A study center showcasing tribal culture at Palada next to Utkai: Learn not just history but also life.

Suggestion: The Tribal Studies Center Museum is located at Palata next to Utkai, showcasing the tribal culture of the Nilgiris district. Houses and items of Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar tribes placed there reflect the tribal life to the visitors.

Different types of tribal people live in different districts of Tamil Nadu. Now most of these people have come to the modern world, but some tribes still live unchanged. Most of the tribal people in Tamil Nadu have given up hunting.

But their ancestors hunted for food. Until a few years ago they used mostly natural ingredients for hunting and cooking. It is questionable whether these items can be found in the homes of most tribal people today.

The M.Balada Tribal Research Center near Udgai in the Nilgiris district is situated to exemplify the tribal culture. The center displays items used by various tribes in Tamil Nadu over 100 years ago.

There are mainly musical instruments, stone arrows, bows and axes used for hunting animals. Also, earthen vessels used for cooking and stone vessels are kept. Various items such as ornaments used by tribal women, household items used before last 100 years are kept.

Materials used for their dwellings, artistic sporting goods and war implements have also been collected. Apart from the artistic traditional products of the tribal people of Tamil Nadu, there are also various types of products used by the tribal people living in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Apart from this, models of the dwellings used by each tribal people for living 200 years ago have also been erected. Various archaeologists and students come to see these. Research center director Udayakumar said, “Through this research center, we can learn about the culture and life of the tribals.”

About 30 lakh tourists visit the Nilgiri district every year. Various programs are conducted to attract them. They also return after seeing the places they have seen. In this case, tourists are welcome to this research center. But most people are not aware of this.

Regarding this, tourism enthusiast T. Venugopal said, “Tourists from many countries come to Nilgiri district, which is an international tourist destination. They will get to know not only the history but also the life of Nilgiri district by getting to know the historical places and tribal research centers.”