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FOLK ARTS AS MASS COMMUNICATION MEDIA
- C.S. Sreekumar
Origin of Folk Arts
With
the creation of living things the art of communication started. The animal
expresses its feelings of pleasure, anger and hunger through their own means of
sound and other sense organs. The primitive people with their nomadic culture
were concerned more with food rather than shelter and clothing. They moved from
terrain to terrain in search of roots, fruits, and beasts to prey upon. After
toiling from dawn to dusk, either they relaxed in the shades of trees or on the
banks of rivers to relieve themselves from the ordeals as they encountered.
When they found the area ideal for habitat and learnt the art of agriculture
and cattle rearing, they settled there and began to put up huts on the ground
with wood and other materials at elevated places in order to escape from the
fury of nature and animals. Later they moved to plains and slowly learnt the
art of building houses, which withstood the onslaught of weather. Men lived in
groups though many houses were built each adjoining the other. Thus, human
habitation came into existence and later it took the form of villages.
The
village people of those days spent their times usefully and purposefully. The
labourer in agricultural fields and in rural industries sang songs to overcome
the weariness of their work. These are known as Folklore. Folklore is a medium
through which the soul of a people expresses itself colourfully. In such
creation, they find an artistic fulfilment and entertainment combing with dance
that is called Folk arts. Folk art differs from primitive art in its outlook
and character. It comes into being after a culture begins to sophisticate,
taking shape in various styles and techniques. It does not involve any formal
training. The children pick up the song and dance as they pick up their
language. The needs and peculiar problems of the village people's life find an
expression in folk art. Their daily life is full of religious customs and
ceremonies. Myths and legends are required to be illustrated interestingly and
conveyed to the public. Children require toys and dolls to play with. Changing
tastes of women are to be satisfied with new types of ornaments. Shrines and
idols are to be built. While satisfying the needs of the people, folk art
attains a certain aesthetic level. Folk art has its own individuality and
character and it exists by its intrinsic merit i.e., fight of fancy of the
artist, its symmetrical form, rhythm of design and efficient workmanship. Materials
used in folk art are local and not imported from outside. Folk art is closely
connected with the soil, linked up with the customs and belief of the people.
It is in no way art for art's sake. It is utilitarian in outlook and is based
on the socio-religious life of the people. It is anonymous and its origin
cannot be traced to any particular period of time. Over all, Folk art is a
higher form of culture in comparison to primitive art.
Folk Arts as an Effective Mass Media
The
word 'Tradition' implying customs, habits and way of life existed in a society
for a long period of continuity from time immemorial and practiced from one
generation to another. It can be transmitted through written scriptures or by
word of mouth. The nomadic primitive people sharing a common cultural heritage
based on oral tradition are generally said to have a folk culture. Folk implies
the people's participation and spontaneity. Folk culture in a society is seen
in four different forms:
Among
these, the Oral tradition and the Performing arts appear to be the main media
of communication. Storytellers, singers, minstrels and other kinds of folk
entertainers have acted for centuries as sources for the transmission and
dissemination of news and information through face-to-face live communication.
Families, social groups and community gatherings served as the main flora of
communication and sources for feedback for the folk performers. The values,
attitudes, beliefs and culture of the people are propagated, reinforced and
perpetuated through these folk forms. The issues in a society are depicted in the
form of satire by the folk artists for curing societal evils.
Anthropologically,
India is divided into tribal (12%) rural (75%) and urban (13%). Due to vast
geographic disparities, rural settlements and lack of modern education, folk
cultures abound in India. Indian society with its complex family system,
classes, ethnic groups and clans has not fully emerged out of the deep
associations of the folk culture. In remote villages and in tribal communities,
indigenous strands of basic Indian culture persist through the use of oral and
functional role of folklore. This emphasizes the strong links the Indian
society has with the past. This aspect of cultural perpetuity is discernible in
our attitudes and taboos, in spite of the acceptance of modern innovations.
Hence, the folk arts have been used for moral, religious and socio-political
purposes in India right from ancient times. Rarely have they been resorted to
for pure entertainment alone. Indeed, there have been schools of learning,
courts of justice and discussion fora. It must be noted that folk forms have
specific, religious, communal, caste wise and linguistic dialects and bear
values and associations that need to be taken into account. Thus, the folk arts
preserve and disseminate in a lively manner, the tradition and culture of our
forefathers, since they are deeply rooted in the social mainstream. Folk media
are relatively inexpensive and easily accessible which adds to the popularity
of the folk media in rural areas. Their highly spontaneous, participatory and
involving quality makes them the media par excellence for any powerful and
effective communication.
