 Dear learners, I am Trisha Dora-Burra from the Bhupadhyasarika School of Mass Communication at Krishna Kanta Hennick State Open University. And I would like to cordially welcome you all to another online video class on mass communication and journalism. In today's class, we are going to discuss about the relevance of traditional folk media. This particular unit belongs to the paper of traditional folk media from the third semester being journalism and mass communication under Krishna Kanta Hennick State Open University. This is the seventh unit of this particular paper. In this unit, we are going to talk about and discuss about the traditional folk forms in rural India, its impact on rural development and its different uses in different fields of life. So, after going to this unit, you will be actually able to appreciate the impact of traditional media on rural development and also list the various traditional folk forms in rural India as well as discuss the different uses of traditional media in different fields of life. Now, what exactly is traditional media? As we have already discussed in our previous video classes, traditional media is nothing but their indigenous channels of communication for expressing the local customs and beliefs as well as social, moral and emotional needs of the people within a particular community. And its nature is very lively and actually corresponds to the changing time better. So, for the past, you know, 50 or 60 or maybe 100 years, traditional folk forms have been used on a wide scale in different parts of the country. Both in rural areas as well as in urban areas. And it definitely acts as a vehicle for disseminating the information to the masses. And as we all know, India is a huge country and so definitely we have a very rich variety of folk forms. It includes different combinations and folk forms and different combinations of drama. There are different combinations of dance, of songs, on music, on storytelling, on puppetry, on different minds and so on and so forth. And usually when we talk about the different traditional folk forms in India, basically we can classify them into five categories. There are folk theater, there are folk songs, the different narrative forms like ballads, different folk tales as well as other storytelling forms and religious discourses and puppet shows. Let us try to analyze these different, five different categories one by one. So first of all, we have the folk theater. Now, when we talk about folk theater, it actually doesn't mean something that drama taking place on a wide scale or, you know, a theater taking place where there are stages being prepared, there are lights, there are different props are used. But that doesn't only encompass only that. There is more to that. And each reason in this particular country, like it can be any region or not, any region in the south or any region in the east or west, they have their own distinctive style of presentation as well as where the different issues are addressed pertaining to that particular region. And whatever the case may be, there is one common thread that actually binds in different regions. And that is usually borrowed largely from the classical Sanskrit theater. And one important, very common feature among all these different regional forms is the presence of the sutradhar, which literally translated, it's from a stage manager and the vidushak, that is a narrator or the buffoon under different names and guises. And then there are other features of folk theater that are borrowed from the classical theater, like we have the stage preliminaries, there is invocation at the beginning of the start of the folk theater, there may be a benediction at the end of the performance, there will be different stylized movements, there will be use of different props, different masks, there will be like, prominent makeup will be there. So, all these are different features of the folk theater forms. And when we talk of folk theaters, they usually perform in an open space. It's not that something is confined to a very closed room or indoors, that is usually seen in the dramas in the present day context. When we talk about folk theater, their very special characteristic is performing an open area, open space or open ground, through which the different performers, they can actually be in contact with the audience who might be sitting in the open area. So, just like having a kind of connection with the audience, so the audience can actually be able to understand the different nuances of it, the different areas on which the particular folk theater is based on. So, that connection is actually felt as far as folk theaters are concerned. And when we talk about the contents, what actually constitutes the different folk theater forms? So, basically these different theater forms are based on mythology, as we all know. And of course, on different legends, on romances and other secular themes as well. Now, let's try to look into the different varieties of regional folk theaters of India. We'll just try to discuss in a very concise manner, because in detail we'll be able to understand different varieties in your own respective study materials that's been given in a proper way. But in this particular class, we'll try to briefly examine the different folk theater forms, regional folk theater forms. I'm sure most of you have heard about Jatra. This is one of the most important regional folk theater forms of India. And its, you know, its characteristic is the main folk theater form, Bengal. Though it dates back to 15th century, Jatra became very much popular in 18th century. And basically this particular folk theater form is, it grew out of the Bhakti movement. And the initial themes have exclusively very religious in nature. And towards the 19th century, it started containing the humors and social, political comments on contemporary themes. Jatra, too, basically consists of an adhikari. Adhikari, which is equivalent to Sanskrit sutradhar. And Juri. Juri basically is a team of singers who are very much well versed in singing different classical songs, which actually interpret as well as elaborate on the songs of the main character. So, Jatra is one of the most important variety of regional folk theaters