Loading
Loading
Performing Art · Telangana
బుర్ర కథ
The Telangana-form of the Burra Katha oral-storytelling tradition — performed with the tambura and the andelu rings, in the same troupe-of-three form as the Andhra version but with the local Telangana castes (the Waddar potter-and-quarrier, the Golla, the Kuruma).
Understand
Burra Katha in Telangana shares the Andhra Pradesh origin of the form (originally the Jangam Katha tradition of the wandering Lingayat minstrels) and was modernised in the early 1940s around Guntur as a propaganda medium for the Telangana Rebellion. In Telangana the form took on a particular local cast — the Waddar (the potter-quarrier community of the Medak and Nalgonda districts), the Golla (Yadav) and the Kuruma (Kuruba) — and remains one of the most popular Telugu rural-storytelling traditions of the state. Burra Katha in Telangana has been documented as a regional variant of the Andhra form, with the local dialect of the storytelling and the inclusion of Telangana cultural themes (the Telangana Rebellion, the peasant movements). The form is regularly performed on state radio and television in Telangana.
Burra Katha in Telangana is performed by a troupe of three men (the kathakudu, the rajakiya and the hasyaka), with the main performer playing the tambura and the two co-performers playing the gummeta (the two-headed earthen drum). The main performer wears the andelu rings on his thumb and uses the rings to add metallic rhythm. The dance is part of the storytelling — the main performer acts out the principal characters with dance steps, while the co-performers add the chorus and the political commentary. Music is the tambura, the gummeta-drum and the small cymbals. Costume is the everyday Telangana dress — the dhoti-kurta for the men, with the regional turban at the festival. Performances are at the central village square and at the cultural programmes of the state.
The Telangana-form of the Burra Katha oral-storytelling tradition — performed with the tambura and the andelu rings, in the same troupe-of-three form as the Andhra version but with the local Telangana castes (the Waddar potter-and-quarrier, the Golla, the Kuruma).
From discovery to practice
Experience it
Want to watch Burra Katha (Telangana) performed live? Tell us when and where you'd like to experience it, and we'll confirm the details.
Bring it to your event
Every performer WRIKSH connects you with has been personally verified. Tell us the occasion — a community celebration, a college festival, a government program — and we'll find the right group.
Explore further
Hire performers of Burra Katha (Telangana) for your event
