The small collection of about 500 old pieces of objects and artefacts used in day to day life by the aboriginal people, and a handful of antiquated weapons, reveals a much bigger sense of duty and pride towards his tribe in Durva Santhosh, the Raj Gond Adivasi youth from Muthnur in Indervelli mandal of Adilabad district.
This 30-year-old police constable, posted at Gadiguda police station, began collecting ‘pedana veesora’ or old objects and books on tribal life and culture in 2012 while studying degree, inspired by Adilabad Kala Ashram founder, the late Guruji Ravinder Sharma.
In 2017, he donated all his collection, including books, to Marlavai village in Jainoor mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, where the legendary Austrian anthropologist Christop von Furer Haimendorf had stayed during his studies on Raj Gonds in the 1940s. The village now has a library and museum managed by Haimendorf Youth.
“The future generations must get to know the living style of our ancestors,” Mr. Santhosh observed as he talked to The Hindu at his exhibition in the just concluded Nagoba jatara at Keslapur in Indervelli mandal of Adilabad district.
He displayed a couple of old rusty and out of use swords from his collection to reveal that the Raj Gonds once belonged to the warrior class and to buttress his point of view.
“The books here are chronicles of the life and times of Adivasis in these parts which will help youth to learn a lot,” the collector pointed out.
“Some of these pertain to current education which will help them prepare for competitive exams,” he disclosed of another aspect of his ‘library’.
The range of artefacts include jewellery, vessels to heat bathing water called gangar, now almost out of vogue, and cooking utensils, besides wooden objects like ‘chede’, the seed sower.
There is also the full range of grain measures which are completely out of use.
The exhibition, a big draw in the jatara, also had on display some vinyl posters which formed part of police awareness efforts.
“Subjects like creating traffic awareness also forms part of my duty,” he quipped pointing towards the side walls.
