The construction of capital city in Thullur and surrounding villages in Guntur district is likely to be last nail in the coffin of Tamuku or tom-tom, the rural way of public announcement.
70-year old Gaddam Pedda Ankamma of Mandadam is worried about his livelihood ever since the State government announced that capital would be constructed in Thullur. He fears that he would be rendered jobless once the capital city was in place.
Even today he goes out with his ‘dappu’ or ‘thappeta’, a percussion instrument popular in the Andhra, to disseminate information in about 10 surrounding villages.
He sets off on his foot and completes the tom-tom, ‘tamuku’ or ‘chatimpu’ in local parlance, before sunset.
The villagers rely on him be it for informing that quota rice has arrived at fair price shop or request for a village assembly.
Vasanth, a graduate from the villager, recalls that his mother used to send him to fair price shop to fetch the rice only after tom-tom by Ankamma.
“I used to watch Ankamma curiously in his childhood. If Musilayya, (villagers fondly call him as Musilayya) comes there is a news for us,” he says.“I have been eking out my livelihood from tom-tom from 1955. The people pay me Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 a day for tom-tom,” he said. Ankamma says that he does not less than six to eight tamuku in a month.
The meagre earnings on tom-tom and old age pension were just enough to have a square meal a day.
“I would come on to streets if there was no tom-tom. The government has no plans for people like us though the farmers got alternative employment packages,” he laments.
Gaddam Pedda Ankamma is worried about his livelihood ever since the State announced that capital will be constructed at Thullur
