Forsaken tribal museum waits for curator at Medaram

 ​Medaram (Bhupalpally): The long-awaited tribal museum that reflects the life and culture of Koya community at Medaram where tribal carnival Sammakka-Saralamma jatara, believed to be the largest tribal confluence in Asia, takes place biennially hit a roadblock within a few days after it was thrown open to the public.

The demand for a tribal museum in Medaram that attracts more than a crore people during the tribal fair besides a steady flow of devotees everyday dates back to more than a decade. It was in 2012, the then Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who attended the jatara promised to sanction Rs 2 crore for the museum. It remained a promise until the State bifurcation.

Although the Telangana government promised to make it happen, it took another three years to realise the project. Finally, the government took special interest to speed up the museum works and threw it open a few days before the 2018 jatara. However, the tribals’ happiness was short-lived as the authorities had to pull the shutters down due to lack of staff to run the museum.

The spherical-shaped Rs 1.60 crore double-storied museum at Medaram is the fifth of such kind. The others are being located in Hyderabad, Bhadrachalam (Bhadradri-Kothagudem), Jodeghat (Kumram Bheem-Asifabad) and Chenchu museum at Mannanur (Nagarkurnool).

The hallmark of the museum is that it provides a peek into the life of the aboriginals through six varieties of exhibits – life-sized sculptures depicting the story of Sammakka-Saralamma; paintings of Rasa Koyas’ royal insignia; photographs of Adivasis’ culture, tradition and lifestyle; original artefacts of yesteryears collected from the local fora; replicas such as temples; a 25-minute documentary on local tribes. The government allocated Rs 30 lakh exclusively for the collection of artefacts.

Speaking to The Hans India, the Curator of the Tribal Museums Dyavanapalli Satyanarayana said, “It took a whole lot of time and exercise for us to recruit the Assistant Museum Curator. Finally, we have recruited the staff and it’s a matter of time to make the museum available for the public.”

It’s learnt that reason for the delay in recruiting the Assistant Museum Curator was due to the difficulty in finding a qualified person who requires Post Graduation in History or Anthropology or Archaeology or Sociology, along with a PG Diploma in Museology. Moreover, the candidate should belong to Koya community and a local.

“It was disappointing to see the locked museum which is just a furlong away from the Gaddelu (platform) where deities Sammakka-Saralamma are located. I came to know through my friends that a series of life-sized sculptures that depict the story of Sammakka-Saralamma is a huge attraction. But I have to wait for some more time to see the museum,” Kadipikonda Srinivas Reddy, who recently visited Medaram, said.

It may be noted here that Medaram attracts hordes of devotees on Wednesday, considered as auspicious by Sammakka devotees, and on all holidays. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Rs 7 crore Haritha Hotel constructed in Medaram is also closed down for reasons unknown.