Snehadhara Foundation and Vasu Dixit Collective recently launched the ‘PaDa’ Project, a docu-series that supports and celebrates traditional folk music in India.

Folk songs representthe rich diversity across rural India and has been passed on aurally/verbally across generations. For the longest time, folk music was rarely incorporated in mainstream narratives. Many of these folk songs have never been recorded or heard by anybody outside of the areas of origin. There is an urgent need to document and preserve these folk traditions for the future, as well as increase their visibility outside of the communities where they originated from.

The first episode of ‘PaDa’ Project begins in Karnataka and features tribal musician Mohan Kumar singing about his pastoral practices among the Kadagulla tribal community in his folk song Tagaru.

Mohan Kumar is a folk artist from the Kadugalla tribe who learnt folk music from his family and community while growing up. With a keen interest in preserving his community’s traditional knowledge, he studied and worked at the Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya to learn methods of recording and documenting oral history and traditions.

He won the “Pustaka Award” from the Janapada Academy for his book “Kadugallarakolatapadagalu'' and set up the “Karnataka Kaadugallara Samskruthika Trust” through which he hopes to document and preserve folk and tribal knowledge for future generations.

Following this, the project will also feature Sithirai Senan from Madurai, Tamilnadu, Mickma Tshering Lepcha from Gangtok, Sikkim, Dalrariti Gratel Kharnaior from Shillong, Meghalaya and Mangka Mayanglambam from Imphal, Manipur. The objective is to capture the connections between music and people's lives, rituals and ceremonies, local food traditions, and diverse socio-cultural linked themes. Producing new music through collaborations will serve as a link between the country's largest and most important musical traditions past and future.

"PaDa Project has been brewing inside of me for over 4 years. Folk music and its rituals have always been a source of inspiration for me. I can't wait to embark on this journey to discover new folk music that will inspire me and - in turn - others as well", said Vasu Dixit, Musician and Filmmaker.