‘Roha dada roha ro, kandir ni shada roha ro....,’ Vetti Yovdhan, the Adivasi folk singer, urges tribal people to send their children to school. In his mellifluous voice made forceful thorough use of Gondi dialect, he explains to them and the youngster of course, the merits of getting educated.
For the kind of songs he sings, Yovdhan, should be made to display his art across the tribal area of Adilabad where people harbour no zeal towards education. His singing holds the promise of infusing that essential dose of enthusiasm; the Adivasis require to take to education.
Belonging to Pittabongaram village in Indervelli mandal, thesinger leads the first Adivasi cultural troupe in this district and participated in numerous governmental programmes until a decade ago. Through songs and dances, he propagated awareness on healthcare and literacy under different schemes run by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor, in the past.
“There is hardly any governmental work coming our way these days,” says the 49-year-old singer, as he displays the State-level Best Singer Award given to him by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on June 2 in connection with the first State Formation Day anniversary celebrations.
“In my own village, children need to be encouraged to attend classes,” he reveals driving home the point that his work continues to have relevance in the Adivasi world.
Yovdhan writes lyrics for the songs and composes music along with three others of his troupe, Chikram Ramu, Vetti Somnath and Vetti Shambhu. As two female members of the troupe moved to other villages owing to marriage, their performance is mostly limited to singing.
“I composed songs on education and culture, because I am experiencing the disadvantages of leaving education midway,” observes Yovdhan, who is class V dropout. “Through my songs, I tell the parents and their children the kind of difficulties, which can come in their way in case they remain uneducated,” he adds. “Jhalka nime vata, dhemsa nime yenda....” the singer breaks into another song, as he shifts his talk to the issue of protection of Adivasi culture.
“Through this song, I exhort the Adivasis, especially the younger generation, to sing and dance the traditional Dhimsa in order to understand the importance of our culture,” he explains.
