Lok Sabha Question No. 142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Preservation of Tribal and Tamil Folk Art
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: P. Ravindhranath, Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya, Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Pradeep Kumar Singh, Shantanu Thakur

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 142 TH

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 SEPTEMBER, 2020

## PRESERVATION OF TRIBAL AND TAMIL FOLK ART

## 142.  SHRI P. RAVEENDRANATH KUMAR:

## Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Union  Government  has  initiated  to  protect  and  preserve  the  vanishing Tribal  and  Tamil  Folk  Art,  which  expresses  village  sensibilities  such  as  'Nattupura Pattu',  'Parai  (Thappu)',  'Villupattu'  etc.  towards  promoting  the  culture  of  Tamil Nadu;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the funds allocated for this purpose during the last six years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) & (b) To promote and preserve the folk art and culture including tribal, seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) were set up across the country under Ministry of Culture. South Zone Cultural Centre at Thanjavur protects, promotes and preserves the vanishing Tribal and Tamil Folk Art such as 'Nattupura Pattu', 'Parai (Thappu)', 'Villupattu' etc. towards promoting the culture of Tamil Nadu. SZCC invites artists in the fields of folk & tribal art from all over India including Tamil Nadu to perform in various cultural events conducted by them. Training is  also  being  given  by  SZCC  to  protect,  preserve  and  revive  the  various  dying  art  forms including  'Nattupura  Pattu',  'Parai  (Thappu)',  'Villupattu'  etc.  towards  promoting  the culture of Tamil Nadu under Guru Shishya Paramapara Scheme. In addition, various art forms viz. Bommalattam, Folk Theatre Festival, Modern Art & Biography, Arigar Anna, Folk Songs, Therukuthu and Kaniyan Koothu have also been documented by SZCC in Tamil Nadu.

Sangeet  Natak  Akademi  under  Ministry  of  Culture  designed  a  scheme  'Festival, Workshop & Exhibition' to establish/support festivals both at the regional and national levels to present classical, traditional, tribal and other forms of Indian performing arts in order to preserve art tradition in live practice and developing technique and creative process through performance and workshop, by holding and supporting music festivals, Seminars, Workshops & Exhibitions etc.

Under the said scheme, the Akademi invited Villupattu artists in Desaj (Celebrating the diverse cultural tradition of India) Festival held at Kochi in 2018 and Lok Pratibha (Festival of Young Artists) held at Delhi in 2019.

Besides Villupattu of Tamil Nadu, the Akademi presented Karagattam, Kavadi Attam, Poikkaal Kuthirai Aatam, Devarattam, Kai Silambu Attam and other art forms of Tamil Nadu in the various folk and tribal festivals organized by the Akademi.

(c) No  separate  or  dedicated  fund  is  allocated  specifically  for  this  purpose  to  various organizations under Ministry of Culture but Zonal Cultural Centres and other organizations like  Sangeet  Natak  Akademi  utilize  the  grants/funds  allocated  to  them  from  Ministry  of Culture  for  organizing  programmes  including  programmes  on  the  vanishing  Tribal  &  Tamil Folk Art. The funds allocated to all the seven ZCCs and SZCC in particular during the last six years are as below:

| Sl. No.   | Years   |   Funds released to all seven ZCCs |   (Rs. in lakh) Funds released to SZCC |
|-----------|---------|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| i.        | 2014-15 |                            3974.88 |                                 336.1  |
| ii.       | 2015-16 |                            6834.33 |                                 560.56 |
| iii.      | 2016-17 |                            6085.07 |                                 841.27 |
| iv.       | 2017-18 |                            4686.71 |                                 529.05 |
| v.        | 2018-19 |                            5952.69 |                                 513.45 |
| vi.       | 2019-20 |                            5732.35 |                                 639.26 |