Folk Dances
Folk
dances are a spontaneous human expression of the joy of living. The forms may
change from place to place but the rules, or the lack of them, in this field,
are guided entirely by the spontaneity of the moment. Every country has its own
variety of folk dances. Folk dances in India have always had a spiritual
purpose and religious background and through them the fundamental principles
and philosophic truths of the dominant religions in our country have been
enabled to permeate into the minds of the masses. At the same time, they have
been the most convenient means reflecting the community life and belief, the
social customs and manners, and the hopes and aspirations of the people at
large. Unsophisticated simplicity, spontaneity and gaiety are the
characteristics of folk arts. Karakam, Kavadi, Nayyandi Melam, Puravi Attam or
Dummy Horse Dance, Villupattu, Kaichilambu, Oyil Attam, Bommalattam,
Therukoothu, Peacock Dance, Thola Bommala Kama, etc. are the popular forms of
folk dances of India. Thus, the folk dances play an important part in the life
of people.
Folk Music
Music
appeals to the physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual instincts
of man. A child is contained by the soft strains of music though it does not
understand the language and meaning of the song. The smoothing tones of the
lullaby have the power to put the baby to sleep. Adults find rest and
relaxation at times of stress and worry by listening to rhythmic music. In all
spheres of life - private or public, in villages and in towns, in times of
peace and in times of war, in social and religious functions and in the life of
the individual - music is absolutely essential. In India, more than anywhere
else, music is inseparable form of all these various activities. Music is
remembered more faithfully because to the folk singer the whole meaning of the
song is emotional rather than logical. The appeal lies in the elemental
simplicity of the musical styles that make the people involve in group
behaviour. In tribal societies or societies other than urbanities, folk music
plays a main role in the daily life. Most of the activities of the members of
these societies revolve round the rituals and festivities associated with their
traditional music. The music functions as a communication device when it is
employed through the language and accepted melodic patterns of a community.
Folk musical styles supplement the speech communication with patterned vocal
sounds, i.e., musical styles of modes. "Like the forms of Language"
Alain Danielon writes, "the musical modes are permanent marks of the
tradition to which people belong".
Folk Songs
The
foresters of the woods, hill-men of the mountain ranges, fishermen of the
seaside, the dwellers in the river basins, boatmen and the mariners all these
follow their own traditions. They are humble and contented. Their family ties
were fostered by age-old customs and they had supreme faith in an all -
powerful providence. Often, this faith of theirs in a Superior being manifested
itself in their love for a tree, a stone, an animal, a river, a hill, a forest,
or even an idea. Until they developed agriculture, the main occupation of the
people was hunting and food gathering. Later they came to occupy with tilling
the land, after converting it into small plots for ploughing and working hard
to reap a seasonal harvest. Agriculture demanded their full attention and they
were kept fully occupied while sowing and reaping. In between, there was
leisure and rest from the basic demand of the tiller's life-hard manual labour.
This was the time for recreation for song and dance to lighten their lives.
When they had satisfactory harvest, their feeling of joy and exhilaration found
expression in song and dance. Social and family gatherings and celebrations
also gave rise to song and music. There are the folk songs that colour and
reflect the lives of the peasants in all their variety and fullness. The anonymous
folk songs are rich miniatures representing the lives, the joys and sorrows of
the village folk. These songs and dances convey to us the aesthetic sense of
people. The unique feature about them is that they belong to the community. The
authorship of the songs is not of our concern because they are preserved by
oral tradition.
In
cultured societies, a song may be distinguished from music. The functions of
the two artists, i.e., poet and musician are quite different here. However,
among the common people, they are one; song and music go hand in hand. Apart
from entertainment, folk songs are sung to teach the child to walk, to dance,
to drink milk, to eat food, to play, to count, to be industrious and
good-natured. The child receives home education through folk songs, which are
unforgettable and everlasting.
The
spirit of singing is the source of folk poetry and music is its very soul. The
intensity of emotion, which the oral repetition imparts to the folk song, is
its heartbeat. The peculiarity of the folk song lies in the fact that every
member of a community takes a more or less active part in its ceremonial
function. Though everyone may not exactly sing the song, the song is known to
and enjoyed by all to the heart's content. Their active participation is in
contrast to the passive hearing of an audience assembled in musical and
literary gathering in a city nowadays. In a folk song, we have only the singer.
He may sing alone or in a group with or without the accompaniment of musical
instruments. It is believed that the folk feeling and melody are inseparably
intermingled in a folk song. Actually, the text of the song and its melody do
not form an integral unit and the bond may be broken. The same song may be sung
in different tunes in different parts of the country or even in the same
locality. This is corroborated by the fact that the singer forgets the basic
melody and sets the song to his own melody. The tunes may change from age to
age or from one person to another. There is no fixed notation of music or a set
tune though it becomes difficult to find out the basic melodies. A few melodies
in comparison with a large number of texts testify to this fact. We find
different versions of the text and melody prevalent in a country. One tune of
the text expresses joy and another tune of the same text sounds sad and
depressing. The tie of the musical features with the emotional aspect of the
song seems strong. But it is not always inseparable. Folk people are unable to
express a mood or emotion unless they make use of musical terms of city usage.
