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Isha Gramotsavam is a cultural festival held in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The festival features several aspects of traditional Tamil culture, and is conducted every year by the Indian non-profit Isha Foundation. In past years, venues have featured rural food festivals with traditional food items, rural cultural shows featuring Tamil folk dances such as Karakattam, Oyilattam and Thapattam, and handicrafts from various regions of Tamil Nadu. Additionally, the festivals also feature games and sports. The multi-sport event is sometimes promoted under the title of the "Rural Olympics."
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History
The first Isha Gramotsavam was held from 10–12 June 2005 in Coimbatore, and its games featured teams from 900 villages. The event was an attempt to rejuvenate the rural spirit and dissolve caste and communal barriers through the medium of sport. In 2007, the third Isha Gramotsavam was attended by 500,000 people at the Anna University grounds in Chennai, including the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. 600 teams participated, and preliminary competitions were conducted in 600 villages. In the eleventh edition of the games in 2015, 7,680 players and 640 teams participated in the qualifying and final stages.
Permission to conduct the festival in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh was also obtained in 2015 from the Andhra Pradesh government. The first edition in Andhra will be conducted in 2016, at Puttamraju Kandrika, a village near Krishnapatnam, adopted by former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. The announcement was made by Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation, at the 2015 games, in the presence of Tendulkar, the chief guest.
Background and objectives
The stated goal of Isha Gramotsavam is to highlight and rejuvenate cultural aspects of rural Tamil Nadu through rural games, music and dance, drama and art, and food specialties. The revival is an attempt to curb several social issues in Tamil Nadu, including alcoholism, smoking, and drug abuse. According to Isha Foundation, "sports help bring unity within villages, and help villagers go beyond divides of religion and caste."
Games events
The multi-sport event that is part of the Isha Gramotsavam primarily features traditional Indian rural sports, such as kabaddi, which is Tamil Nadu's state sport, bullock cart or rekla races, vazhuku maram or greasy pole contests, and silambattam, a traditional form of stick fighting. Volleyball, throwball, cricket and track and field competitions are some of the mainstream sports that are included.