of India. And it's a main face of the West Bengal. Then we have Natanki. Natanki is usually associated with Uttar Pradesh. And it is very much popular in the city of Kanpur, Lucknow and Hothras. And not only UP, not only Uttar Pradesh, it is also performed in certain small villages, certain pokels of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. And in Natanki, the performance, when we talk about the performance, it actually begins with a traditional invocation, which is followed by the Chow Bolla. Chow Bolla is a song that is performed by the rangha, the sutradhar, after which this particular play is performed. Then coming to the Eastern Paluta country, we have the Bhavna, which is a presentation on the Nath of Assam. And Bhavna, it gives a kind of cultural glimpse of Assam, as well as of Bengal, Odisha, Mathura and Brindavan. So, the sutradhar, he or she actually begins the story in Sanskrit language. And then either in Rajawali or in SMS script, he recites the different slokas. He sings, he dances and recites different prose. And apart from the sutradhar, in the Bhavna troupe, there are the Bhavria, that is, who are actually the actors who play the role of different characters. Then the Gayan, Gayan, they are usually the singers. And Bayan, Bayan are the musicians who plays the kulta from the beginning to the end of the play. And it was actually Bhavna was written by Srimad Sankadev, who is one of the renowned Vaishnavite saints of this part of the country. Then we have Tamasha. Tamasha is one of the important regional form of folk theatre forms of the country. And Tamasha is very much popular in Maharashtra. Usually Tamasha consists of invocation. There is a gaolang, that is, a song on the theme of Lord Krishna and the milhme. Then the ladanes, that usually consists of narrative, political compositions. Again, so and so forth. Then we also have that is known as Therukutu. Therukutu is a folk theatre form of Tamil Nadu. It actually means street play. And it's mostly performed during the Maria Mam festival. That is a rain goddess festival, which is celebrated in Tamil Nadu. And usually this particular festival is celebrated to achieve a very good harvest. Because it's usually believed that when there is very good rainfall, it will actually yield to a very good harvest. So it's usually performed at that point of time. Now let's come to folk songs. So we have tried to understand what exactly is folk theatre. It's different regional varieties. Only the important regional varieties of folk theatre forms. Now let's come to folk songs. Now just folk theatre, India also has a very rich tradition of folk songs. Which are very much diverse in nature. Because of the cultural geographical diversity. And every region, every state, every nook and con of the country, they have their own distinctive particular style of folk songs. It's not that, you know, some have folk songs. And the being folk song or some is applicable to other states as well. Different states have different folk songs. Which one can actually identify with the different meanings, different contents of what the folk song is all about. And Shyam Parmar, he is one of the very renowned folk artists. The country, a person who has actually extensively done research in the area of folk media. He has categorized or he has classified the folk songs in three different types. First is the Bhakti songs. From the term itself we can make out their devotional songs. Which has very strong links to the classical music. And then of course we have the ceremonial songs. Which are very much seasonal in nature. And it's already related to different rituals, different books, different other love songs and so on and so forth. And finally we have the tribal songs. Now, for example, let me talk about tribal songs. We have the Baal, the Baal of Bengal, the Garba of Gujarat, then Ghumara Rajasthan, we have Bihu of Assam. So these are some of the tribal songs. Then let us come to another important category, tradition folk forms. That is the narrative forms. So from the term itself, the narrative, narrative talks about how you narrate a particular story. How you try to narrate a particular song. In the form of different verses, in the form of different poems and so on and so forth. Mostly ballads. And the narrative forms, they have been actually used to spread the message of patriotism. Something of, you know, related to the country's nationality, to unite the people. Something to bring about reforms in the country. Both at the national level, at the regional level as well as the local level. Something related to, you know, bringing about societal development. Something related to some cultural as well as economic issues. So narrative forms basically, you know, brings under its umbrella these different aspects of life. Now, there are different narrative forms, which are very popular in the country. Let us try to, you know, briefly examine a few important one of them. The first, of course, with the Bura Katha. Now, Bura Katha is actually performed in the, mostly the villages of Andhra Pradesh, as well as Telangana, by a three-member troupe. In a particular troupe, in a particular group, there are three people in there. And this particular troupe consists of Kathakadu, that is the principal former, who actually dances and recites the story. And the Rajkia is there, who actually acts as someone who knows the different ways of life and draws analogies between the story and the contemporary sociopolitical problems. Then moving on, we have another important narrative form, that is the Dasa Kathia. Now, Dasa Kathia is a very popular narrative form of Purisa. And usually in this particular form, in this particular troupe, in this team, there are only two people are there. One is a Gayaka, that is a singer, and the other is the Paliya, that is a accompanist. And the way the things are sung, all the way the things are narrated, it's a very different, it has a very stylistic, stylized way it is done. Like the theme is drawn from mythology, from different folk tales, and from other famous battles as well. And it's not only there, singing is performed. Of course, there is a very humorous kind of interludes in between. The skits are there, the proverbs, anecdotes, these