Folk Theatres
Primitive
man began to express his thoughts and views by way of raising some alarming
sound to convey fear, trumpeting his success in war with animals and fellow
being and by crying to express his loss and grief. The signs of bodily
expression and vociferous expression of human beings have been pruned, polished
and changed as architecture. Refined forms of such sounds are classified as
lullabies, dirge, music and songs. The raising of voice with physical expression
became the art of folk. When folk arts were staged as entertainments, they
became folk theatre. Folk theatre performances are closely associated to
celebrations such as birth, marriage, death etc. There are a number of
fertility rites linked to food gathering, the earth, the sun and the moon. In
these, the immediacy of life experiences is recalled in sound, rhythm and
movement. Dramatic action with the form of spoken words and gestures makes its
appearance. Since Indian society was nurtured in the oral tradition where the
bulk of learning was transferred through the narration of stories, myths,
hymns, and songs; it is only natural that one of the ways through which they
expressed their feelings about social problems was the theatre.
Folk
theatre emerged as a powerful means of social communication in traditional
societies. Man utilized his talent in folk arts and theatres not only as a mode
of entertainment but also as a source of conveying information. The folk dramas
that originally yielded pleasure to the villages and the town people alike were
transformed into stage. These stage plays have descended into street plays,
which deal with the day-to-day problems of people. The street plays being
realistic are devoid of the traditional make-up, costumes and screens, and the
characters are more life like. Their sole aim is to communicate to the people,
which they understand easily and encourage them. These street plays reach
people at every nook and corner. The feedback will be immediate. The language employed
by these media is the common idiom of the society. Hence, it is easily
comprehended by both the educated and the uneducated audience. Therefore, the
folk dramas were very popular from the medieval period and they are being used
as a good media system even today. The folk dramas staged by the rural troupes
in all the stages help in promoting mass communication.
Review of Various Folk Art Forms Used for Communication
Folk
is an ornament of our cultural heritage. Every region of the country has its own
distinctive features. India has a great treasure of folk and traditional art
forms right from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Maharashtra to Northeast. These
show its socio-religious and philosophical dimension woven artistically and
aesthetically into a life experience, presented in a creative and innovative
manner. India is a land of innumerable folk / traditional arts. Some of them
are Alkapa, Ankia Nata or Bhaona, Bahuroopi, Bata Lavane, Baul, Bayalata,
Bhagavatamela, Bhaironji Ke Bhope, Bhakha, Bhanda Pathera, Bharuda, Bhavai,
Bhootam or Bhootaradhana, Bidesia, Bihu and Deodhani, Burrakatha, Chhakkari,
Chhau, Dasakathia, Dashavatara Kala, Datti Kunitha, Devotional songs, Doddata,
Gaulan Kala, Ghanta Patau, Gondhal, Gondhaliga, Gopala Kala, Irular Dramas, Jagarana,
Jatra, Kabigana, Kankali songs, Karakam, Karma Dance, Karyala, Kavada, Kavadi,
Khana or Khanera Gana, Khyala, Kinnarijogerahata, Kolattam, Koodiyattam,
Krishnanattam, Kuravanji, Lalita, Lavani, Macha or Mancha, Mahobia, Nandibaila,
Naqala and Bhajata, Nautanki, Oja-Pali, Palatiya, Pandavani, Phad, Povada,
Puppets, Rai Dance, Ramakatha and Harikatha, Ramalila, Rammata, Ranga Panchala,
Rasadhari, Rasalila, Sampoorna, Sannata, Sarpantulla and Sarpankali,
Shrikrishna parijata, Sidi Dhamara, Sri Jatra, Svanga or Sanga, Tamasha, Tarka,
Teratali, Therukoothu, Theyyam, Thottam, Thullal, Turra-Kilangi, Vasudeva,
Veethi Natakam or Gollakalapam, Veshagararu, Yatrakali, etc. Among these, some
are very powerful and effective means of communication that are described as
follows:
§
Alkapa is social satire and is a popular rural drama
among the West Bengal Muslims. Its themes were secular and social. The messages
of women's emancipation, anti-dowry attitudes and higher education for women
are quite successfully enacted in Alkapa.
§
Ballads - The range of folklore presented in the
common Indian story telling forms in the ballad styles is extensive and as full
of variety as the country itself. These storytelling forms have been
effectively used by political parties as well as the sales promotion agencies
in North India. In Tamilnadu there is such a form named as Villupattu, in which
a big bow that is struck with painted sticks as it rests on the neck of a large
earthen pot. It provides accompaniment to the ballad singer. The Villu singers
indulge in musical question and answer contests. This folk form is also made
popular in the cities by N.S.Krishnan and Kothamangalam. Radio, Television and
even Cinema have adapted this to preach national reconstruction.
