Saturday, April 6, 2019

Indian writing in English


Name :- Nirali J rathod
Roll no. :- 24
Paper no  :- 8 Indian writing in english
Topic :- Popular culture
Enrolment no.  20691084201900039
E-mail ID- niralijrathod@gmail.com
SUBMITTED TO  - S B  GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
In this unit of the study material, the student will learn about the concept and meaning of popular culture and its various aspects in the context of Indian subcontinent, especially India. The student would also know about the sanctified places or pilgrimage centers (tirthas) and the traditions of pilgrimage (tirtha-yatras) associated with those destinations. The content would further enable the reader to get acquainted with the nature and importance of different kinds of festivals, fairs, arts, crafts, dress patterns and food behaviour in our cultures. This would help the student to understand the meaning of the cultural practices popular in different parts of the Indian subcontinent.
1.         Popular Culture
1.1       The Concept – What is Popular Culture?
            Popular culture may be defined as the culture of the masses.  This refers to a shared set of customary practices, beliefs, social forms and material traits of the racial, religious or social groups, which have gained popular acceptance.  In other words, popular culture is commonly practiced or approved by social groups of succeeding generations.  In popular culture, the culture and knowledge is passed on through folklores, mass media, magazines, television, radio, internet, etc.
            Popular culture has been defined differently in different contexts by various scholars.  Some scholars equate the “popular culture”, with “Pop culture”, and “Mass Culture”.  In this context, this concept relates to the culture-patterns of human activity and symbolic structures, that give such activities significance and importance – which are popular or common.  This is often defined or determined by the mass media.             Popular culture is also suggested to be the widespread cultural elements in any given society that are perpetuated through the vernacular language or lingua franca of that society.  It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires, that make up the everyday life of the masses.  This prevailing vernacular culture in any given society may include any number of practices related to the activities such as cooking, clothing, consumption, mass media and the many facets of the entertainment like the sports, music, fashion, photography, literature, etc.  Thus, the pop culture or the mass culture is seen as a commercial culture, which is produced for mass consumption.
1.2       Folklore
What is meant by “Folklore”?
            The term ‘Folklore’ has been derived from the German term ‘Volklehre’ meaning ‘people’s customs’.  It has been used differently in different countries and in different times.  In anthropological usage the term ‘Folklore’ has come to mean myths, legends, folktales, folksongs, chants, formula, speeches, prayers, puns, proverbs, riddles and a variety of forms of artistic expression whose medium is the spoken word.  In other words, folklore includes all types of verbal art.
1.2a     Folktales and Folksongs
            Now, let us discuss the important folklore tradition of the subcontinent in the ancient past.  The Rig-Veda is considered to be the oldest treatise of the world in which we find the specimens of the earliest folksongs and ballads.  Folktales can be traced back to the Vedic akhyayanas (stories).  The Atharvaveda is the storehouse of charms, superstitions, rites, and rituals practised by the people.  In the Grihyasutras, we come across many folksongs sung on auspicious occasions like marriage, child-birth and other ceremonies.
            The tradition of folktales and folksongs continued in the later periods of our history.  These were written in various regional languages in different parts of the subcontinent.  However, the history of folkloristic study in India is still young.  The establishment of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta in 1784 by Sir William Jones was a landmark in this direction.  This institution, besides many other subjects of Indology, undertook the publication of folklore and encouraged the study of folklore.  With the dawn of the 20th century, there arose a new inspiration to collect, preserve and publish the valuable folkloristic treasure of our past.  The efforts of the scholars resulted in the compilation and translation of the folklores and folktales of different regions.  Many folktales and folksongs were composed during the National Movement, which helped in awakening the masses.  It is interesting to observe that now-a-days during the general elections, various political parties adopt folklore as medium of their party propaganda.  A number of folksongs are composed by different parties to attract the voters.  Thus, folklore plays a significant role in the political sphere too.  In this respect, folklore can be used as the best medium for emotional and national integration.  Nevertheless, this continuing tradition would help in the preservation of the oral literature of any region.
2.        The concept of Tirtha (Pilgrimage centre) and Tirtha-yatra (Pilgrimage)
            The origin of the institution of pilgrimage can be traced back to the early phase of our cultural traditions.  The Brahmanical and Buddhist literature of ancient period refer to the tirthas (centres of pilgrimage).  The Nadi-stuti in the Vedas describes the mahatma (religious importance) of the rivers.  Similarly, the smritis mention about the sanctity of the rivers, particularly the Ganges, the Jamuna (Yamuna) and the Saraswati.  These rivers have been endowed with special merit and are regarded as the tirthas.  The term tirtha-yatra (pilgrimage) has been associated with the sacred visits to these spots to get rid of the sins committed in one’s life.  For example, the Visnu-Smriti refers to a number of tirthas spread over whole of ancient India.  It also recommends tirtha-yatra and equates it with the Asvamedha-yajna (the horse-sacrifice).  The Manu-Smriti also gives great importance to pilgrimage to the river Ganges and the site Kurukshetra.
            In Mauryan period also the pilgrims in large number used to visit the holy places as mentioned by the Arthasastra of Kautilya.  In the Mahabharata, a section of the Vanaparva entitled Tirtha-yatra-Parva is specially devoted to pilgrimage.  The Puranas also provide significant information about pilgrimage. The Tirtha-sthali (places of pilgrimage) and the Kshetra-mahatma (importance of the pilgrimage centres) are the important parts of the Puranas.  These also deal about the merits of pilgrimage and the righteous way of life a pilgrim is required to lead during tirtha-yatra.
            Besides the epics and the Puranas, the Nibandhas (digests and commentaries) also emphasize on the types, nature and importance of the tirtha-yatra.  These Nibandhas mention about the Hindu pilgrimage of medieval India.  The notable among these are the Tirtha -Kalpataru of Lakshmidhar, Tirtha-Slisetu of Narayan Bhatt, Chatur-varna-chintamani of Hemadri, Tirtha-Prakash of Mitra Mishra, etc.
           
