At a time when the entire tribal community is rejoicing the state cabinet’s historic decision to form a commission for the preservation and promotion of the languages of the Scheduled Tribes, the ongoing Adivasi Mela of Odisha will have a three-day multilingual drama fest with Santali, Desia, Ho and Mumndari languages, between February 3 and 5.

The Adivasi Mela has been organised at the Adivasi Exhibition Ground in Unit-I area here.

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While Aya Baba Gayan Semled from Ulidihi under the Udala block of the Mayurbhanj district will stage a Santali play and Koraputia Desia Dramatic Club from Koraput district will stage a drama in Desia language on February 3, Pandit Lokobadra Dramatic Club of Balibhoi in Karanjia from Mayurbhanj district will stage a drama in Ho language and Baba Chintamani Dramatic Club from Astajharana under Badasahi block in Mayurbhanj district will stage a drama in Mundari on February 4.

Similarly, Maa Biratpat Tayanburu Gangamandil Dramatic Club from Khadiabasa near Udala in the Mayurbhanj district will stage a drama in the Mundari language on February 5 at the Adivasi Mela venue.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes Development Minorities and Backward Communities Welfare Department Roopa Roshan Sahoo said, “Odisha is home to 62 tribal groups and 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). There are 21 tribal languages in Odisha and thus the state government wants to preserve, promote, develop, disseminate, and safeguard the tribal languages and dialects and this multilingual drama fest is a step in that direction. We are also organizing it as a sideline event during the first World Odia Language Conference (WOLC) to be organized in Temple City.

She also added that the state government has already taken up multilingual education and efforts for documenting and preserving tribal languages, promoting the use of those languages, and protecting linguistic rights among several enriching activities for the development of the rich tribal languages.

Paramananda Patel, State Language Coordinator at SC, ST Research and Training Institute said, “For the research in tribal culture and languages the Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture (ATLC) is working for the different tribal groups as they have 74 dialects apart from 21 tribal languages which is a treasure in itself as we also have 22.85 per cent of our State’s population belonging to tribal communities. The multi-lingual drama festival is also an occasion to celebrate the great diversity while the Adivasi Mela and the WOLC are happening at the same time in the State Capital.”

The three-day-long multilingual tribal drama festival, on the other hand, will have a great collage of the tribal dramatic traditions of North Odisha and the ones from South Odisha, and stage a unique cultural kaleidoscope before a conscious public and culture enthusiasts.