§
Bauls are wandering minstrels preserving the
Sahajiya tradition of mysticism in Bengal. It is widely used as a medium of
communication especially in rural Bengal by politicians and development workers
for disseminating their ideas.
§
Bhavai is a popular folk theatrical form of states
Rajasthan and Gujarat. When the Bhavai Theatre came down to the village square
from the temples it became a highly popular form of entertainment for the rural
communities. The looseness of the structure of the Bhavai gives tremendous
latitude to the performers to improvise situations and dialogues incorporating
materials from current events and literature. A performance of the Bhavai at
any particular time tends to become a mirror of the prevailing society. A
particular incident is transformed into a Vesha. As the performance goes on
improvising according to the age and audience, the Vesha continues expanding
and transforming itself. Thus, the Bhavai, over and above being a religious
offering and a theatre activity of entertainment, is the carrier of information
from village to village. In the absence of other media, the Bhavai functions
powerfully as a creator of public opinion in the life of the village people.
§
Burrakatha is a traditional form of performing
arts from state Andhra Pradesh. Its skillful with a perfect performers blend of
dance, music and enactment, having social consciousness have been using the
Burrakatha form to spread the messages.
§
Dasakathia is a storytelling form of state
Orissa and is a popular form with development workers because it is possible to
interpolate contemporary sub-stories in the main narrative.
§
Jatra is a powerful theatrical form in states
Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Manipur. It has always been a powerful medium of
expression and entertainment effectively used by religious and political
leaders and social reformers for dissemination of their ideas. During the
Swadeshi Movement, in the hands of Mukund Das, Jatra became an instrument of
social awakening. Recently Utpal Dutt, a famous playwright and film actor,
wrote Jatra plays like Rifle, Jalianwala Bagh, Neel Rakta and Jai Bangala. In
the process of utilizing folk forms, Utpal Dutt introduced Path Natika -
impromptu playlets on day-to-day topics for playing at village markets, street
corners, industrial areas and other crowded places.
§
Keertana / Harikatha / Harikeertan /
Ramakath is a kind
of concentrated drama, a monodrama in which one gifted actor enters swiftly
followed by a whole series of characters, moods and manners. It is a common
sight all over the country. The use of Harikatha is traditionally associated
with the Bhakti-adoration or devotion that has been the inspiring element
behind many of the performing art forms. Its use as an instrument of social and
moral change is not new or unfamiliar in the Indian society. The puranic and
epic stories as such help in disclosing common ethics of the people. The
audience feels a sense of familiarity with many of the epic characters and
incidents. The stories are communicated to the people in many forms -
narratives, dramas, temple carvings, printed pictures, scrolls, books, films,
radio programs and bhajans - which also express the social belief and practices
of the people. Harikatha integrates the people because it includes songs and
different languages which by and large help them in extending their cultural
understanding beyond their own language area and the region. The reciters of
Ramakatha or Harikatha are being used by politicians and development workers as
agents of change. It is such a potent weapon in social education that Lokmanya
Tilak is reported to have said that if he were not a journalist, he would have
been a Keertankar. Harikatha is exploited by the Central and State Governments
to educate the masses on family planning, developmental activities, democratic
values and national integration with the help of Kathakars or Keertankars. All
India Radio and Doordarshan too are using the Keertana form for broadcast
beamed at industrial workers and rural audiences.
§
Karyala is a traditional theatre of state of Himachal Pradesh.
They take contemporary themes such as vulgarity of films and effectively
criticize it through folk songs and folk dances.
§
Kavada is from state of Rajasthan. The narrator of
the Kavada gives lessons on moral and ethics through his stories. Thus, it is a
medium of instruction and communication.
§
Nautaki is a North Indian folk drama form performed on
an open and bare stage. Nautanki has simple dramatic structure comprising small
units linked by a Ranga or Sutradhar, the narrator. These dramatic forms can
easily be adapted to make social and political comments on contemporary events
and leaders.
§
Phada is a picture story narration from Rajasthan.
This form is being used by development agencies for narrating their own
messages.
§
Puppets have different names in different parts of the
country. In India, there are four main types of puppets such as String puppets,
Rod puppets, Shadow puppets and Glove puppets. In Andhra Pradesh it is called
Bommalatta, in Karnataka Gombeylatta, in Kerala Pavai Kuttu. The word Tola is
added before all these names if they are leather-puppets. In Hindi-speaking
regions the puppets are known as Kathaputali, in Maharastra
Chitra-Kathi-Pinguli, in West Bengal Putula-Nacha, in Orissa Ravana Chhaya for
leather puppets and string ones are called Sakhi Kandhai. Puppetry is known all
over the world as an effective medium for entertainment and communication. Like
the film, puppetry is equally popular among the rural masses in India. The
medium of puppets is so flexible that it is being used for various purposes.
