INDIA, February 16, 2010: In 1997 M.D. Muthukumaraswamy, along with 15 others including Komal Kothari, the then Director of Rajasthan Institute of Folklore started the National Folklore Support Centre (NFSC), when they observed that the country lacked a national level organization for folklore. “We knew everything about European folklore and arts but had no knowledge about our own diverse folklore heritage. There was no body that could address issues in the discipline at the national level. Our education system too imparted no knowledge about these folk forms.” It was amidst these necessities that NFSC came to be.
Today the organization, which occupies a small office space in a weathered complex on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Nungambakkam, is like an anthropologist’s treasure trove. It aims at promoting Indian folklore research, education, training, networking, and publications.
In Tamil Nadu alone, there are 534 oral epic traditions. The Ramayana and Mahabharatha are just the tip of the iceberg,” exclaims Muthukumaraswamy.
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