REINFORCING FAITH IN WOMENS WISDOM: SONGS OF DISSENT, PROTEST AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN GARHWAL
Folk art is an integral part of living. It is functional and spontaneous. It also reflects the constancy of belongingness and affinity in a cultural context. In the process of cultural change, innovation has a special role. The roots are unchanging, the process is continuous.
Change is characteristic of all cultures but the rate and direction of change vary considerably. The factors that influence the direction of such changes are the degrees to which a culture encourages as well as approves flexibility and the particular needs of a culture at a specific point of time.
Even when the cultural changes are supposed to be beneficial it may be difficult for an individual within a culture to accept the change because an individual is guided by certain norms and beliefs. Hence, for securing social transformation, change in the beliefs or value system of the individual is needed, thus making them more adaptive and responsive to organic development and growth.
Folk-lore causes change in the society as the society causes the change in folk lore. Though this mutual relation between the two is inseparable, folk-lore is the product of society; society is not and cannot be the product of folk lore. Naturally so, influence of society over folk-lore is far greater than the influence of folk-lore on the society. Nevertheless, folk-lore is one of the many forces created by the society, but sometimes, this force acts so powerfully that the whole society is directly moulded by it (Islam 1985).
Folk songs in India have served as vehicle of social communication and they have helped mobilizing public support for a cause. Folk songs are one of the most powerful propaganda media to direct the attention of people towards a particular programme.
A successful effort was made in Maharashtra to mobilize women and give them messages of social change through folk media. A group of fifty women toured some of the major districts of the state staging plays and singing songs on crucial issues related to women’s lives; like dowry, reproduction, struggles of working women and other such themes. Songs written by women were either adapted to old tunes or given new content. Nearly ten thousand people attended these programmes.
Songs are not static, they are dynamic and keep changing, with new content being added to express and reflect the concerns of the people in society. The songs reflecting dissent, protest and social change related to women’s lives.
Dr. Anjali Capila