Mohan Kumar N

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA explores the oral narratives around a local hero, a Veeragara, Veera Tammanna of the Kadu Golla community in Karnataka, and enquires into discrepancies in documentation and his absence from the historical discourse of the region. Mohan Kumar N is the Coordinator for this project

Mohan Kumar N is a folk singer and researcher from the Kadu Golla community, active in the field for over 15 years. He is a graduate from the Theatre School Sanehalli in Chitradurga district and has been documenting and publishing oral narratives of his community. He has also been invited to conduct lecture demonstrations on theatre and folk narratives at Rangayana, National School of Drama and many universities in Karnataka. His book Kadu Gollara Kolata Padagalu has received the prestigious Karnataka Janapada Academy award. Given his vast experience, Mohan is best suited to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project by IFA.

The provocation for this research project titled Aadalitashaahi Dhoranegalu mattu Kadu Gollara Asthitva (Hegemonic Administrative Attitudes and the Resilience of the Kadu Golla Community) comes out of the discrepancies in the documented history of the lives of the local ruler King Ranabhaire Gowda and Veera Tammanna of the Kadu Golla community considered a Veeragara or a local hero. Though the oral narratives of the community records that Veera Tammanna died in a battle with King Ranabhaire Gowda, history does not mention this. It is intriguing that this battle which took place in the 14th century has different records. This raises questions about the documented history of the mainstream that has often ignored and silenced other voices. A point to be noted here is that the Veeragaras, whose stories have been documented in oral narratives, were primarily cowherds who fought with wild animals, hunters and landowners, and often sacrificed their lives to protect their meadows for their cattles. 

This project seeks to explore the oral narratives around Veera Tammanna as examples of resilience of the community in the face of the hegemony of dominant cultures and shifting social dispensations. It will also address how various social forces have impacted the nature and character of these narratives over time. 

This research will have two parts. In the first, different oral narratives available about Veera Tammanna being sung by various community singers will be collated by Mohan. He has planned a series of field trips, documentation and interviews with community members. In the second part of the research Mohan will attempt to create a possible conversation between King Ranabhaire Gowda representing mainstream hegemony and Veera Tammanna representing the voice from the Kadu Golla community before the hostilities begin. This new literature imagined and created as a song would also be of resistance to contemporary authoritarian ideas. 

The outcomes of this project will be this conversation as a song and a monograph. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the song, the monograph and audiovisual documentation from field visits. 

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Research programme in the manner in which it attempts to examine oral narratives of a marginalised community that has been ignored and silenced by mainstream discourse. 

IFA will ensure the timely implementation of this project and that funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the project’s progress at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is complete and deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation report to share with Trustees.

This project is made possible with support from BNP Paribas India Foundation.