-Anjali Capila
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.
Folklore causes change in the society as the society causes the change in folklore. Though this mutual relation between the two is inseparable, folklore is the product of the society; the society is not and cannot be the product of folklore. Naturally so, the influence of society over folklore is far greater than the influence of folklore on the society. Nevertheless, folklore 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.
Folk songs in India have served as a 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 a new content. Nearly 10,000 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 the society. The songs reflecting dissent, protest and social change related to women’s lives have been analysed under the following heads:
Social Issues – a. Alcoholism; b. education for women; c. changing status of a girl child; and d. dowry.
Change in Cultural Fabric: Impact of Modernization – a. New technology and change; b. changing customs and tradition; and c. Chamba town: a new face.
Environmental Issues – a. Dissent and protest related to exploitation of women in the forest; b. smokeless cullāh; and c. natural disasters.
Mobilizing Women’s Power – Creation of mahilā maṇḍals.
Protest Movements – In Tehri Garhwal the NGOs have played a significant role in mobilizing the women’s power, by the formation of mahilā maṇḍals at the village level, to address issues related to women’s lives.
Social Issues
SONG ON ALCOHOLISM
Oh, people of this world – what is in this world? Do not drink alcohol!
Your house will be sold – do not drink Your fields will be sold – do not drink Your thālī will be sold – do not drink
Oh, people of this world – what is in this world?
Sit down to sing bhajans And have good thoughts Do not drink alcohol!
People who drink get into fights They are found lying in the streets
Their wives and children carry the burden of their deeds They wash the utensils in the neighbourhood
And earn money for their sustenance
Oh, people of this world Do not drink alcohol!
The world has been blessed
By people who have earned a name for themselves People of this world,
What is in this world Do not drink alcohol.
The Sarvodaya movement, which was initiated by Shri Beharilalji of Budakedar village, in Tehri Garhwal, had a great impact on the life of the people in the villages surrounding Budakedar. A number of local shops making country liquor were closed down on the initiative of the women of the village, who had formed a mahilā maṇḍal with the support of the NGO “Lokjeewan Vilas Bharati”. Dharamdevī, the head of the mahilā maṇḍal at village Thati (Budakedar), said that the above song had been composed by the women, because alcoholism was a serious problem they faced in their lives on a daily basis. When the men came home on holidays they would play cards during the day and in the evening, they would consume country liquor and abuse the women. “The mahilā maṇḍal gave us a forum to express our concern and we all came together to tackle this problem.”
According to her, singing songs was only one aspect of their action; they took out processions in the village singing slogans and motivating other women to support them. They were able to close down the local shops, as it did not have a government licence, on their own initiative.
Repeatedly singing these songs did have an impact, according to Dharamdevī. The idea was to focus the attention of both the men and women
on the evils of consuming alcohol and above all, create awareness amongst the women that together they could handle this issue more effectively.
In Chamba block also, with the support of the NGO “Mahila Nav Jagran Samiti”, women of villages Kotigad and Pipli took out processions on anti-liquor singing slogans and songs. About 200–300 hundred women participated in the anti-liquor movement. They marched in a procession and closed the liquor shop at Chamba with a big lock. The shop is closed to date.
SONG ON EDUCATION
At dawn!
The women of the village leave to cut grass
Vimlā is a new ghasiyārī
She climbs slowly the steep path She is 12th class pass
She cuts her finger instead After a few month
Vimlā becomes skilled in cutting grass She thanks her friends for their wisdom
Vimlā now shares her knowledge with her friends On the way to the forest
She teaches them to read and write What a wonderful sight !
The song about Vimlā Ghasiyārī (woman who cuts grass) makes a statement about sharing skills. Vimlabehn has lived in the foothills of Haridwar– Rishikesh. While she is educated till class 12, she does not have skills in the work roles to be performed by her after marriage. She learns the art of cutting grass from her friends and holds classes for them in the forest on the way back.
