Folk

FOLK

Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity. It has many forms including bhangra, lavani, dandiya and Rajasthani. The arrival of movies and pop music weakened folk music's popularity, but saints and poets to have large musical libraries and traditions to their name, often sung in thumri semi-the folk music of India is dance-oriented.

• Bhavageete

Songs are but poetry set to music some would argue. In Kannada, such poetry set to music, is called Bhavageethe. From the vachanas to the dasarpadas to the poems of Kuvempu, composers have added to the allure of the poetry, by setting them to music. Vachanas are devotional octets composed by Veerashaiva saints from Karnataka such as Akka Mahadevi and Basavanna. They are characterized by simple lyrics that speak directly to the listener. By bringing poems to non-readers, Bhavageethe have enjoyed great popularity in Karnataka. 

As with many fields, specialists that focus singing Bhavageethe have emerged. One such popular singer amongst the current crop of performers is M.D. Pallavi. This weekend, as part of the Sontakke Global Music festival, Pallavi gave a short performance at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja. Despite its brevity the session had a tremendous impact on the audience. As she presented the work of composers Mysore Ananthaswamy, and HS Venkateshmurthy's Kannada translation of a Surdas Bhajan in raag Bhairavi, the lyrical nature of the songs had some people in the audience singing along. 

Poetry set to music is not confined to Kannada literature alone. Vernacular poetry from the Divya Prabandham of the Alwar saints in Tamil, Kabir’s dohas, Sangam literature such as the verses from Silappadikaram (MS Subbalakshmi singing Vadavaraya Mathakki at her UN concert in 1966) have all been brought to life by composers and musicians. In modern times poets such as Bharathiyaar and Kannadasan in Tamil or Gulzar in Hindi have been a great source of popular songs that started their lives as poems. 

• Bhangra and Giddha

Bhangra and Giddha are traditionaland lively form of folk music and dance which originated from Punjab. People in Punjab traditionally perform Bhangra and Giddha while celebrating the harvest. During Bhangra or Giddha at least one person plays the dhol drum, and other people may play the flute, dholak drum, or other music instruments. Bhangra or Giddha eventually became a part of weddings and New Year celebrations. Bhangra or Giddha is the popular music genre which emerged around mid-to-late 20^th century. Today, this music blends with various Western popular music maintaining its original form.

• Lavani

Lavani is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of Dholki, a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavani has contributed substantially to the development of Marathi folk theatre. In Maharashtra and southern Madhya Pradesh and North Karnataka, it is performed by the female performers wearing nine-yard long saris. The songs are sung in a quick tempo.

• Uttarakhandi

Uttarakhandi folk music had its roots in the lap of nature. The pure and blessed music have the feel and the touch of nature and subjects related to nature. The folk music primarily is related to the festivals, religious traditions, folk stories and simple life of the people of Uttarakhand. Thus the songs of Uttarakhand are a true reflection of the cultural heritage and the way people live their lives in the Himalayas. Musical instruments used in Uttarakhand music include the dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Tabla and harmonium are also used but to a lesser extent. The main languages are Kumaoni and Garhwali.

• Pandavani

Pandavani is a folk singing style involving narration of tales from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. The singing also involves musical accompaniment. Bhima, the second of the Pandava is the hero of the story in this style.

This form of folk theatre is popular in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh and in the neighbouring areas of Madhya Pradesh, Orissaand Andhra Pradesh. 

Jhaduram Dewangan and Teejan Bai are the most renowned singers of this style. Among contemporary artists, Ritu Verma is popular along with others such as Shantibai Chelak and Usha Barle.

The origins of this singing style are not known and according to its foremost singer Teejan Bai, it might be as old as the Mahabharata itself, as few people could read in those times and that is how perhaps they passed on their stories generation after generation. Traditionally, Pandavani was performed exclusively by men. Since the 1980s, however, women also began to present Pandavani.

Pandavani can be understood as a part of the tradition of the tellers-of-tales present in every culture or tradition, where ancient epics, anecdotes and stories are recounted or re-enacted to educate and entertain the masses.