Many educational, developmental and communication agencies have successfully
used puppetry to serve their purpose. Puppets are being used for formal and
non-formal education by the government and non-government organizations for many
years. Centre and Cultural Resources and Training, an autonomous body under the
Department of Education organizes workshops for 6-8 weeks for school teachers
of the primary, middle and high schools. They develop themes based on their
syllabus, be it science, mathematics, history, geography, or languages. The
basic concepts are taught through the medium of puppets. The Union Bank of
India and the Life Insurance Corporation of India have used the medium of
puppetry in the state of Uttar Pradesh to arouse the interest of the rural folk
in Bank savings and Insurance policies. A pilot study by the Indian Institute
of Mass Communication on the comparative effectiveness of puppetry and a
documentary film in two villages near Delhi showed that the cheaper traditional
medium could be as effective as film. Women in particular responded more
favourably to the puppet shows than to the films. That finding has led to the
Film Division and the Children's Film Society going in for puppet film.
Doordarshan too capitalizes on the puppet figure in programs for children.
§
Riddles - The dialects of our rural folk abound in
popular wisdom expressed through proverbs and riddles. Prototypes of the
various kinds of riddles popular today are found in the Mahabharata and Jataka
tales. This form usually is employed in talking about taboos or dangerous
objects. For example a tiger is called 'the hornless bullock' when spoken about
at night. Verrier Elwin noted that among Central Indian tribes, a betrothal is
never conducted with the sophisticated vulgarity of ordinary speech. A sort of
riddle is adopted. No one would say straight out; "Sir, I have the honour
to ask you for your daughter". No, the suitors say that they are merchants
and hearing that a beautiful cucumber is growing in the house, they have come
to buy it. Or, they say, "We are
thirsty, give us water and gourd to contain it". If the girl's parents are
unwilling, they reply, "Where can we get water in this dry land? Go and search
where there are good streams and rivers". In this way, folk sayings and
riddles are also used widely for communication.
§
Tamasha is the most popular folk theatrical form in the
state of Maharashtra combining dance of a crisp and exotic type with Lavani
singing and impromptu dialogues often of humorous nature. It has absorbed
strands of cultural influence from several art forms. Social and political
awareness in any community never fails to express itself in its art forms. This
quality gives the Tamasha theatre a contemporary ring. It was once banned by the
Government of Bombay for being used as an instrument of anti-government
propaganda by certain parties. In the British regime, popular leaders of
Maharashtra exploited Tamasha for mass movement. With the upsurge of
nationalism, Tamasha was again used to mobilize public opinion. It is still
growing stronger and being used in various forms for communicating with the
masses. The governments are freely using Tamasha for the last twenty years for
disseminating Five Year Plan messages and developmental themes among the rural
masses.
§
Therukoothu is a street play from the state of
Tamilnadu bringing together dance and the classical literary form - prose,
music and drama. It is believed to have evolved from Villupattu and Nondi -
Natakam. In recent times, the form has been turned into a musical play,
Sangeetha Natakam, both on stage and screen. The form is operatic and acting is
highly stylized. Being a street play, it has an opportunity to establish direct
link with the audience.
§
Theyyam is a ritualistic dance form from the state of
Kerala. This frenzied dance form works as an important channel for releasing
the tensions of the economically and socially deprived and oppressed community
of the society.
§
Thullal is an interesting blend of Kuthu, Koodiyattam,
Kathakali and Patayani and is a solo performance relating to current and local
situations and gossip. Thullal instructs and delights the audience at the same
time. This form can easily be used as a powerful satire on social and political
evils.
India
is the land of villages and eighty percent of our people live in the villages.
Therefore, any economic development in India depends upon rural
development. Integral to any rural
development programmed is the need to devise simple, cheap technology based on
local system and geared to local needs. The traditional folk arts can be
effectively used as media for rural development.
Impact of Folk Arts on Various Movements
The
collective memory of an era, the folk culture adopts a form and action and thus
assumes a new meaning. The macro text of the epic is brought down to micro
situation when it is made relevant to the contemporary society. Traditional folk arts have been carefully
cultivated by various movements.
India
has numerous slum children who are illiterate and poor. More commendable is the
work of Ravi Varma of Vikas Lok Manch who with the help of slum children has
been creatively interpreting social realities in a way that makes sense to the
children. His theatre workshop for the slum children of Bombay normally begins
with discussion on topics like alcoholism, pollution, religion, inequalities of
caste and class, communalism and so forth. One of the group's street plays,
Hame Jawab Chahiya (1985) on the Bhopal gas tragedy began with the children
peering together information and suggestions. The play reminds the audience who
are mostly children that the Bhopal incident is not a dead issue and that its
aftermath still haunts the lives of many. It makes the issues real for the
children as it is interwoven into the fabric of folk dances, choral singing and
humour.
