Indian river songs to take centre stage

Celebrating the rivers of India, India Habitat Centre will host the Lok Sangeet Sammelan at the Stein Auditorium on August 22-23.

Boasting of talents from all around the nation like SudhaRaghuraman from Delhi, Gulzar Ahmad Ganie from Kashmir, <g data-gr-id="36">Nozrul</g> Islam from Assam, Rituparna Banerjee from Bengal and Basanti Devi from Kumaun, this year’s Lok Sangeet Sammelan will have them singing ballads about the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Krishna, Kaveri and other rivers of India.

The rivers, <g data-gr-id="38">form</g> a rather prominent theme for folk songs on nature celebrating the life and love of the river. Village folk worship rivers as their chief source of livelihood but when the rivers flood the crops are destroyed and cattle, life and property get washed away. Thus, the creative and destructive power of the river casts its shadow on these folk songs. These songs also contain treasure troves of knowledge as folk artists have been talking about the environment, conservation and other such contemporary issues long before there was a ‘green movement’ to speak of, before it was cool to combat global warming.

Their labour of love and persistence for years in the musical endeavor have seen the <g data-gr-id="34">popularity as well as the appreciation of their distinctive folk traditions</g> <g data-gr-id="33">rise</g> while spreading across the country and the world. During this festival, folk songs of Assam, Garhwal songs as well as the songs and poems written on the river Narmada, and the rivers of Kashmir will take the centre stage.

Rakesh Kacker, Director, India Habitat Centre <g data-gr-id="35">said</g> “This festival underlines the relevance of these folk art forms in today’s fast-paced urbanisation. With the accompanying pop culture, today’s generation is completely unhinged from the traditional music and art forms. Hence, this initiative by IHC is a necessary contribution to these folk forms.”