Earthlore Fellows at Soundscapes of India
On 31 August 2026, four Earthlore fellows from last year performed at Soundscapes of India in New Delhi.
"Kura, kura, kura, kura..." — most of the people in the small hall at the Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi, the venue of the Soundscapes of India music festival, were left singing these lines from a traditional Jenu Kuruba song on a Monday afternoon.
The lines came from a performance by four Earthlore fellows: Sudeep, Udaya, Kumara and Nithin, musicians from the Jenu Kuruba community of Kodagu, Karnataka. They performed on 31 August 2026 at the Soundscapes of India festival in a session called Living Roots of India, curated by Dr Upali Chattopadhyay. The session was attended by festival curators, music labels and music industry professionals from India and abroad.
The festival was organised by the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS).
All four were fellows in Earthlore's first cohort, which began training in Wayanad in 2025.
They sang songs in Jenu Kuruba language. ARPO's Executive Director Sruthin Lal, and Director Amrutha explained to the audience the meaning and context of the songs, and about the Earthlore Fellowship training programme.
"It was a great experience for us. We really loved the whole experience we got and the respect that our traditions got at such a platform," said Udaya, one of the musicians. "We loved the stay at the IGNCA, and our first flight journey too," he added.
The Earthlore Fellowship trains indigenous musicians and supports their performances on wider platforms.
