Painted with stripes, heavy makeup and narrow strip of cloth, the handful of dancers dressed as tigers dance to the tune of mridangam, dappu and other traditional musical instruments.
As the folk dancers popular as ‘puli vesham’ artists pull a pot full of water with their teeth to give the feel of ferocious nature of the wild beast, a motley crowd of people from nearby villages greet them with claps and whistles near Marela in Kotnapalli panchayat of Hukumpeta mandal.
Dhimsa, another popular form of dance mostly among tribals of Chompi near Araku valley, is in high demand for any festive occasion. But this time due to election fear and heightened security arrangements due to Maosist threat, the candidates prefer either to campaign at roadside villages and weekly shandies or by organising Dhimsa dances to attract voters.
Nagini dance, mango dance, horse dance, tappetagullu and other traditional dances are being organised at various places providing good entertainment to the tribals as well as an opportunity for the candidates to reach out to the voters in an effective way as the deadline to campaign is fast nearing.
Group leader of Girijana Dhimsa Dance K. Parasuram told The Hindu that whether it is a big festival like Dasara or ‘itikula pandaga’ (brick festival), tribals always celebrate them with pomp gaiety. ‘Itikula pandaga’ is celebrated as a reverence to Pandavas and local deities Telupalamma, Modukondamma, Bodakondamma, Parvathamma and Modamamba by displaying seeds collected by the tribals during monsoon.
All the main candidates are liberally spending funds for the traditional dancers this time. Former sarpanch of Gannela Murdana Kamala said it is good that even the dancers are getting good remuneration.
While Dhimsa dance troupe consists of 12 to 16 women members, tiger dance is performed by three or four able-bodied men. "Generally tribals as part of their culture specialise in certain form of dance. As they celebrate festivals regularly, they make it a point to dance and enjoy feast organised on such occasions," pointed out S. Balaraju, founder of Nature, an NGO which works for well-being of tribals in North Andhra.
He said for Dhimsa dance, a troupe on an average gets ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 for its performance and for an outstation trip, the organisers have to bear travel, food and other expenses. When there is more demand during New Year, Sankranti and other festive occasions, the remuneration also goes up.