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| The traditional customs and folk culture retreated in the blind race of modernity | | | Vijay Garg
Our villages are changing. This change can be seen at many levels. Not only contacts improved in villages when connected to road and railroads, but lifestyle and rural surroundings have also changed. There was electricity in villages, which brought light with them, also made a medium of tools like TV. The road and electricity played a big role in trying to make villages stand parallel to the cities and move towards par. Now the villages did not remain the same as were three-four decades ago. Arguably, this change should be called positive and growth oriented. The people of villages also have the same right to live a resourceful life, as the people of the city, but the change always brings some unwanted references with them. These references sometimes become factors of social and cultural change and take us away from our cultural heritage. If electricity came in villages, it also brought side effects with lights, in the dark of which the folk culture of villages began to vanish. Electricity did not change the lifestyle of the people of the villages, but also changed their thinking. TV opened the window of rural life towards the city and the big cities. Rural life was greatly influenced by it. In a spree of modernity, people went away from their traditional customs. Modernity also dominated in manglik programmes with festivals that people began to understand their traditions the past. At one time, songs were sung from every small-grown festivals in villages to different seasons. People used to feel the weather not only because of the change in the abo-air, but also from the mind-brain. Folklore- Music works to connect people with traditional cultural heritage. But the changing times changed everything. Now the songs are not heard fag, teal, crutches, kazari, barhamasa and jhula. The new generation is being deprived of their sweetness. Not only this, folk dramas, which were held on various festival-festivals and special occasions in villages, also went on to offer modernity. The folk plays were replaced by an orchestra. The stage of the play was the stage of social harmony. In the blind race of modernity, people went far ahead today and missed the traditional customs and folk culture behind. There was a lot of chakchanda at the school of villages long ago. However, there has been a radical change in that time and today’s education business. Then most of the schools were not government and the Guruji of Pathshala had to depend only on Guru Dakshina, who met his disciples for livelihood. Starting from Bhadrapada Chaturthi, for ten days, Chakchanda was celebrated as a celebration in villages, in which the students used to go home and sing Ganesh Vandana and ask for chakchanda. It was given to Chanda Guruji with respect. It used to lead a guru’s livelihood. Chakchanda should not be seen just as the folk and traditional festival sought for Guruji’s Dakshina, but it used to coordinate the entire village and add to the source of unity. It is right that there are government schools in villages today and teachers government mulazim. Coaching institutes and private schools have also opened. Private educational institutions should not amount to Chakchanda, but heavy tuition fee. Similarly, there is a festival of unwavering love of siblings, Sama- Chakeva. Women dance ‘Sama Chakeva’ by wearing traditional Maithili apparel in this festival. Similarly traditional celebrations like Vidapada Naach and Jitiya Naach are now counting on their last day. Dholk’s loud thap with heroic juice-drenched aalha singing has also become an old-fashioned thing now. Ramleela is also now being lost in the darkness of the past. By a few decades ago, Ramlila Mandali used to come regularly in villages every year and for two-three weeks, people enjoyed it. But, Ramlila of villages ahead of the glare of TV and OTT, now people have started feeling boring. Similarly, the virha and puppet dancing of the villages also now became a matter of past age. Turning back today, it is an effortless feeling that in the race for modernity, we have become so far away from our customs and folk traditions that it is no longer easy to return and adopt them. But the folk traditions which have rest of the breath must be tried to give a new life. Because, when there is a folk culture, there is melody and exaltation in folk life.
Vijay Garg Retired Principal Educational Columnist Eminent Educationist street kour Chand MHR Malout Punjab |
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