The revival of a dying legacy

In a small village near Medak lives Bheemudu and his troupe. In a year, they go to at least 10 villages with their 14-metre Nakashi scrolls in hand while carrying the legacy of their centuries-old storytelling tradition on their shoulders, without realising the importance of their art form, Kakipadagala Kathalu.

In an attempt to bring the focus back on dying art forms, the Telangana State Cultural Department, along with filmmakers, have come up with a series of documentaries and Kakipadagala Kathalu is one of them. Director Akshara Kumar took three months to research on the troupes of artistes who tell the stories of the 18 chapters in the Mahabharata. Akshara says, “Centuries ago, these artistes told stories to people from the Mudiraj caste,” he explains. However, what was once was a thriving art form today has barely 250 performers all over Telangana.”

This oral tradition is very similar to the 15 other oral storytelling art forms. “A troupe typically has eight members: Two main storytellers and six musicians.

They don’t get paid much and so it is on a decline,” explains Akshara, who followed two troupes in Medak and Warangal for his documentary. According to the artistes, this tradition began sometime during the Kakatiya dynasty. “There is an interesting story behind the name of this art form,” says Venkateshwarulu, a PhD scholar, who did his thesis on the art form.

“There was a man who is believed to have belonged to the Mudiraj caste who used to guard a farm. He had a tiff with a goldsmith, who then sent a crow to destroy the farm, but the guard shot it down with an arrow. However, his parents banished him from home for killing the crow and asked him to make a living by telling stories. That is the legend behind kakipadagala katha (kaki means crow and katha means stories).” 

Bheemudu, who heads his troupe in Medak, one of the only families who still follow the art form for a living, says, “During my childhood, every show my father gave had at least 400 viewers in each village. These days, even half the audience from all the places is an achievement,” he rues. The over 60-year-old scroll his troupe has belongs to his grandfather.

“Since we tell stories from the 18 chapters of Mahabharata, our patham (scrolls) have the images of those chapters. We get these scrolls painted by Nakashi artists,” adds Bheemudu.

With not much help from the government, less pay for performances and even lesser people turning up to watch the show, the art form is on the brink of extinction.