The song gives value to the traditional wisdom of the women and also points to the importance of imparting education according to the time, location and needs suitable to the women of the mountains. Running adult education centres for women would have no meaning, as the women would not be able to take time off and go there for education.
According to Ganga Prasad Bahugana, an NGO representative from village Ranichauri:
Earlier girls were not sent to school even if families were financially well off, because schools were located at great distance from the villages. Significant changes have taken place as far as the education of girls is concerned in Garhwal in the last fifteen years, because schools have since been established at a shorter distance and parents have started sending their girls to school with a sense of confidence. All girls study till class 12 now, and the age of marriage for girls is between 18 to 22.
Education is the greatest asset of the young daughters-in-law and daughters of the family; while they have to perform the same work roles, they are able to plan their work better and have more time for leisure.
In the context of the above, the following two songs, one on the status of the girl child and the other on dowry are also significant.
SONG ON CHANGING STATUS OF THE GIRL CHILD
The Vedas and the Purāṇas Deny the selling of a girl By her father
A daughter is born from the same womb As a son to a mother
But only the son is entitled To the parent’s property Taking material wealth
In exchange for a daughter Is a crime
Do not sell your daughter As though she was a cow! Stop doing this
And take blessings from your daughters.
The above song was sung by women from Ranichauri village, in the age group 45-60. The women who sang the song said that social customs which had degenerated or led to the downfall of women in the society, created an awareness about the ills of such practices, and songs were composed to
denigrate such customs. Leelabehn, who sang the song, is the wife of Ganga Prasad Bahuguna, an NGO worker with “Parvatiya Jan Kalyan Samiti” in Ranichauri. Leelabehn and Ganga Prasad are both outstanding individuals who have worked with the women’s movement in Garhwal for over sixty years.
Folk songs as stated earlier are not static; they are dynamic and keep changing. The content encompasses in its gambit all contemporary issues related to the lives of the people in the society. The emphasis of the song is to focus the attention of the people in society on the status of the girl child.
A daughter is born from the same womb As a son to a mother
But only a son is entitled To the parent’s, property.
Bhavanibhai, head of the remand home for boys, in Tehri, said:
All the important decisions of the household are taken by the men, viz. investing money, buying animals and deciding the marriage of the daughter. Land is always in the name of men, on death it goes to the son and not to the women, even though they are the ones who work on the fields. Ninety- seven per cent women of Garhwal are farmers.
Whether songs can create changes in such fundamental issues is difficult to say, but repeatedly singing them does influence the attitudes of people”, says Leelabehn who composed the above song.
SONG ON DOWRY
Dowry! this great evil
Has become an issue of discussion In every village, every town!
Home, fields, etc., are mortgaged
To pay the debt incurred to give a good dowry
Not only do parents feel happy at finding a good family By giving dowry they spoil the life of the
daughter in her in-law’s home As the demands keep increasing!
Girls are compelled to commit suicide Do not give dowry
Educate your girls
Help them stand on their own feet
Giving and taking of dowry are both a crime Stop this prathā – custom
Shame to those, who sell their daughters Kanyā-dāna is the dāna of the gods Only devils (rākṣasa) have desire –
Do not give dowry Stop this custom.
Linked to the status of the girl child is the issue of dowry which is reflected in the above song. This song was composed by the women of Hadamb village, Chamba block. Only recently since the last five years has the issue of dowry become significant in the context of the sociocultural life of the people of Garhwal. Ramabehn, head of the Mahila Samkhya project, Tehri, said:
These influences have come into our society by the migration of men into the plains. Television is also responsible to a large extent for bringing this material culture to our hill state.
At a meeting of NGOs working in Tehri Garhwal, held at Budakedar in March 1994, I had discussions with many representatives (both men and women), as well as interacted with a group of over 300 village women on the above issue. Lakshmi Rana, representative of the NGO “Jan Vikas Kalyan Samiti”, Chirbattia, said that in families with strained economic resources, this issue was felt more acutely. When the dowry was inadequate, men often took on a second wife and the first one was either compelled to commit suicide or live at the mercy of her brother and bhābhī. Lakshmi Rana herself was a victim of a dowry demand. She walked out of her marriage telling her father not to succumb to the demands of her in-law’s family.