Kerala
Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), a voluntary non-governmental organization in
Kerala organized Science Jatha (Science Procession) in 1977 to spread the
message of people's involvement in the development process. In 1980 and 1981,
the Jathas used the folk arts as a medium for conveying the message of science.
The main themes were on education, health, environment and social inequality.
The repertoire consisted of songs, street dramas and other several forms of
folk arts. Since then there have been many such Kala Jathas, not only in Kerala
but in some other parts of India also where the local organizations and people
have received inspiration from KSSP and have started delivering messages
through folk arts. At present, this is being done in many states of the country
to build an environment for literacy.
Other
groups like Chipko and Apiko movements that say Ecology is Wealth and create
mass awareness about the fragile ecological balance among the villagers have
also been instrumental in creating a quiet revolution through the medium of
folk arts. Folk Singers of the region played vital role in arousing awareness
among the villagers. They composed songs in folk tunes and sang them in the
street. The rural children picked them up immediately and sang them all the
time. Thus, they played the role of communicators. Accepted religious books
like the Bhagavadgita were interpreted in a different manner through songs and
stories to make the villagers conscious of their rights and duties. In the
south, The Save the Western Ghats (1985) campaign headed by Seva Sangh and
supported by a number of other activist groups also found environmentalists
resorting to folk arts.
Rajasthan
Adult Education Association (RAEA) had conducted an experiment in a village
Devakishanapura for bringing about a change by using the text of the epics in
the present day situation. Ravi Chaturvedi, an ex-student of the National
School of Drama sponsored by RAEA had taken up the challenge of using theatre
for change. Chaturvedi's main tasks were to be friendly with the villagers,
observe the problems faced by them, draw up their priority in the terms of
their adverse effect on their villagers and identify change agents. Over a
period, he could pin point three main problems such as Untouchability, Health
hazards and Internal feuds. He selected some episodes from the epic Ramayana
which had dramatic elements and action and reinterpreted them in the context of
the problems prevailing in the village. The village youth decided to enact an
episode of two monkey kings, Bali and Sugriva in which the younger brother does
not help the elder brother in his fight with the demon because the relationship
between these two brothers was strained. The elder brother dies in the fight.
The younger one repents later. Chaturvedi taught the boys to prepare masks from
old newspapers. They were needed for the make-belief context of the street
play. Secondly, the villagers may not accept their fellow-man as Lord Raman nor
would the actor have the courage to face the familiar faces in the audience
when he is posing as a God. The mask would hide his hesitation and the audience
would also accept Rama with mask. The enactment was successful. Only a
storyline was given to the actors. They managed the rest on their own. The
musicians and singers played popular folk tunes. The play ended with the famous
Rajastani folk songs "Digipurika Raja, baje. Chhe nobata vaja".
Another
experiment was conducted in the village Garudavasi of Jaipur district. The
whole village was devastated due to floods. The villagers were convinced that
the floods are manmade. Their anger was aimed at contractors and the
government. After about a month's stay in that village Chaturvedi conducted a
folk theatre workshop as a therapy for rehabilitation of the villagers. In the
workshop some scientific reasons behind the flood were explained. Their
enactment was based on their problems sung and narrated in folk tunes. The
audience participation was hundred percent. Even as the performance was on some
people got up from the audience, went up to the actor, whispered his grievances
against the Patavani or Tehasildara in his ears. The actor immediately
interpolated those issues. Communication thus was fast and effective.
There
are many organizations all over the country which perform folk arts on topics
relevant to the society with the purpose of generating awareness for change.
They use popular folk form of dance, music and theatre. It shows that the
importance of involving the mass at the grass root level for any change
oriented program is widely realized as inevitable. Even political parties use
this medium to impress upon the people.
Advantages of Folk Media
The
appeal of Folk media is quite personal and at an intimate level because it has
got direct influence on people. As in the case of colloquial dialects the
familiar format and content of mass media gives much clarity in communication.
The numerous and different forms of mass media can be exploited to cater to the
needs of the people for immediate and direct rapport. The folk media is so
flexible that new themes can be accommodated in them.
Indian
folk forms are a mixture of dialogue, dance, song, clowning, moralising and
prayer. Though the folk media attracts a small audience, the impact on them is
at a much deeper level inviting the audience participation. As the moral
instruction campaigned is with entertainment. Being dramatic and lyrical, it
satisfies our innate need for self expression. The tradition and culture of
ancestors are preserved and disseminated by the folk media in a lively manner.
From a century wide perspective the folk and traditional media are still the
only mass media in the sense that they have their routes in the tradition and
experience of a large majority of the population and also that they have a
reach much more extensive than any of the modern technological media.
