Folklore-Driven Tourism Manifestation: A Case Study on Kalkulam,Tamilnadu

1. Introduction

The term folklore is denoted as traditional stories, belief, customs related to an indigenous cultural inheritance of a region. It creates a unique identity for set of local community of a region which they inherit from their ancestors (Daskon & Binns 2010). From time immemorial, folklore has influenced the art, architecture, science, astronomy and ultimately the very foundation of a country (Cajete, 1994). Mythology and folklore have inspired architectures around the world like the great temples in India, the Greek pantheons, the Egyptian temples, the Mesopotamian temples and much more (Sengupta, 2017). India being a country born out of numerous stories and beliefs, it has always been a centre of cultural studies for the world. Ranging from epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata to various mythological stories, these folklores are narrated in the form of drama-dance, art or literature which implies that mythology and folklore still influence the country and can often be utilized in promotional content of the nation (Kaur & Singh 2021). It can be viewed that some of the Indian folk arts are widely recognized all over the world such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kucipudi, Oddissi and Kathakali and yet some of the folk arts forms are overshadowed by the more popular forms of expressions. Most of folk culture in Tamilnadu is inspired by the stories and myths of the mother goddess, the Bhagavati and other divine figures (Dubianski, 2021). A prominent issue concerning folk-arts of this region is to face the threat of extinction as many such local art forms are either lost over time or not recognized. This study dives deep into the folklores, their forms of expression and the concerns identifying with the depletion of this culture in the region (Gomathavalli, 2019). The paper emphasises on the local folk community of the region which actively participate in boosting the folklore-based tourism in Kalkulam. The study area to be addressed as Kalkulam comes under the cultural region of the two state governments namely Kerala and Tamilnadu, both has significant impact on its cultural identity. Hence, this region can be identified as the centre of fusion of art forms which took birth from Tamil and Malayalam culture both. The promotion of this area becomes beneficial to both the states in publicizing their respective art-forms as well as their fusion which is becoming increasingly popular in present scenario. This paper can also be an apt way to spread awareness about the various existing folk-arts and folklores of this region being a platform to revive the folk-art forms which is already into extinction. Another factor that deeply depends on the promotion of folklores is that the folk-artists who perform a particular folk-art and their livelihood depend on the display of folklore in various forms. To corroborate this, there is an example of face painters, costume designers and instruments players among the others. So, it becomes imperative that one must try everything to preserve and conserve its indigenous culture, its artists and the assurance of their livelihood stability which could provide to those who are involved directly or indirectly in the propagation of this indigenous culture. This research is an attempt to inspire the policy makers to initiate and act upon in determining measures to preserve and conserve its home-grown culture by introducing developing policies and eliminating the decline of indigenous art-forms and folklore. The research paper aims to recognize folklore of Kalkulam as an effective device to showcase and propagate its indigenous culture to promote tourism in Tamilnadu. The study has an objective to detect numerous economic benefits towards the local community of the area and to identify a holistic sustainable approach through the manifestation of their folklore in various forms.