The Basava Project

“I want to quit this Basava’s duty, because this is considered as begging. People are happy with so many other jobs, I just want to quit this work.” - Basavaraj, Kole Basava performer

Cities are considered large and permanent human settlements functioning as centres of growth and economy. But one needs to understand that these places are a culmination of cultures and varied lifestyles. While most of the migrant population seeks permanence in life, there are a few communities that consider migration an integral part of their profession. One of them is the Kole Basava community, a bull-centric folklore community spread across south and west India.

The Kole Basava community demonstrates an interesting human-cattle relationship through socio-cultural and economic interdependencies. The master, along with his decorated bull, travels from one place to another, performing on streets and collecting offerings made to the bull in the form of food and money; a symbolic representation of god. Over time, these communities migrated to different cities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for their livelihood. 

However, due to urbanisation, lack of space within the city and diluted socio-cultural belief systems, these communities have been pushed to the peripheries in search of open land close to water bodies; water being a basic need for cattle. They are currently living on temporary lands for free or for minimal cost and lack basic facilities and hygiene conditions.

This article narrates the story of the Kole Basava community in the context of Bengaluru, India. It provides a glimpse into their current profession, living conditions and the challenges they face. The interviews of the performer and the cultural expert address the aspirations and needs of the community. The intent of the article, hence, is to research the socio-cultural, economic and spatial existence of nomadic communities in the context of cities taking the Kole Basava community as a case study.

The article is a derivative of my self-initiated research and documentation for my ongoing documentary film. It was carried out through interactions with the community and cultural experts. This also gave me an opportunity to experience the life of the community.

The concept of migration has existed since pre-historic times and continues till date in different forms and for different reasons. Today, the trend towards urbanisation continues. As of 2014, as per analysis done by the University of Sussex, if the urbanisation trend continues, it is believed that 54% of the world’s population will soon live in cities and it’s expected to reach 66% by 2050. Migration forms a significant, and often controversial, part of this urban population growth.

India is a country with a dominant rural population, where 72.2% of the population lives in some 638,000 villages and the remaining 27.8% in about 5,480 towns and urban agglomerations (2001 Census of India). In the post-Independence and industrialisation era, people continue to migrate from villages to urban centres for better economy and living conditions leading to a cultural shift.

Amidst the gamut of a changing world, there are several nomadic communities in India, for whom migration is an inherent part of their profession. 

These communities comprise professions like fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, story tellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattoo artists, grindstone makers and basket makers. Anthropologists have identified about 500 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 80 million people: around 7 percent of the country’s billion-plus population. (Reference: Nomads in India: proceedings of the National Seminar/Edited by P.K. Misra, K.C. Malhotra).

The Kole Basava community demonstrates a human-animal relationship where the bull represents a cultural and economic anchor.

The performance and the community

The cow/bull as an animal has major significance in India. From being worshiped as a divine form of god to giving them significant rights to stroll around on the urban roads, they have become an important part of the Indian belief system. The relationship of the bull with humans exists in various forms, particularly in the Indian context. From being a source of dairy products to being a political symbol for banners, it continues to be a source of income and a socio-cultural icon for the country. One among its many avatars is the Kole Basava community.

The tradition of Kole Basava is a folk-art form in which the bulls and their masters are trained to perform various acts to entertain people. The bulls are referred to as Basava, representing the male form of god and the cows as referred to as Parvathi or Sita representing the female form. These bulls are decorated with traditional and colourful elements like saris (5-yard cloth), beads, bells and ribbons, handcrafted by the community. The duo walk from door to door where the master plays the shehnai (a wooden wind instrument) while the bull performs different movements in exchange for the offerings made by the disciples of rice, fruits, money and even clothes during festivals.

The Kole Basava community was once considered an integral part of the village, as reflected in their spatial existence in the last two decades. But the need for better economic conditions and aspirations for better living standards have led to the migration of these communities to cities. Today, these communities are often nestled on the periphery of the city. The masters along with their bulls leave before dawn and travel to the inner parts of the city covering up to 8-10 km and return by noon, which completes their day’s cycle. The rest of the day is spent in recreation or preparing for the next day.

Basanna, the master, says, “Our community was considered equivalent to a higher caste community and we were respected by all. We could reside in the centre of the city near the temples and were called to perform in the temple premises.”

But over time, due to migration, the nature of their profession has adapted to the context of cities. 

Mr. Basavaraj, a cultural expert from Bengaluru mentions that the Kole Basava community follows a process of partial migration where they perform in cities for a majority of the year and return to their villages during off-peak seasons. They currently face a social, cultural, economic and spatial setback, struggling to sustain their profession and their life.