3.         Festivals and Fairs
            It is difficult to talk about the cultures of the Indian subcontinent without reference to the festivals and fairs, which have their origin in our ancient past and remain in practice till today.  Nevertheless, in many cases we may find the merging of tradition and modernity.

3.1       Festivals and their classification
            Since religion dominates the life of individuals, religious festivals have dominated the cultural life of the people.  We can draw a long list of religious festivals associated with various gods and goddesses, regions and traditions.  These include festivals such as Holi, Dashehra, Diwali, Christmas,
Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Zuha, Gur Parab, etc.  The cultural and regional diversities have led to the practice of multi-faceted festivals.
            The festivals can be broadly divided into the following categories: (i) Religious festivals, (ii) Seasonal festivals, (iii) Cultural festivals, and (iv) Tribal festivals.
(i)         Religious Festivals
            The common religious festivals are: Holi, Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Nawroz, etc.
          
(ii)        Seasonal Festivals
            Most of the festivals in India mark the beginning of a new season and the new harvest.  This is rooted in the fact that India is predominantly an agricultural economy and so the festivals are more associated with the agrarian society.  The festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Holi, Baisakhi, Onam, etc. herald the advent of a new season and new crops.  Besides these traditional festivals being celebrated through the ages, some very new festivals are also becoming popular and attract people.  In this respect, we can include festivals like Boat Race Festival, Mango Festival, Garden Festival, Kite Festival, etc.  But these festivals should not be treated in isolated manner as these too are organized in appropriate regions and seasons.
          
(iii)       Cultural Festivals
            The festivals belonging to this category highlight the cultural tradition of our country.  These reflect the traditional art of India.  Recently, State Tourism Departments have also taken initiative to highlight the unique culture and tradition of the region.  Such festivals include the Phool Walon Ki Sair (a Flower Festival),  Elephant Festival of Kerala, Desert Festival of Rajasthan, Music and Dance festival in different parts of India, etc.
          
Conclusion
            The discussion about various aspects of the cultures, especially popular cultures, in the subcontinent provides information about the various traditions in different spheres followed in different regions.  These features link a particular region to its history and identity.  The traditional folk literature, arts and crafts, etc. reflect the way of life.  Many of these practices have been continuing since ancient period, though some modifications or refinement can be observed in many cases.  Nevertheless, the development of tourism and modernization has affected the forms of cultures.  Thus, to maintain their originality and sanctity, it is essential that tourism should take into account their preservation rather than distorting or destroying them.  Our approach must be sensitive to the maintenance of our cultural essence and efflorescence.

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