Advantages of the Folk Media Over the Electronic Media
The
folk media have certain clear-cut advantages over electronic media. The
Familiarity, Personal contact, Common Language, Intelligibility, Credibility
and Acceptance make the folk media universally acceptable among rural folks.
In
the electronic media like radio and television messages come out of an
impersonal electronic box but in the folk media there is contact between the
sender of the message and the receiver. As the contact is direct and personal,
the messages in folk media are far more credible and acceptable than if it were
transmitted through the electronic media.
Mr.S.Krishnan,
Station Director of All India Radio, Bombay, spoke on the effectiveness of the
folk media, at a lecture at the Staff Administrative College in Bombay in
August 1983, "The effective method of communicating with the backward
population in rural areas is to talk to them in terms of myths and legends
which are a part of their religion. The tribes may have their own gods and
goddesses and their own myths which are modern in its appeal and if such a
myths were communicated with the help of tribal artistes themselves in their
own dialects, it would go a long way rather than a performance by an urban
troupe"
In
folk arts, audience participation is very important. In adult education, the
emphasis is given on an individual's transformation through his own active
participation in the development process. The folk media is more flexible,
repeatable and reachable than the electronic media. Repeating one particular
message through the folk media is far easier and far less expensive than doing
so through the electronic media. The reach in terms of numbers is greater
through the electronic media but effective reach is far greater through the
folk media. The advantages of the folk media over the electronic media are
several. Some of the more important components are:
|
Component |
Folk media |
Electronic media |
|
Investment
(Finance) |
Negligible |
Very high |
|
Power |
Not
Essential |
Essential |
|
Receiver sets |
Not
required |
Essential |
|
Maintenance |
None |
Essential |
|
Technical
problems |
None |
Often |
|
Interpreter |
Not
Essential |
Preferable |
|
Familiarity |
Familiar |
Familiar |
|
Personal
contact |
Always |
None |
|
Language
problems |
None |
Possible |
|
Credibility
factor |
Very high |
Lower |
|
Audience
participation |
Very high |
Seldom |
|
Flexibility |
Very high |
Very high |
|
Adult
education |
More
effective |
Less so |
|
Repeatability |
Easy |
Difficult |
|
Reactions |
Can be
gauged on the spot |
Cannot be |
|
Reach |
Very wide |
Restricted |
|
Attentiveness |
On the
theme |
Can be
clouded by novelty |
|
Intelligibility |
Very high |
Not
comparable |
|
Understanding |
Universal |
Isolated |
|
Acceptance |
Universal |
Universal |
|
Overall
effectiveness |
Very high |
Not
comparable |
|
Programme
designing |
Easier |
More
difficult |
Compared to the amount spent on the
electronic media, the cost of developing the folk media into an effective mass
communication tool will be negligible but the return is greater and quicker. In
folk media, the components such as power, transmitters, receivers, maintenance
and technical problems are not arising and this is a major cost saving factor.
The sudden realization that the folk media is the most effective form of
communication in developing nations has also dawned upon the governments of
other countries. Recently some developing Asian countries have come together
and have started documenting and researching folk traditions which they think
may serve the development process of their nations. Philippine is one of the
centers where such work is being done.
It
is a fact that the gulf between the electronic media and the folk media in
terms of effectiveness in the Indian media context will always remain wide. The
lack of physical contact and the absence of audience participation are the
greatest impediments. Yet a more judicious combination of the two media will
certainly go a long way in enhancing communicability and towards generating a
more definite understanding and response among the rural masses.
In
India, folk traditions are used as a vehicle for mass communication. Even one
form like Bhavai shows different variations and colours in different parts of
the same state, Gujarat. According to the famous film maker Shyam Benegal, the
government should bring more authenticity to their efforts of using the folk
media. Artistes belonging to the area where the form is popular should be
selected instead of asking staff members of the Song & Drama Division to
play a role. According to him the mass opinion created by Burrakatha a popular
folk form in Andhra Pradesh during the Telungana Movement is textbook case.
People from very remote village were motivated by Burrakatha professionals of
individual communities. Shyam Benegal feels that cultural organizations could
play a large role in harnessing the folk media to development. The message must
necessarily be the same but the way it is conveyed should suit the tastes of
the local populace. So that the greatest number accepts it and tastes like the
numerous modes, vary so often within a territory. A sincere effort on the part
of both the government and the cultural organizations can set definite
guidelines and see to the implementation of the region wise development of the
folk media as a mass media tool. Studies done by Shyam Parmar and H.K.Ranganath
underline areas where folk media scores over mass media:
Folk Arts in Modern Context
The
influence of art, music, dance and drama, if rightly presented and practiced,
can be of immense help in developing creative genius. The use of art forms of
the cultural development of the masses and training of emotions has lately been
experimented upon but they are lacking in imagination, planning, and foresight.
