BANGALORE
Ādima in Kolar
1st November 2022
On the 1st November 2022, Ādima Cultural Centre, which is 60 kilometres from Bengaluru, hosted five poets and five theatre performers for the first event of its kind. More information about the cultural centre can be found below.
Ādima is a cultural centre with a difference. This Ark for the Lost Wisdom of our Past was founded in 2005 by like-minded people who contributed one rupee every day for many years to make this a reality.
The symbol of the mountain stands for the transcendental spirit of the toiling communities. But this very spirit of the toiling communities was denied its just role in reshaping the modern democratic state. In this context, it is the toiling communities’ shared experiences that still sustain them from the onslaught and still promises much needed meaning systems against the monopolizing modernity of the upper-caste communities.
Ādima seeks to bridge the gap between the lived memories of the communities and their modern expressions, and to create spaces for native knowledge systems that would exclude no one. The centre also aims to reorient cultural studies in response to the challenges that are embedded in society, to connect communities with their multiple, ethnic realities, and to manage the plurality of the modern democratic Indian society. Furthermore, Ādima seeks to update and democratize the market forces for inclusive relationships, to document and research in the fields of culture, technology and native medicines, to enhance the curiosity and learning skills of children through the medium of theatre, to reorient our human consciousness towards the beauty of life and value systems that promise alternative models for life, and to seek collectively-modelled personalities beyond the liberal individual framework.
The motif and the ideology of Ādima is to believe in the strength of the lowest of the society, which is a sure means to overcome the hatred that is embedded in the present social structures. There is a continuous process to unravel the epistemology of Buddhism that never denies any lived experience. But there is a long way to go before this becomes a reality.
The following programmes were planned and initiated:
– An experimental pilot project was put together to enhance the skills of students who face difficulties in their studies; the first stage of the experimentation included 100 students from 16 schools in 4 taluks of Kolar district.
– An ongoing research to rediscover the beauty and the value system of grassroots communities.
– A continuous programme to seek and visualize the “self” that transcends the caste / class / gender / language / religion divides and other exclusive practices.
– Youth workshops to rediscover their lived traditions and create a sense of purpose in their lives.
– Children’s theatre training camps: Ādima believes that children shouldn’t be the “soft targets” for abuse; to unravel the children’s power to imagine and create, theatrical skills will be used.
– The promotion of cultural studies that rearticulate the idioms of the communities.
– The search for a paradigm that would become a manifest that
could bring together diverse talents.
– The documentation of the process so that it could be institutionalized.
‘HUNNIME HABBA’ is one of those ongoing programmes that has grown in popularity. Already about 185 programmes have been completed at Ādima. This is a unique programme which has kindled a new spirit of taste and dream. Thinking anew about indigenous knowledge systems and practices has become inevitable.
For further details: https://adimaculturalcenter.orq/about/
PRESIDENT: N. MUNISWAMY: 9449073119
SECRETARY: K. M. KOMMANNA: 94802 73292, 86608 30669
TREASURER: H. M. RAMACHANDRA: 9449041430
Dalit Adivasi Text 