North Andhra folk artistes to perform at Jaipur national festival

Folk artistes from Vizianagaram and other parts of the North Andhra region will travel to Jaipur, Rajasthan, to perform at the national folk arts event called Lok Mandhan-2026. The festival is scheduled to take place from December 4 to December 6.

Festival Details

Badri Kurmarao, president of the Gidugu Ramamurthy Telugu Bhasha and Janapada Kalapeetham and head of the Lok Mandhan-AP chapter, announced the participation details. He stated that folk performers require backing from both society and the government to keep traditional epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata alive through music, dance, and other art forms. The festival itself takes place every two years in a different state to bring attention to the struggles and concerns of folk performers across the country. Ahead of the main event, several folk artistes from Jaipur recently displayed their talent at the heritage house of writer Gurajada Apparao in Vizianagaram.

Demands

During the gathering in Vizianagaram, leaders of various groups including Epu Vijaya Kumar, P. Shanmukha Rao, Behara Raja Rao, and B. Surya Lakshmi raised several requests for the community. They appealed to the government to increase monthly pensions for folk performers. They also suggested that temples across the nation should adopt folk arts as a way to protect and preserve traditional Indian heritage and culture.

Context

Traditional folk arts serve as a vital medium for passing down historical epics and cultural values through generations in India. Events like national festivals help give regional performers a bigger platform to reach audiences outside their home states and highlight their financial needs to policymakers.