are all part and parcel of the performance. And there are also other narrative forms, like we have the Alha, Uttar Pradesh, we have the Nagala, Punjab, then the Vilupattu, Tamil Nadu, Povara, Maharashtra, you know, there are others and so forth. Then let's come to another important category of traditional folk forms of India, as a religious discourse. Now, from the term itself, we can make a religious. It's some kind of, you know, you try to narrate some stories and songs, where, you know, the content is drawn from the scriptures, you know, and has, which has some kind of deep meaning about the life or about the society as a whole. And this religious discourses, there are no different names in different parts of the country. Like we have the Hari Katha, we have the Katha, we have Kirtan, we have Pravachan. And usually in such religious discourses, what happens is that the main performer is a Kathakar. Kathakar, he needs to have a very good knowledge of the different scriptures. And of course, the Kathakar needs to possess very good, very strong musical ability. And he should also be a very good storyteller, because, you know, if someone is, you know, just narrates some kind of story, without giving any kind of, you know, meaning to it, then obviously that won't make any sense. So there is, narrating a storytelling is also an art, which the Kathakar needs to have. And also, the Kathakar needs to have a very good first-hand knowledge of the local customs, because, you know, obviously if someone goes to a particular place and narrates some, you know, kind of stories, then the constant person needs to know about different local customs, without, you know, kind of hurting the sentiments of the people. So that knowledge has to be there. Then there is another category of, you know, tradition for forms, which is from the puppet shows. Now, we are very aware, we have actually grown up seeing the different puppet shows all across the country. Even we have also personally visited, we have seen some puppet shows live in front of us. So puppetry is nothing but it's just an ancient form of performing art, which is very much, you know, integrated, or which is very much, you know, integral to the performance arts heritage of India. And, you know, we have seen numerous references of puppet shows, of puppetry, in most specifically in the two epics, like the Ramayana Mahabharata, they have spoke volumes on the different nuances of puppetry in the country. And puppet performances, they, of course, they're very important way of trying to reach out to the general public as a whole, because when different social messages, different social issues and concerns of the people are being demonstrated through the medium of the puppets. So people generally feel a kind of connection to that. So that adds a kind of, you know, humorous to it and adds a kind of, you know, a certain reality to it. So there are a lot of angles to it. The sort of main objective of any kind of puppet show is that it addresses different social issues as concerns to people, as well as since it's an integral part of the heritage of the country. So people are, they get attracted to it. People feel that such kind of issues which highlight their own lifestyle, which highlight the society visually, it actually indirectly, it helps to people to understand the development process in a better way. So people, there is a need of holistic development and that can actually be achieved through this different, you know, folk media forms. And puppet show is one of them. Now, let me talk about the puppet, puppet tree as a whole. Of course, there are different types. We have the globe puppet, we have the rod puppet, we have the string puppet as well as the shadow puppet. Now, from the need of term itself, we can make another, let me talk about globe puppet. Glove puppet basically, you know, mostly it's seen in the states of Orissa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. And it's very simple in nature and, you know, basically it's, globes are worn by the puppeteer in his own hands and the puppeteer try to manipulate, you know, the head of the puppet with the index finger while the arms are manipulated by the thumb and the middle finger. So just with the hand of hand movements, you know, different issues are being shown. That is how globe puppet tries to bring up those issues in front of the people. Then, of course, the rod puppet is there, which is mostly found in West Bengal and basically such kind of puppetry is manipulated by using very three main big rods, which one of the rods is held at the back of the puppet, other than the two rods attached to the hands of the puppet and then the puppet is being moved and, you know, through different nuances, different hand movements, different hand gestures and, you know, movements, different issues are being, you know, shown in front of the people. Then, of course, with the string puppets, string puppets, basically they are, you know, they are being suspended by strings and different multiple joints are there and usually they are such puppets that the manipulating techniques or the size of the shapes and costumes differ from region to region. It's one kind of, it's different in the state of Delhi. It will be different in the state of Bengal. So from different regions, they have the different ways of, you know, kind of different techniques are being used to showcase the different issues to the string puppets. And, of course, with the shadow puppets, basically they are two-dimensional figures and they are usually illuminated with a very, very strong light sources behind the puppets which actually cast a shadow and with the help of the shadow, you know, the different issues are being raised, the different issues and two different movements are being shown and these are very much popular in Andhra Pradesh, in Karnataka, mostly in the South Indian states. Then, let's try to understand. These are different, these were the, so far, we have tried to understand the different forms, different categories. We have the folk theater with the folk songs. We have puppetry. We have religious discourses and narrative forms and all these. There are some different tradition media folk forms as far as rural India is concerned.