Folk music of India

Folk music holds its unique place in India’s rich cultural diversity. Folk songs talk about relationships, the challenges encountered by people every day and philosophical questions about life. Let’s look at popular folk music genres from different parts of the country.

Lavani  The word derived from Lavanya meaning beautiful refers to the popular folk music which originated in Maharashtra. The dance that accompanies the music is known as Tamasha. Here is a famous lavani by Sulochana Chavan

Bhavageethe heard in Karnataka is poetry expressed in musical form. Here is a bhavageethe of the famous Kannada poet Kuvempu sung by actor Dr. Rajkumar.

Manganiar musicians are folk musicians from the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Their songs mostly praise kings and wealthy merchants under whose patronage their art has flourished over the centuries. Listen to this captivating music from the Indian desert. 

Kavadi Chindu are songs composed in praise of Lord Muruga by Annamalai Reddiar. They are sung when the kavadi is taken out by devotees of Muruga as a penance and offering to the Lord. The songs are sung in light classical ragas. Here is a popular piece rendered by Carnatic vocalist Sudha Raghunathan.

In a future blogpost we will look at some of the other folk music of India.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Thiruvaiyaru – A State of Mind

A small town in the Cauvery delta comes alive in January each year. Carnatic musicians and rasikas all over the world turn their focus to Thiruvaiyaru (city of five rivers) in the Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Many even travel from around the world to be there. Thiruvaiyaru is where carnatic composer Tyāgaraja lived and composed some of the most well-known songs of the genre. On Bahula Panchami—the fifth day of the lunar month Pushya—Jan 25 this year, five songs of Tyāgaraja, simply referred to as the “pancharatna kritis” were sung in one voice by millions of people all over…

Similar Story

Akka Mahadevi across the shores

I didn't expect to hear Akka Mahadevi's poetry being recited on a stage in the US. Fire and Ash, a multimedia show about Lord Shiva is where I encountered the poetry of this Kannada saint. The theme of the show conceived by playwright Gouri Ramanarayan centered on the stories and attributes of Lord Shiva. How Lord Siva symbolizes both the positive and negative energy of the universe was effectively brought out by the narration ably supported by vocalist Savita Narasimhan and dancer Anjana Anand. Several compositions ranging from Muthuthandavar's Teruvil Varano to Tagore's Srijoner to Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam and Akka Mahadevi's…