Lack of spatial living conditions

Earlier, the performer along with the bull and the family walked from one village to the other residing within the open areas, temples, under trees in the villages where there was availability of necessities like shade, water and fodder. Over time, these communities migrated to the cities for better economy and settled in open maidans around the city. But the densification of the core, lack of availability of open grounds and increase in the geographical spread of the city, pushed these communities towards the periphery and continues to do so. They often locate themselves where there is availability of vegetation and water and hence ponds, tanks or lakes often become their primary consideration. Today in Bengaluru, these communities have settled on unclaimed open areas or vacant properties given for free on a temporary basis or rented out by real estate owners for a nominal price.

Basanna, the master, says, “It is hard to stay within the city as we do not find open spaces and other facilities like drinking water, toilets etc. The cattle also need open space with tree shade and fodder. We have bought a low-cost motorbike for each family, just to fetch fodder and we take turns to do that.”

Due to the temporary nature of their stay and absence of ownership of legal land and permanent shelter, people of the community are living in unhygienic conditions. The houses are built from materials gathered from surrounding construction sites or nearby areas like waste wood, tarpaulin sheets, concrete bricks and plastic pipes. Sanitary conditions are very poor with each house having only a bathing facility and no toilets. At times, the chosen lands are unsuitable for bulls due to absence of tree shade and fodder. The sheds built for the bulls are not stable to sustain rough weather conditions.

But what goes beyond all these challenges is that when the owner of the land wants to build or sell his property, these communities must relocate themselves on fresh land repeating the entire painstaking processes. What was ‘nomadic’ as a profession has now changed to a need- and situation-based migration.

The cultural shift 

The bull is usually considered as holy in the cultural context of India. The Kole Basava tradition is one such profession that utilizes the bull, with its socio-cultural significance in society, through folk performances. The idea of outdoor performances like theatre and street performances was a lot more prominent in the past when there was an absence of technology and minimal choices for entertainment. The Kole Basava performance was one such act, which combined cultural and folk entertainment. Says Mr. Basavaraj, “The performances are unique and sometimes astonishing. A fully-grown bull weighing hundreds of kilos stands on all its four limbs on the chest of its master, who lies on the ground. It takes both physical strength and will power to perform something like this.”

But people’s changing lifestyles and modes of entertainment to formalised spaces and devices have greatly impacted these performances and the culture of the Kole Basava. With very few appreciating this tradition and offering money and food to the bull daily, the masters now perform only during Hindu festivals. Basanna, explains, “Earlier, our forefathers used to go to a public square near a temple to play drums and perform. The whole town used to eagerly watch them perform. But the arrival of TV and films has changed everything. People enjoy fighting and entertainment now and not our performances.” 

This folklore tradition may well end up being a mere documented entity in cultural museums and may not be enjoyed by future generations.

Security, a concern

The other aspect to be focused on is the lack of security the community faces. The Kole Basava performers moved as single families with their bulls and camped near the village. The belief of Basava bringing fortune to individual families induced the entire village to allow the Kole Basava community to build their trust with the locals and hence become an integral part of the village ecosystem. But the idea of communal living in today’s metropolitan cities has changed. Everyone is more interested in just ‘surviving’ rather than ‘integrated living’.

The variation in the degree of acceptance of these traditional belief systems is evident between the older and newer areas of the city as well. There have been instances where these communities have been asked to vacate their homes due to fear of theft or crime.

The loss of value of this culture has created a huge impact on the economic growth of the community. With the rise in global culture and cities becoming metropolitan, the Basava performance is now being considered a nuisance by the residents. This, along with their struggle to find a place within the global community (socio-culturally, economically and physically), has directly impacted their daily earnings. 

People of the community are opting for alternative jobs like knife sharpening, labour work and other minor jobs, for their survival. They now believe that the new generation should not continue their age-old profession and would rather educate the kids for better jobs yielding substantial income. If this continues, it will lead to the death of this culture.

So, what’s next?

The Kole Basava community were once nomadic by profession, but are now attempting to settle down due to lack of livelihood and security. The challenge is in integrating these nomadic communities as a part of the city’s ecosystem and bringing a sense of permanence to their lives.

City folk may view these communities as novelties, but the communities, on the other hand, want to upgrade their skills and profession to lead lives like the rest of the world. So, the question is, how do we strike the right balance between the two where the communities can retain their art and yet manage to earn enough to sustain their families? Can the idea of ‘cities for all’ justify the existence of these communities where we accept them as a part of the city’s spatial ecosystem? Can these rich yet dying cultures be intertwined with modernity to create a contemporary twist, which can in turn strengthen their relationship with the people of the city? Can we really design cities for all?

ALL PHOTOS: © AUTHOR