A historian and a professor of a school along with his students and others are paying
tribute to the old culture and ways of the past. Their tribute is to the Velip tribal
community of South Goa, where the students are replicating the ‘Velip
Bhailancho Khel’- a recreational activity by the women of that tribe.
While in the modern world, the activity is
termed as folk dance, for the tribals, it is ‘strictly ‘khell’ and they even
say ‘ khelta’ to describe these rituals.
Dr Rohit Phalgaonkar, who has done his PhD
on the history of ancient Goa based on sculptures, is the one who is leading
this and hopes it does its part in allowing the younger generation to learn
about the forgotten culture.
His students from Purushottam Walawalkar
Higher Secondary School recently won the first place at the All Goa Folk Dance
Competition. The event was organised by Kamlavati Ravalnath Sanskrutik Kala
Mandal in association with the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of
Goa.
Their tribal folk performance bagged
similar other awards in the past such as at the Youth Zonal Festival, among
others.
“I had to put up a deep research to set this dance. From their
ornaments and dress to the robust movements that are seen in the tribal folk,
everything had to be introduced to the city students, who had not even seen
tribal village life. The original jewellery is extinct and is no longer
available. But from description and oral evidence, I drew some sketches to find
out what exactly was worn as there is no work available on Goan tribal attire,”
says Rohit.
He points out that he had to use references from the village
elders of the community based in Canacona and even in parts of Karwar to get
the attire right, especially with regard to the drapery. He gave examples of
how their traditional sarees are designed and the type of jewellery and
accessories used.
Rohit adds that all credit should go to the students who
performed it so well without any hesitation, from wearing the costumes to the
actual performance. He also thanked the support staff and others who helped the
students with the preparations. “I tried to train them to show the city
students that we also have a culture like this,” states Rohit, while adding
that even though these kinds of activities may no longer be popular, they still
are an important part of the state’s heritage and must be preserved.
It
is to be noted that his students have also managed to perform the ‘Bhonvaado’
of Khorjuve, which is on the verge of extinction. “This difficult dance form is
the only dance form of Goa that is performed by wearing dhols around their
necks,” says Rohit.
