Who says folk arts are a passé? College students love folk arts if response to folk artistes at Maris Stella College were any indication.
The college organised a show of few folk arts as part of its golden jubilee celebrations here on Tuesday. The departments of languages, history and mathematics, in their endeavour to encourage the dying native arts, provided an opportunity to the folk troupes to display their talent, who gave more than their due in the form of an excellent performance.
No shouting from rooftops, no blaring promotion, still the shows were swarmed with audience. Thappeta gullu, burra katha and janapada geethalu breathed in a whiff of traditional air into the otherwise academic environs.
The thappeta gullu by N. Satyam and his team from Bobbili surely enthralled the audience, as the artistes were cheered with claps and resounding applauses for every scintillating feat and performance. Satyam danced to the tunes of tappeta (a kind of drum) on eggs kept in a tray. The ground resounded with claps as he showed that eggs did not break. Janapada geethalu (folk songs) by Damodara Ganapati Rao was another attraction. ‘Adavi talli ki dandaloo…”, “Nalla nagulamma…” were some of the songs that compelled the audience to tap their feet. The NSS volunteers proved beyond doubt that students still cherish folk songs by singing ‘Amma bayalellinaade..”
The students bursted into peels of laughter as Premanandam and his team blended comedy in burra katha in praise of the country. Komaretti Eraiah and team's garaga nrityam, and puppet show by students of journalism department, Acharya Nagarjuna University, were other attractions.