The drawbacks in the present use of the traditional folk media for emotional
education of the masses are:
1.
The
cultural groups used for such purposes lack the spirit of social service and
social welfare.
2.
The
folk items presented for the healthy entertainment of the people lack in
authenticity and depth.
3.
The
new themes given to these traditional forms such as dance, drama, and song do
not suit the purpose for which they are meant and the technique in which they
are used. They are either very unsuitable or too direct for assimilation and
moral impact.
4.
The
traditional forms used for mass communication are not properly assessed for
their suitability. Proper documentation work is not conducted before their use.
5.
Various
art groups working in the field of publicity under some governmental projects
too are of low calibre. The contents of their performances aim at publishing
the governmental achievements and not at developing the personality of men.
The
use of a traditional folk medium for communication according to modern need is
a very delicate affair and only expert choreographers, educationalists and
artists can undertake this work. The Public Relations man can make clever use
of traditional folk media for his campaigns, particularly in the rural areas.
Conclusion
Being
ancient forms of art, the folk media is very close to the heart of the people.
Its appeal is universal and its understanding is direct and at personal level.
So the folk media can effectively be used as mass communication among
ruralities and urbanities.
The
folk media have played a very important role in solving several emotional
problems and channelizing the destructive forces into constructive ones. In
India folk music, folk dances and folk dramas have always played an important
role in combating destructive elements and in harmonizing emotional outbursts
relating to caste, creed, religion and language issues. Several folk forms of
entertainment prevalent in different parts of India were powerful media of
public instruction and unifying force for emotional integrity. Various
organizations, movements and government bodies can effectively make use of
these folk arts for developmental activities.
The
communication needs in India are much greater than the resources we have today
to meet them. While the mass media have been constantly expanding, the folk
media have been playing an important role in this field due to our peculiar
needs. Apart from these live programs in face-to-face communication, the folk
forms have also been used in programs over electronic media. India's roles in
identifying folk media for communication purposes have been quite positive.
This experience can certainly be of some use to both the developing and
underdeveloped countries if proper assessment of these efforts becomes
available through scientific surveys.
While
folkway of communication dominates in remote and rural areas, they are present
in various forms in urban centers as well. One of the main problems and
objectives is to consolidate the relationship between the two forms of
communication without disrupting either the traditional roots or the necessary
trend towards modernity. Outside its usual context, folk media of communication
have also been largely used during recent events occurring in the political and
social life of many developing countries. In the industrialized countries,
vestiges of folk communication survive in varying degrees.
Almost
all of the developing countries show a mixture of traditional and modern
communication. There is a constant interplay and reciprocal influence between
them. It seems very important to maintain their co-existence and mutual
relationship. As regard to folk arts, it is very clear that the revival of such
forms of arts can very well be utilized for reconstruction of new ideas and
building up of our nation in a better way.
Folk
media are most effective in changing the unscientific attitudes, superstitions,
etc. inherited as a part of tradition by the people in rural areas. In the
course of folk performance, they transmit information and project ideas that
may influence attitudes and behaviour as well as entertainment. Thus it is a
great revelation nowadays that the folk arts are quite sufficient, as a medium
to inform and disseminate people to safeguard against superstition and other
such beliefs.
The
mass media face certain disadvantages in the use of folk forms. The live
programs of folk media cannot out live their utility even with the full
expansion of mass media. Their effective use may emerge as an extension arm of
mass media. The various permutations and combinations of mass media and
traditional media is a challenging task and with proper facilities for training
and research at the Centre and State level, this branch of communication has
immense possibilities of expansion.
Studies
have proved that the hold of the folk media on the rural and semi-urban masses
is still strong. Realizing the potentialities of folk media, some State
Directorate of Public Relations and non-official organizations make imaginative
use of the folk art, live entertainment movements has made several experiments
by employing many of these forms for dissemination of ideas and innovations.
Therefore, these folk forms should be kept up.
Each
folk art itself is a medium of communication because it is directly linked with
the psyche of its audience. It is flexible and it can be modified in regard to
its functional relevance to the society to which it belongs. That is perhaps
why it survived.
Folk
media are closer to the lives of rural audience. The countries like India,
Bangladesh, China and Indonesia have been used their folk arts forms to
communicate development messages for several centuries.
With
the advent of technology and other faster forms of communicating media, the
folk/traditional media have started decaying. At present, the rural audience of
India is receiving neither of them in adequate and effective proportion. With
the slow disappearance of the folk performing arts and the lack of new mass
media in the villages, a kind of communication gap has developed. The
traditional media have become more or less ineffective, no other medium is
available for communication and even if it is available, the people do not know
how to use it. Therefore, it is essential to establish modern communication
media with an effective network covering rural areas and also to make use of
decaying folk performing arts for communicating the message and disseminating
information and knowledge.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright 2007© C.S. Sreekumar. About the author
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