Folk traditions

Displaying 1 - 10 of 29
Shweta Radhakrishnan
A Garhwali community radio station was a long-cherished dream in the region, kept alive and nurtured by a dedicated group of community members for over a decade. This dream was finally realised when Mandakini ki Awaaz began broadcasting on September 21, 2014.  Manvendra Negi and Devilal Bharati are…
in Interview
Shweta Radhakrishnan
Madhuri was 13 years old when she first met the Mandakini radiowalahs (radio people), as they were called in her village. They were a small group of three people from the Mandakini ki Awaaz radio station who had come to her village, Pinglapani, to record content—songs, stories, jokes—for the…
in Article
Shweta Radhakrishnan
‘Lyaava suna, suna meri baat, Mandakini ki awaaz, lyaava suna, suna meri baat, Mandakini ki awaaz’ (Let us listen, listen to what we have to say, the voice of the Mandakini, let us listen, listen to what we have to say, the voice of the Mandakini) Every morning across the Mandakini river valley, …
in Overview
Shweta Radhakrishnan
Community radio is a broadcast medium operated ‘in the community, for the community, about the community and by the community’, as radio broadcaster from Philippines, Louise Tabing writes in the UNESCO-published How to Do Community Radio.  More localised than state-owned and commercial radio,…
in Module
Shreyosee Sen
Porokiya bhabe brojo modhho baas Prembhabe paiya ami hoilam daas Mori re mohabhab loiya ami bandha dinu mon Krishnoshokti janiya deho korilam shomorpon   (My heart bleeds with the clandestine trappings of illicit love Enslaved by the yearnings of intimacy Torn within, my acquiescent mind gives in…
in Overview
Shreyosee Sen
in Image Gallery
Shreyosee Sen
Performing in khon was always considered to be a taboo for women in a male-dominated society as it required them to move beyond the private sphere of household and engage with other khon artists in the public sphere. However, Akulbala Sarkar became a pathbreaker as the rebel woman artist who…
in Article
Shreyosee Sen
Folk theatre in Bengal has a rich legacy and it continues to blend components of music and drama to create a performative space that attracts large audiences in the districts of Bengal. Khon is a satirical folk drama tradition of the Rajbanshi community of North Bengal, also known as Deshiya Poliya…
in Module
Simran Agarwal and Shruti Chakraborty
With a multiplicity of customs and rituals attached to its celebration, ‘weddings’ sometimes take peculiar and interesting forms in the mosaic of cultures constituting India. We look at courtship and marriage customs in some Indian tribes. (In Pic: A couple from the Garo tribe; Photo Courtesy:…
in Article
Vishes Kothari
Following are samples and translations of different songs sung to various folk and ancestor deities across Rajasthan. These songs were collected over the years in the Thali-Shekhawati region of Rajasthan from a cross-section of communities. Performed by women, they form part of occasions such as…
in Video