People in Adilabad erupted in joy on Wednesday when the State government announced Ugadi Puraskaram for Kala Ashram founder Ravinder Sharma, popularly known as Guruji. The award could not have come at a more appropriate time as scores of people from different walks of life have started gathering at the Kala Ashram for the annual three-day Ugadi ‘mitr milan’ being organised between March 20 and 22.
Recipient of the Kala Ratna award from Andhra Pradesh Government in 2012, Guruji deserves the award under the category of Kala Ashram as the place which he established in 1979 eventually emerged as a prime destination for those seeking in depth knowledge about traditional societies. He is a walking repository of knowledge on India’s traditional rural technologies, its social dynamics including the cohesion between different segments of the society, its economics, arts and culture, and speaks to audiences from across the country. The 62-year-old trained sculptor, acquired immense knowledge about different aspects of rural life by moving and interacting mostly with the artisan communities in a radius of about 20 km around Adilabad townThe Kala Ashram was actually established to serve as an asylum for destitute and ignored artisans but evolved in a knowledge centre in due course. It hosted some very important events connected with artisans like the Karigar Panchayat in 2008.
