“It was not by choice (that we played the drum), but quite often by force. If my father refused, we used to be hung from trees and beaten up by the village leaders.”
Prasanna said that when his father received the Rajyotsava Award in 1992, the then Tahsildar gave them three acres. But the land is still under litigation.
Meanwhile, Munivenkatappa said the thamate, which is a representation of the Dalit culture is considered a taboo and not many people are willing to learn it.