Socially ostracized by her kin group for a while, Lakshmi Rana turned her strength and potential to head the NGO at Chirbattia (her village). Today, her NGO is particularly committed to rehabilitating girls who have been abandoned or ill-treated.
The last few lines of the above song link the social message, “Giving and taking of dowry are a crime”, to the traditional custom of kanyā-dāna, which
is the dāna of the gods, while desire for material objects is linked to the devil (rākṣasas) of the society.
Changing Cultural Fabric: Impact of Modernization
Whenever old customs and methods of doing work are replaced by new ones, when there is change in the sociocultural fabric of society, the transition becomes a significant event for those who witness the changes. This process or event gets expressed in folk tales, in myths, in ballads, in proverbs and in songs.
SONG ON TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGE
Our traditional customs and methods of doing work Have been changed
With the advent of new machines! Instead of flour mills run by water
There are electric mills to grind the grain
All the daughters and daughters-in-law of the village go there now!
The āttā ground in a cakkī
Was like butter
Today nobody goes to the cakkī
Dear friends, stop and think about all this – do not run after new fashions only.
Our traditional customs
Are being replaced by new technology by the new daughters-in-law.
The gingyal – pestle – has been burnt as fuel wood There were traditional dances by the bedas
Today everybody only watches films
The young boys are rarely seen at home today They all crowd the cinema halls.
The young women used to wear long sleeved blouses But today they walk around with half their arms bare!
The boys wear tight trousers And can only sit on a sofa-set
Our culture was governed by dharam-karma
Today the young women in the family roam around with uncovered heads They are so fashionable
Their sarees are flying in the air all the time.
The above song was composed by women in the age group 45-60. Interestingly the same song was sung in village Pipli, Chamba block and in the Budakedar at a distance of 82 km. It throws light on so many aspects of the life of women in Garhwal, which have changed in the last fifteen years.
An interesting discussion followed after the recording of this song at village Pipli in the mahilā maṇḍal meeting. Surnadevi who sang this song said:
The electric flour mills have reduced the tedium of a work to a large extent, but the gharāt, flour mills run by water had a special significance in our lives. We would all collect our grain and walk to the water mill in the lap of nature. We would sing songs, express our joys and sorrows often we would cook cappāttīs, and make chutney from pudīnā and would sit together and eat.
The panaghaṭa (natural spring) where we went to collect water on a moonlit night (it is too hot to go during the day) in summer was the venue for social interaction. We would sing songs and dance together. The taps have made life much easier, but the joy of doing collective work is no longer there.
Surnadevi’s beautiful description gives some insights into the life of women in Garhwal twenty years ago. The advent of technology has created more leisure time which is being spent watching TV and films by the younger daughters-in-law of the family.
Some elderly women in the group shared with me that this change in lifestyles was significantly responsible for the younger women singing much less. “Why do they need to sing, their life is so comfortable”, said Uma Devi, who is 70 years old.
“It is not only that one sings in sorrow, but the relatively comfortable lifestyle has been invaded by an entertainment device called the TV, which is
largely responsible for the loss of our cultural heritage”, says Beharilal from “Lok Jeewan Vikas Bharati”, Budakedar.
What is significant here is the richness of the source material song in mirroring so many changing aspects of a culture.
Religious songs called jagar are not sung so widely now. The Oujis, who were the traditional singers of narratives and episodes from the epic Mahābhārata, are now rare to find. Sevadas from village Gonagarh near Budakedar said that in the interior valley still many people would gather to hear him sing, but nearer the town this tradition has disappeared. The children of our families no longer follow this profession.
