Daroji Eramma, popularly known as Burrakatha Eeramma (1930 – 12 August 2014) was a folk singer and performer of the Burrakatha, a folk art form of epic storytelling from

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. She was awarded several awards including the

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November, celebrated as th ...

in 1999.

Life

Eramma was born in 1930 in a family from the semi-nomadic Buduga Janagama community, a scheduled caste tribe. She learnt the Burrakatha from her father Lalappa as a young adolescent, and had taught this folk art form to the members of her family and community. Though illiterate, Eramma could perform twelve folk epics from memory, which amounts to 200,000 sentences and 7,000 pages in print. These folk epics include ''Kumararama'', ''Babbuli Nagireddi'', ''Baala Nagamma'', ''Jaisingaraaja Kavya'' and ''Bali Chakravarthi Kavya''. Her performances often lasted for days, accompanied by her sister, Shivamma, and her sister-in-law, Parvathamma on percussion, while Eramma herself would play a stringed instrument with one hand and bells with the other. She had participated in the awareness campaigns on and

polio vaccination Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated vaccine, inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a attenuated vaccine, weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Healt ...

. She died on 12 August 2014 at

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

in Karnataka. Her last rites were performed at her native village Daroji in Sandur Taluka of

Bellary district Ballari, formerly Bellary (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka until the Vi ...

Recognition

Daroji Eramma received the

in 1999 as well as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Award instituted by

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

. She was awarded the Sandesha Arts Award in 2003 for her contribution to arts and folklore. The Department of Tribal Studies,

Kannada University Kannada University, also called Hampi Kannada University, Hampi University, or Kannada University, Hampi, is a public research university in Hampi, Karnataka, founded in 1991 by the Government of Karnataka through the Kannada University Act, 199 ...

, Hampi felicitated her with the Nadoja Award in 2003.

Prasar Bharati Prasar Bharati (abbreviated as PB) () is India's state-owned public broadcaster, headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament. It comprises Doordarshan, the television broadcaster, and Al ...

awarded her the Best Folk Artiste Award in 2010. She received the Janapada Shri for 2010 in 2012. A student of Hampi University, L. Sarikadevi, wrote her 2006 doctoral thesis on Eramma, which helped to popularise Eramma and her practice. Some of her performances have been recorded and published by Chalavaraju, a scholar of intangible heritage based at the Kannada University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eramma, Daroji 1930 births 2014 deaths Indian women folk singers Indian storytellers Women storytellers People from Ballari Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 1999 Women musicians from Karnataka Singers from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Indian women folk musicians 21st-century Indian folk musicians 20th-century Indian folk musicians