Ten Kota men demonstrate the tiruganāṭ dāk / tirukanat (turning dance) counter-clockwise in a half circle with bodies lowered and twisting, causing their shawls to raise; bare feet on the earth are showing beneath their dhotis. Three men wear pink turbans. Dr. P. Varadharajan, dancing closest to the camera, is the first Kota medical doctor. He wears a dark Western suit jacket and pants under his shawl. Dr. P. Varadharajan is a medical officer in an industrial complex in Ooty and remains proud of his Ādivāsī Kota roots. Three men hold lowered kombu (kob) curving valveless trumpets, two men play koḷ (shawm) double-reed aerophones, one man plays a tabaṭk frame drum, with one stick in his left hand, two men play kinpar small barrel drums. A man in a Western shirt watches. A man and a woman wearing shawls stand watching next to a building with tiled roof, one side of the roof in disrepair. Buildings, terraced paddy fields with a single globular tree, and a row of tall tree are in the background. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam). Dr. Varadharajan, a medical officer in an industrial complex in Ooty, is the first Kota medical doctor and remains proud of his Ādivāsī Kota roots.
A Kota Ādivāsī man plays a bugīr aerophone (straight bamboo trumpet), with a boy child seated on his leg. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
A group of Kota Ādivāsī people sit on grassy ground. A Kota instrumental ensemble plays the ten-beat “Dry Funeral Song” after hearing A. A. Bake’s 1938 recordings (Tefi 48.7, 48.8, and 48.9: “Funeral Song”). Two Kota men play koḷ (shawm), one plays kinpar barrel-drum with both hands, and one plays a tabaṭk frame drum with one stick. The piece is performed every December to remember all who have died during the year, while people shout to the music. Men, women, and children sit behind them, and begin to shout to the music. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
Five Toda men sit on a grassy bank while singing. One, named Kotatu (from Kotanad), plays bamboo bhugri (a bamboo end blown trumpet with five or six holes), with one cheek bulging, which suggests he is using circular breathing. A little girl and two little boys sit in their laps. In the village of Kash Madh (Toda name), also known as Kandal Mund (outsiders’ name) within the city of Udagamandalam (also called Ooty or Ootacamund).
An elderly Kota couple sings a song after hearing the "same" song recorded by A. A. Bake in 1938. A man leans on a dobar double-headed drum. To his left, a koḷ shawm (double-reed aerophone) is held upright. Another man (left) holds a bugīr (3’ long bamboo trumpet). Kota men listen under large tree. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
Two elderly Kota men play koḷ double-reed aerophones with lip discs and flaring bells. Left: Thiru K. Puchan, age 70, father of Dr.P. Varadharajan of Trichagadi, wearing a white shawl with a gold stripe. Right: Thiru Kavundhan, age 60, wearing a white shawl with a black stripe.
Five Kota women dance in a circle with hands above their heads while encircling Kota men musicians playing two kinpar barrel drums, a koḷ double-reed aerophone, jālra bronze cymbals and a tabaṭk frame drum. The women wear traditional cotton varad wrapped around the body and left shoulder, over sari blouses. The dances are for the Kambattaraya festival held for 21 days in January, and announced as: 1) kalkujattam “leg joining dance,” 2) tiruganāṭ dāk / tirukanat (turning dance), 3) bibarmarattam (?). In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Lovedale, Ooty (Udagamandalam).
Two elderly Kota men hold koḷ double-reed aerophones with lip discs and flaring bells, while smiling at the camera. Left: Thiru K. Puchan, age 70, father of Dr. P. Varadharajan of Trichagadi, wearing a white a shawl with a gold stripe. Right: Thiru Kavundhan, age 60, wearing a white shawl with a black stripe.
Kota musicians of Kollimalai playback after listening to an A. A. Bake recording (Tefi# 48.8: “Kota Music Dance Tune” for men’s dancing). Musicians include: Thiru Kavundhan (kombu curved trumpet); Thiru K. Puchan (koḷ double-reed aerophone, age 70), Thiru Kavundhan (koḷ double-reed aerophone, age 60); Thiru K. Mylan (tabaṭk frame drum); Thiru M. K. Bellan (kinpar double-headed drum); Thiru Beddi (dobar double-headed drum). Hills and sunset-lit clouds are visible in the background. This scene was used in the video referenced below.
Nine Kota men demonstrate the tiruganāṭ dāk / tirukanat (turning dance) counter-clockwise in a half circle in the foreground, with arms raised. Five men wear pink turbans, long white full skirts with red triangular appliqué on the hems, white shawls with woven red borders, and belts. One skirt has two rows of triangular appliqué at the hem in blue and green colors. Three men hold handkerchiefs. In the center of the line of dancers, three men blow raised kombu valveless curving trumpets, two men (one blocked from view) play koḷ double-reed aerophones, and two men appear to play one tabaṭk frame drum together, with one stick and two bare hands. One man stands watching. Buildings and terraced paddy fields in the background. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
