‘Nera Thinka’, the tribal art, food, medicine, and literature festival organised by the Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (KIRTADS) concluded at its campus in Kozhikode on March 18 (Monday) on a high note. The seven-day festival that began on March 12 saw hundreds of people visiting the campus to take part in the festivities and experience the remedial properties of tribal medicine.
The tribal medical camp organised as part of the festival had noted tribal medical practitioners such as Sasidharan Kani, Mallan Kani, Mayil Swamy, Vanchiyamma, Maruthan, Veluswami K.P., Suresh K.A., Balakrishnan Vaidyar, Bhaskaran M and Biju N.P. from all over the State. The herbal steam bath arranged as part of the camp had many takers daily.
The tribal literature festival organised for the first time made ‘Nera Thinka’ different from its previous versions. The literature festival that was inaugurated by M. Dasan, Dean of the Central University in Kasargod on Wednesday. Writers Sukumaran Chaligadda, Vasudevan Cheekkallur, and transgender activist Prakrithi were present. The discussions on the following days stressed the need to encourage tribal literature by promoting translations in different languages.
The five food stalls from Wayanad, Palakkad, and Thiruvananthapuram districts were the crowd pullers over the last week, featuring traditional cuisine including tubers, millet based food items, and native drinks.
Cultural programmes such as Karimpala dance, Davilayyam, Mangalam Kali, Eruthu Kali, Paliya dance, Vattakkali, Obela dance, Irula dance, Chonan Kali, and Kurumba dance were performed as part of the festival.
The valedictory ceremony on Monday was inaugurated by poet Bindu Damodaran, social worker Nanchan Mannookkaran, Folklore artist Prajod Irulam, and medical practitioner Mallan Kani.
