Sundargarh: A YouTube channel created by a tribal youth to disseminate information about every aspect of his community has found a place among the Under Forty list.
Eugene Soreng and his friends from Odisha’s Sundargarh in April 2018 created “Adivasi Drishyam” (Tribal Visual) to highlight Adivasi culture, cuisine, songs and other aspects of India’s indigenous communities.
They followed it up with an Instagram account in June this year.
Their efforts drew the attention of Edexlive.com that prepares the list of people who are socially responsible and social media super stars but under 40 years of age.
Edexlive.com is of The New Indian Express Group that provides news and stories that interest students and highlights issues pertaining to the Indian youth. It started the Under 40 list since 2017.
“We featured collections of impactful grassroots teachers in 2017, innovative start-up in 2018 and environmental impact-makers in 2019. All the people selected have been chosen after a careful process of editorial selection and nomination,” explains the Edexlive.com portal.
It also said it was impressed the way the “Adivasi Drishyam” uses webinars to keep people informed about “the wealth of knowledge that Adivasi communities possess.
Soreng says he is happy that Edexlive.com and The New Indian Express have recognized their efforts to keep alive the tribal culture through “Adivasi Drashyam.”
He said nine Adivasi friends from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal are behind the YouTube channel. Their aim is to revive Adivasi song, dance, culture and tradition.
Father Bipin Majhi, parish priest of Bihabandh parish under Rourkela diocese, hails the efforts of Soreng and his team to preserve the richness of tribal communities.
“Everything is changing so also the culture and tradition. As the old generation gradually disappears the indigenous cultures too vanish. (Soreng) has taken the right step to foster the greatness of Adivasi culture,” the priest told Matters India.
Soreng says his “journey of discovering the depth of knowledge every indigenous tribe” has been long and arduous. “It took three years, two of which were dedicated to field work in Odisha, as well as in Assam and Jharkhand while pursuing my MA in Social Science from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai” the 28-year-old youth told Matters India October 4.
He said he genuinely wanted to understand the knowledge systems among various Adivasi communities/ “I wanted to make it easier for the rest of people,” he said explaining the origin of the Adivasi Drishyam YouTube channel that has more than 1,240 subscribers.
As part of his research he visited Katkari tribe in Raigad district of Maharashtra, and Santhal tribe in Assam and Jharkhand. “I understood the richness of the tribal culture. With like-minded friends I started Adivasi Drishyam,” he narrated.
Their YouTube channel focuses various aspects of tribal traditions, customs, songs, dance and many more. The team organizes webinars related to Adivasi cultures.
Soreng’s younger sister Archana is among the seven members of the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change as a part of the UN Youth Strategy.
His mother Usha Kerketta presently works in a school. He lost his father Bijay Soreng three years ago.
Rita Kujur, an Oraon tribe youth from Rourkela, she is proud of Soreng’s efforts to preserve, document and promote the traditional knowledge and practices of tribal communities.
Another person to welcome the initiative is Pius Burh, a civil engineer from Rourkela. “We are proud of our ancestors. We have duty to preserve the tribal customs and tradition. Eugene has created awareness to feel proud of our culture,” the 50-year-old Munda tribal told Matters India.
Abinash Kishan from Sundargarh, a subscriber, says he watches the channel to connect to his forefathers.