Beharilal, in the context of the women of Budakedar, environment and gender gap, says:
Historically, the Das families are the original inhabitants of this area. They had their own traditions of singing and dancing. In the month of March when the men and women were comparatively free, these people – two men and two women – would travel to villages (status of women is different in Garhwal, they are seen as archetypal images of Śiva and Pārvatī) assigned to them and sing and dance in celebration of the harvest. In exchange they were given grain and some money. The rest of the year they worked on their own fields and were integrated into the life of the community. With the coming of the Āryans from the mainland and the Gorkhas these dancing traditions came to be looked upon as entertainment traditions which would be governed by the whims and fancies of the “invaders”. The women were no longer in control of their dancing and this created an upheaval amongst the Ouji-Das community. With the intervention of the Sarvodaya movement which had made its mark in this region by this time and the support of the upper-caste women in the community, the lehaṅgās of the women were burnt, and they stopped dancing completely. The men continued to sing from the Mahābhārata and entertained the community, while at the same time imparting knowledge and carrying forward the wisdom of the great epics. Another significant contribution made by the Sarvodaya movement in this area was satyāgrahī to allow entry of Harijans into the temple at Budakedar.
SONG DESCRIBING CHAMBA
Chamba town, situated on the main road
Has beautiful little and big shops. The students from the college near by Gather in the streets
Their teachers urge them to study and Not to smoke tobacco
And not to say unkind words to others Chamba town is a nice little town
Even the road to New Tehri goes from here!
Environmental Issues
Dissent and protest related to exploitation of women in forests while is an issue of great concern to the Garhwali women, her life is centred around going to the jungle twice a day; once for fuel wood in the morning and once for fodder. In areas where the forests have been taken over by the government and where the jungles have been cut extensively because of construction of roads, this activity becomes even more difficult for her. She has not only to walk a longer distance but interact with forest rangers and forest guards. This is not a particularly pleasant situation for her because the latter represent power and authority whereby exercising control over her life in a number of ways.
The following song by a Harijan woman in village Gonful, near Budakedar, reflects some of these aspects:
Dear Kamali
Why did you bring the wood of the Deodar tree Cut by the timber merchants
They sell this wood in the market And make large wooden boxes Now they will beat you up.
Kamali, you made a big mistake By consuming sweet meats offered by these men
When you go home
Your husband will beat you Kamali Nobody likes the idea
That you ate the sweets
Offered by the timber merchants Dear Kamali,
Why, oh why, did you do this?
The patrol or forest guards try to lure the woman cutting grass by offering them sweets, Kamali is an innocent girl, she accepts the sweets offered by them; her friends in the above song try to warn her about the dangers of such an act. While songs are a pointer to what goes on in the society, what is significant here is that women have to cope with such exploitative situations even while they perform their daily tasks for survival.
In some songs the interaction between the forest ranger and the woman cutting grass is given a romantic connotation:
Dear grass cutting woman You are so beautiful
Whichever forest you go to cut grass
Will become beautiful like you! – Dharam Devi
Such romantic interactions or illicit relations between the outside agency and the grass-cutting woman are not truly indicative of Garhwali society and culture, but they do exist as the songs reflect.
Since it is the woman who has to brave the forest alone on a daily basis she has to cope with the remarks of the patrol team and the forest ranger. Another interesting angle to the above situation is reflected in the following song:
While cutting grass
You wandered off to an unknown field On your strength and courage
And the forest rangers did no good to you They confiscated the darātīs
from all the women cutting grass on the hillside Dear ghasiyārī
The sound of your bangles resounds in the forest The sound lures people from here and there Come I will go with you to the jungle
And you can cut grass with no fear of the “patrol”.
A man from the family, in this case the devara, sings the above song to his bhābhī offering her protection from the presence of the outside agency. His reference to “did no good to you!” indicates molestation and harassment. The women at the śivira in Budakedar where this song was recorded said that the patrol did confiscate the darātīs of the women cutting grass to trouble them.
