Jamshedpur, Nov. 20: The curtains came down on Samvaad 2019 today. It marked the end of 5 days of deliberations, cultural performances, tribal music and overall celebrations. The concluding day saw performances from the States of Kerala, Tripura, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.
Coming to the events of the Day, at the Gopal Maidan, the Irula tribe from Kerala performed the “Kambalam cheeru”. The song that accompanies the performance is derived from the vocal tradition in which the rhythm begins with four instruments. The performance is symbolic of the ups and downs that the people of the community share. The instruments used were the pere, dhabi, kokal, jalra. Then came the Mamita dance performed during the harvest festival of Tripuri people. The Mamita festival is held during Durgapuja or Osa Mutai.
The evening moved on to the Rabha tribe from Assam who presented the Sathar dance which is performed during the Baiko festival. The Sathar song is an important genre of the love songs of the Rabha society. It is generally sung during the Baiko festival, The unmarried young boys and girls come together, sing, dance and make merry. The Sathar songs are actually exquisite love poems.
Moving on to Nagaland, the word Chakhesang is an acronym formed by the letters derived from the names of three Naga groups. The Chakesang tribe from Nagaland performed the Chakesang Warrior Dance. It is performed post-harvest since ancient times. The Chakesang Nagas looked distinct in their headgears and colourful shawls.
Moving next to Shillong, the Summersalt Band has already embarked on a journey that prepares the it to experiment newer heights from the Blues And The Pinch of Rock to the elements of Jazz and the energy of indigenous music. Sitting on the laps of the Khasi hills Summersalt is known to have crisscrossed genres. The songs both in Khasi and English raise questions on issues facing the society today. The instruments are a mix of standards and some less known house tools of the indigenous group they represent which is the Khasi community. Summersalt is honoured to have shared its place with the custodian of the hill culture as the message embedded in the songs reflects the life, the history and the struggles, the joys the fears, the hope and the future of the people. The band was part of a Bollywood collaboration working with Industry�s best names such as Javed Akhtar, Usha Uthup, Farhan Akhtar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in production of the musical drama Rock On 2. The band is currently working on music direction of another Bollywood film and has taken many corporate and government projects.
The Programme concluded with the Changemakers� Walk- a walk by the tribal people who are bringing a change in their society, one step at a time, day after day.
Earlier in the day, the schedule of activities at the Tribal Culture Centre was similar to the previous day though the deliberations were different. At the TCC the proceedings began with soul-searching and establishing the context for the day’s theme. This was followed by shared learnings from incredible tales of collective struggle, as well as the sacrifices and successes, among tribal communities. The theme for Samvaad this year was ‘Tribalism Today�.
The Gopal Maidan saw great crowds at the 40handicraft and 20 Healers outlets. With regard to tribal cuisines, the participants brought forth 125 tribal cuisines for public sale at the tribal cuisine counter Aatithya at Gopal Maidan. Distinguished food bloggers, hoteliers and senior professionals were invited to taste tribal cuisines curated for them. Sessions and workshops on government policies and schemes for start-ups were held for these tribes to show them the road ahead into entrepreneurship.
