Tribes from across state perform in Pune for Ganeshotsav, are disappointed by response

Mukunda Padvi said, “On our part, we preserve our culture in rural areas, but it should reach more places and others should understand it too."

Mukunda Padvi of Warli tribe, who hails from Surgana Tehsil of Nashik, performed the Pavri dance with his troupe of around 22 people in Pune. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

On the first day of Ganesh festival processions, Mukunda Padvi of Warli tribe, who hails from Surgana Tehsil of Nashik, performed the Pavri dance with his troupe of around 22 people in Pune.

Padvi was among the 120 people from different tribes hailing from different parts of the state that were invited to Pune to create a platform for them during the festival by Universal Tribes, a company established in 2017 to empower and uplift tribal communities in India. The founder, Rajat Raghatwan, however, told The Indian Express that they didn’t get a good response. “If we had got more opportunities, we could have done even better,” Padvi said.

As of monday, the groups got bookings from only two Ganesh Mandals on the first two days of the festival and one booking for the last day. “They have all returned to their hometowns and will be back on for the performance on the last day. We tried to contact approximately 35 mandals, but people were saying they don’t have the budget. People showed willingness at the earlier stage and two days ago, they asked for discounts, which brought the amount down from Rs 80,000 to Rs 20,000. Artists should get the respect they deserve, their art should be valued,” said Raghatwan

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As a test move, Raghatwan had in 2019 invited only one pathak, and at that time since there was only one pathak, they had got a response. This year, Raghatwan worked with Uday Jagtap, vice president, Adarsh Mitra Mandal, to plan a joint procession of 11 mandals in Dhankawadi as a message of unity. The procession saw the participation of 120 people from Gulab Nagar Chowk till the last bus stop of Dhankawadi, and highlighted traditions of cultural heritage tribes of the state.

“The idea of inviting people from different tribes from various parts of the state was to introduce the city to folk dances and culture. It would also add to the earnings of these artists. Right now people face issues like noise pollution due to DJ systems. It was in a way a solution and a new way to look at the city,” Jagtap said.

Jagtap said that while people gave a good response to the initiative, mandals were not ready to invest citing lack of funds and were more inclined to have DJs. “Change is slow, so you can’t expect a grand response at the outset,” said Jagtap.

The tribes that Raghatwan got on board were — the Thakar and Warli tribe from Mokhada district (Saakhar Shet) of Palghar, which performed the Tarpa dance; The Koli Mahadev tribe from Junnar district, which gave a lezim performance; the Thakar tribe from Akole district which performed a Kambad dance; and the Konkana Warli tribe from Nashik district, with a pawri dance performance.

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Padvi said, “On our part, we preserve our culture in rural areas, but it should reach more places and others should understand it too.”

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