B.P. Nautiyal, one of the resource personnel at the seminar said in Hindi, “We do not want that any employee of the forest department should say anything incriminating to our women.”
The word bhaun kuch encompasses a much wider meaning than just incriminating. B.P. Nautiyal’s remarks initiated a lively discussion and this aspect of women’s life in relation to the forest was deliberated upon at length.
Thus, many songs in Garhwal make reference to the exploitation of women by the forest rangers, representing the presence of the outside agency. At the śivira in Budakedar this aspect of woman’s life in relation to the forest came up for discussion. The mahilā maṇḍal representatives of about ten villages around Budakedar suggested that the jungle around the village should be given to the care of the grāma pañcāyata and should not be under the control of the forest department. This would minimize the dangers from outside agencies. Decisions regarding taking care of the jungle around the village would rest with the people of the village.
SONG ON NATURAL DISASTERS
Beyond the mountains of Harsil The thick black clouds
Look like the black bangles on your arms These clouds created torrential rain And the mighty River Gaṅgā flooded Somebody’s daughter
And somebody’s daughter-in-law have been swept in these floods
The Gujjars have lost their buffaloes. The flat fertile land
Has been converted to undulating land I see the saree of a woman floating
Down the river
Oh, what destruction!
Songs are also composed on natural disasters and events that have a significant bearing on the life of people in the region. These two songs were composed by the women after the devastation caused by floods in 1990, and after the earthquake that rocked Tehri Garhwal in 1992.
SONG ON UTTARAKHAND EARTHQUAKE
Dear God!
How did you turn your face?
From Garhwal, the “land of gods and goddesses” Today this land lies in silence!
After the months of Sāvana and Bhādoṅ Come Asauja
And we were all waiting for Dīpāvalī At 3 o’clock one night
This treacherous earthquake came
The earth was shaking with its impact! Within seconds
Fields, homes, entire families were buried alive There was darkness everywhere
The town of Uttarkashi was devastated Whoever saw this sight
Fell like jumping into the river and dying Oh, what a night!
Dear God!
Why did you get upset?
With this beautiful land Garhwal Today it lies stunned in silence!
Songs reflect the significant contribution of women to the family and community life of Garhwal, “aurata kī ẓiṅdagī pahāṛ jaisī kaṭhora hai, but their character is also firm like the mountain”, says Ganga Prasad Bahugana.
Mobilizing Women’s Power and the Creation of Mahilā Maṇḍals
Shashibehn who is heading the NGO, “Mahila Mandal Nav Jagran Samiti”, located at Chamba, says:
There is tremendous power in the village women of Garhwal. Before the mahilā saṅgạthana was started, women used to say that “meetings are held only by men for men, what we will do in a meeting”. Now they fully participate in all the activities and they compose their own songs.
The following song composed by the women of the mahilā maṇḍals of the village Kotigad and Pipli:
Situated at the edge of two gorges Koṭigaḍ is the name of our village Everyone worships Lord Rāma here
The environment of this village is very nice People belonging to three castes live here Brāhmins, Ṭhākurs (Rājpūts) and Harijans Predominantly it is inhabited by Rājpūts When there is a meeting in the village
All the sisters leave their work And come to attend the meeting This coming together is wonderful It has given strength to our society
Shashibehn started this mahilā maṇḍal She teaches us to mobilize ourselves And solve our own problems
We have learnt a lot of good things And made a difference in our society
The head of our mahilā maṇḍal is very active She leads us and we all follow her
How wonderful it is to work together Dear Sisters!
Keep the name of this mahilā maṇḍal flying high Spread the light of knowledge from village to village
Involve all the daughters and daughters-in-law
Our village Koṭigaḍ, situated between two gorges is beautiful!
Songs are life-centred, they are the pulse of a society, their dynamism is reflected in their content which has a movement, continuity. As anthropologist
S.C. Malik has said: Tradition is a continuous creation in the Now.