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).
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).
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).
View of the entrance to an ancient underground Kota temple. Wooden logs frame the low temple opening. Chiseled stones form a circular boundary around the temple entrance. Tall stone posts demark the inner limits of the temple ground. A large tree stands behind the entrance, behind which a large low circular wall of earth demarks the temple grounds. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
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).
A Kota Ādivāsī man plays a bugīr aerophone (straight bamboo trumpet) with his left cheek puffed with air at a session to play back music recorded by A. A. Bake in 1938. A boy child is seated on his leg. Kota men and women listen and converse. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
A Kota woman in a white shawl looks into the camera. She wears gold earrings, a gold chain, a silver hair ornament, and a black textile necklace bound with silver ornaments. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
After hearing A. A. Bake’s 1938 recordings of Kota dance music, Kota men prepare to dance in a village open space. Six wear pink turbans, long white full skirts with red triangular appliqué on the hems, white shawls with woven red borders, and leather belts with silver clasps. Two dancers wear glasses and one wears sunglasses. One elderly dancer wears a dhoti, an unstitched lower garment, and large shawl. Musicians wearing dhotis and shirts begin to play a tabaṭk frame drum with one stick, and a kinpar barrel drum with both hands in front of the dancers. Two musicians hold kombu (kob) valveless curving trumpets. Buildings and terraced paddy fields are visible in the background. In Ticgār (Trichagadi) Village, near Ooty (Udagamandalam).
