KOCHI: The popularity of kalakkatha — the folk title track from Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer Ayyappanum Koshiyum — sung by Nanjiyamma in her rustic voice, was a tribute to the acceptance tribal music is gathering in the state. Her popularity, in turn, put Irular, the indigenous community settled in Attappady she is part of, on the map.
The Archival and Research Project (ARPO), a group of young media professionals and academicians from the state, is on a mission to identify such hidden gems Kerala has to offer. They work with the state’s history, culture, and folklore. Their multimedia storytelling and digital archiving project titled Earthlore is documenting indigenous artforms that would otherwise soon become obsolete.
Apart from indigenous musicians who hail from the state, the collective is also bringing together national and international musicians to form a global ensemble. The team’s first musical venture features Kattunaikkars from Wayanad and Irulas from Attappadi.
Musicians like Charu Hariharan, her brother and playback singer Sreekanth Hariharan, Majeesh Karayad — winner of Kerala State Folklore Academy Award — and Julian Schoming, a US-based multi-instrumentalist, are all part of the lineup.
As a multi-percussionist, vocalist and music producer, the project was a learning curve for Charu. “It made me understand how music is an integral part of their life. Kattunaikkars and Irulas use music to celebrate. Personally, music makes me happy too. But they taught me it can bring people together. Earthlore is portraying the liberating music from these tribes, untampered,” she says.
Vishnu Namboodiri (live sound engineer), Adityan (assistant sound engineer) and Varun John (technical consultant) also pitched in for the project. For Earthlore, performances by 20 artists from two tribal communities were recorded. Julian polished them afterwards. Capturing so many elements candidly was a challenge, says Charu.
“Be it their instruments, vocals, or sounds of their village, we needed to record everything. But ensuring good quality sound was a challenge. Sometimes we had to even battle the wind!” she says. Irular speaks a Tamil-like dialect. Their instrument porai is similar to a drum. Kuzhal, a wind instrument, was also quite mesmerising for her. “Playing kuzhal requires intense breath control. Our western and eastern instruments are derivatives of these tribal pieces. So even modern musicians would benefit from learning about them,” adds Charu.
Majeesh Karayad, a tribal artist featured in Earthlore, said every tribe has its rhythm and sound. Their instruments are made from barks of trees or animal and reptile skins. “Dhavil, porai, jodimara, dampatta, gajje and chilanga are some of the percussion instruments they use,” says Majeesh.
Julian is quite excited to work on the tribal-western fusion too. “Though I am not Indian, I admire the country. I hope I can provide these indigenous communities from India and their music a global platform,” he says.
Preserving past
Nanjiyamma, who guided the Irular during Earthlore, says the popularity will help preserve the music of her community. “Tribal music can survive the test of time if it gets global representation. The current generation is reluctant to learn these traditional artforms as it won’t fetch them any livelihood. But if we can provide them profit and opportunities, they will take up tribal artforms and that would preserve them. Earthlore has got young members of our tribe excited,” she says. Raghu, a representative of Kattunaikkars, agrees. He believes their debut show in Kochi will open up many new avenues. “In 2015, we performed for other government projects. Such collaborations will create more exposure for our art. My life’s goal is to popularise our music and ensure the next generation can earn a livelihood from it,” he says.