coimbatore the tamil department of the bharathiar university has received a rs 60lakh grant from the university grants commission ugc for the second phase of a project to record the folklore and cultural forms of the kongu region the department had completed the first phase of the study in 2012 with a rs 20lakh grant from the ugc as part of the study researchers had collected data of various tribal arts and even modes of worship among various tribal groups in the region the researchers plan to setup a museum where people can know and learn about the cultural aspects of these people s m ravichandran head tamil department who had led the first phase of the study said the project was not just limited to studying the folklore of people but about the level of awareness in community about these art forms we collected data about the way of life and cultural aspects of various tribes including the irulas thodas and other tribes we aim to spread preserve and spread awareness about these art forms he said some of the students who took part in the earlier study said the fruits of the project must be preserved for future s puviyarasu a research student who was part of the first phase of the study said many tribes follow entirely different practices and rituals which are vastly different from the mainstream there is a tendency to worship nature more than any specific forms similarly their way of life is also interesting he said in some tribes girls who have attained puberty are expected to stay together and separately from their families until their marriage also their way of life to dress is unusual he said the second phase of the study will be for five years beginning this year v jaya coordinator of the second phase says they aim to collect maximum information and materials and put together a museum we plan to get video and audio recordings of the dance forms and cultural programmes similarly we plan to collect their traditional dress to household utensils she said the researchers also plan to collect information with regard to the modes of treatment among tribals many tribes follow an unorganised system of medicine which can be called as folk medicine said ravichandran they include herbal mixes for minor ailments for both humans and animals with modern life creeping into their lives many of them may be soon nonexistent they will gather details of these aspects too which might be a great source of information he added the study is not limited to tribals and many performance traditions followed by nontribal groups will also be studied as part of the project see graph a lot of these have lost out to popular forms of entertainment like cinema the fading patronage has meant that few young people even in the communities or families that have traditionally practiced the art forms are learning them