Residential schools: Government plans for preserving art and culture in regions with tribals majority

The name of legendary tribal archer Ekalavya will soon become synonymous with residential schools in each block of the country where tribals constitute a majority of the population. This was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his – Budget speech 2018 | Read the full report in The Hindu 1 February 2018 >>

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Eklavya, the ‘other’ guru: Why Bheel and Bhilala archers don’t use right thumbs

Dronacharya and Arjun, the ‘guru-shishya’ duo from the Indian epic Mahabharata, occupy a special place in the hearts of the masses. But not for Bheels and Bhilalas who revere Eklavya — the archer prodigy immortalised for cutting off his right hand’s thumb as ‘guru dakshina’ to Dronacharya. […]

Alirajpur [Madhya Pradesh] is predominantly a tribal district with more than 91% of the 7.28-plus lakh population (as per the 2011 Census) comprising tribals. Bhilalas and Bheels add up to around 95% of the tribal population in the district. […]

“Every Bhilala is a born archer who starts wielding bow and arrows at a tender age of 6-7 to guard flocks of goats from predators,” said Mahesh, also the officiating district Congress party chief of Alirajpur.

“Even on a funeral pyre, ‘Teer-Kamthi’ accompanies every Bhilala. The ‘Bilki’ (burnt metallic edge of the arrows) is kept in the house as a good omen,” he said. Weapons of trouble? […]

Source: Eklavya, the ‘other’ guru: Why Bheel and Bhilala archers don’t use right thumbs | Hindustan Times
Address : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bheel-and-bhilala-archers-don-t-use-right-thumbs-as-a-mark-of-respect-to-eklavya/story-2kzfres5QfzacBEEc9MV2M.html
Date Visited: 17 January 2022

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Learn more

• Alirajpur
• Mahabharata
• Martial arts
• Video | Ekalavya discussed in an interview with noted Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Story Of Ekalavya

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3D Animation For Children forms the best Mahabharat Short Movie In Hindi from Kids Cartoon Movies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTklPDAp0No

Ekalavya: a Classic Allegory

Re-Visiting Ekalavya’s Story’ by Subodh Singh Tirupati is a potent and loaded montage of drawings, paintings, and sculptures, aligning the episode of Ekalavya in the Mahabharata, to the Santal Revolt of 1855 and, the contemporary issue of Soni Sori, the Adivasi activist. Through, this exhibition he brings to the fore the subaltern communities systematic and consistent marginalizing of the tribes. Therefore, documented history cannot be relayed upon as it has been researched and reviewed that such documentation is biased.

Based on the narrative of Ranajit Guha’s book, titled, ‘Dominance without Hegemony: History and power in colonial India’ the exhibition’s premise is power struggle. As Guha’s narrative is at the crux of ‘Re-Visiting Ekalavya’s Story’, the show is embedded with social, political and cultural overtones. And, ultimately it is about attempting to create an unbiased Indian historiography. […]

The medium used by the artist also becomes the message of his work. The artist, in this case, used the parchment leather to drive his point home. For example, the Santhal revolt of 1855 A.D., which was suppressed by the colonial rulers in the first stage and further suppressed by colonial writers and later marginalized by the national elite historiography.

Finding a parallel in history and the parchment leather the artist expresses unuttered realities of a different period. […]

Source: “Ekalavya: a Classic Allegory” by Atiya Amjad, The New Express, Hyderabad, 24th October 2017
https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2017/oct/24/ekalavya-a-classic-allegory-1682026.html
Date visited: 17 April 2018

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