Tribal art forms across India to be showcased at the upcoming museum at Tajangi in Andhra Pradesh

Tribal artists from 11 States to showcase their works for the Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum coming up at Tajangi, near Lambasingi in Chintapalli mandal in Andhra Pradesh

Walking through the hills and valleys of Chintapalli and motoring up the winding dirt roads of the interior areas of the Agency of Alluri Sitharama Raju district makes one wonder about the travails of tribal revolutionaries who had revolted against the British with crude weapons.

The Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum (TFFM) coming up at Tajangi, near Lambasingi in Chintapalli mandal, about 120 kilometres from Visakhapatnam city, plans to take visitors into the past by making them visualise the scenes as they walk through the artefacts, weapons and other materials used by the revolutionaries in their fight against the British. The TFFM is an offshoot of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate the unsung tribal freedom fighters from various parts of the country.

Lambasingi, which has earned the epithet Andhra Kashmir for registering sub-zero temperatures during the peak winter season, is poised to get the new tourist attraction soon. Being developed at a cost of ₹35 crore, the project is a joint venture of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Tribal artistes from various States in the country are presently engaged in the work of doing large paintings and art works, reflecting their culture at the Tribal Cultural Research and Training Mission (TCRTM) at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam. These paintings would be displayed at the museum.

The work on construction of the museum at Tajangi, near Lambasingi village of Chintapalli mandal in ASR district, is progressing briskly. An extent of 21.67 acres of land was allotted for construction of the museum. The museum will have an entrance plaza, tribal haat with restaurant, and an amphitheatre.

“We had visited some of the tribes like Konda Dora, Sarika and others, who had migrated from Chintapalli region to Andhra and Pachipenta in Vizianagaram district. We had also visited Jeypore, which was then in Vizagapatam district, and presently in Odisha to get information on the objects, weapons and chains used by their ancestors. They gave us useful information and some artefacts for display,” says museum curator P Sankara Rao.

The hills and valleys at Chintapalli and surrounding areas, in combined Visakhapatnam district, are reminders of the historic Rampa Rebellion, one of the important tribal freedom movements against the British, led by the revolutionary freedom fighter Alluri Seetharama Raju.