Traditional folk arts get a boost, thanks to students

“Nothing is impossible if you are willing to put your best foot forward,” say students of Sri Durga Malleswara Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala (SDSM), who are busy rehearsing the traditional ‘Dappu’ dance.

A 10-member girl students’ team, which brought laurels to the institution by excelling in various national events, is all set to showcase its talent at the South Asia International Youth Festival scheduled to be held at Patiala in Punjab, from February 24 to 28.

“The team is representing India for the first time in the International Youth Festival. Our girls will compete with their counterparts from Sri Lanka, West Indies, Pakistan and other countries,” college Principal Tummala Vijaya Lakshmi, told

The Hindu on Friday.

The girls performed this colourful dance earlier at different occasions. “We performed this item at the recent World Telugu Conference, during the Sankranthi Sambaralu at Shilparamam, as part of national hockey opening ceremony, at the South Zone Inter-University Youth Festival and many such events and bagged prizes,” said M. Tejaswini, a degree student.

E. Swetha, yet another enthusiastic participant, explained that it was almost a year since they had been practising ‘Dappu’ dance and gave some 50-odd shows by now, which also in a way highlights the importance of Krishna district,” she said.

Traditional dance

“A number of instruments that generate a blend of enthralling music, such as sankham, Ramadolu, flute, kabbas, thudum, nagara, dhamarukam, dhanka, chidatalu, ghajjalu, taalam and thasa are used in this dance,” informed the college cultural coordinator M. Sarala Devi.

A group member P. Rachana is excited about the fact that in a 10-minute span, the dancers would present 10 different rhythms sporting the traditional pancha, talakattu, gajjalu on the drumbeats. “Performing the traditional dappu dance, also a folk dance form, will pave the way for exchange of culture with other countries. Initially, it was difficult to handle the drums and play instruments, which needed a lot of stamina, but gradually, we learnt to be at ease with them,” said another artiste B. Indraja.