Kendera geeta getting extinct
Odia music, Odisha Culture August 20th. 2007, 11:36amFollowing are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.
‘Kendera geeta’ is on the verge of extinction. This art form was once quite vibrant in Western Orissa districts.
Kendera geeta involves a particular group of people who sing devotional songs accompanied by a very simple-looking musical instrument. They visit door to door and seek alms to sustain themselves. Kendera has some similarity with violin.
There is a head made of dry coconut shell. A bunch of hair from horse’s tail is used as strings for the instrument.
The Naths have made kendera singing a profession and been carrying on with it as a family tradition. Naths migrated from Angul at different points of time to Nathpada of Dadar Nuapali and Parmanpur village of this district.
Interest in Kendera Geeta is gradually waning and now there is hardly any youth taking to the art form. The new generation considers carrying the crude instrument and seeking alms below their dignity. …
If this art is to be saved, it has to divorce itself from seeking alms.
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November 4th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Kendera being an ancient traditional folk music, performed especially by the Naths or the Nathyogis needs extensive research and also needs to be preserved because the Nathyogis are that class of people who have tried to keep up our cultural heritage by their performance going from village to village.