What is the best way the Karnataka Janapada Parishath can commemorate the birth centenary of the late H.L. Nage Gowda, the IAS officer who was passionate about folklore?
Make his work available to the public and thus fulfil his dream, of course.
“100 hours of precious folk music are now available on CDs. They are from the meticulously preserved and edited rural melodies that Gowda painstakingly recorded. He always wanted to share them,” says Sarvamangala, studio head of the parishath. “The recordings are part of his massive archival collection that he dedicated to the parishath,” she says.
Gowda, who passed away in 2007, started the parishat in 1979. He travelled the length and breadth of Karnataka for nearly 60 years in pursuit of his life’s mission to collect, preserve, propagate and document folklore.
The result: 1,000 hours of folk music featuring nearly 3,000 artistes.
“His travel gear consisted of spools, cassettes, recorders, cells and microphones, apart from his medicines. His hobby was to get folk artistes from isolated and inaccessible parts of villages and request them to sing for his personal collection, which was pooled in the parishath’s archives,” recalls Mr. Sarvamangala who worked with him for 16 years.
The CDs contain folk songs based on Male Madeshwara Kavya sung by Kamsale Chamaiah, and Mantheswami Kavya sung by Neelagara Kebbepura Rachaiah.
The songs praising cultural folk champions such as Gunasaagari, Madagada Kenchamma, Kalingaraya and Keralimatti Kashibai are sung by nearly 300 renowned folk artistes, featuring Halakki Vokkaligas, Soligas, Lambanis and Sudugadu Siddas.
