
Basti Vaman Shenoy, Sardar, Vishwa Konkani Sardar, said the novel catalogued the folklore of Tulunadu and Tulu culture.
He said his organisation would start making efforts to get the book translated to Malayalam.
Future works
Finding time early in the morning and late in the night to write his books, the Minister said a Kannada book ‘Yuga-vandhye Yagnaseni’ will be released within six months.
Currently in the editing stages, the book focuses on Draupadi, which he called the “woman of the world”, written as an epic in the same vein as his previous Kannada book ‘Ramayana Mahanveshnam’.
Also in the editing stage was an English book ‘Quest for justice’, which is the fifth in the ‘Unleashing India’ series, the Union Minister said.
