CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

The entire state Uttarakhand (Garhwal and Kumaon) is

situated in the North-Western part of India, the land of rishis,

munis and mahamunis and an abode of Lord Shiva and

Parvati. It is bounded by the beautiful young fold mountains.

The word Garhwal is derived from the words ‘Garh’ and

‘wall’. It is believed that there were 52 garhs with strong and

mighty walls. History witnessed that Mohammed Gauri,

Gorkhas and Britishers hampered the province time to time.

Garhwal has its long history itself. It was known Hemwant in

Vaidik Period. It was devided in three divisions such as

Manas division, Kedar division and Himwats division. We

can find the description of all three divisions in Skandh

Puran. The history of Uttarakhand is before the Jesus Christ.

The history appears in different faces. It is believed that

Katyuri was the first king of Garhwal Himalaya. There were

48 kings between the period of Shaliwahan Dev and

Brahmdev. The second period started with the kings Mull and

Pal. Katyuri kings were having the capital in Joshimath which

was shifted to Vaijnath in Kumaon. The third period started

with the Chandra kings. Later on Mohammed Gauri, occupied

the entire Northern Province. Due to Mugals behaviour,

Hindus left the plain area and took shelter in Garhwal Hills to

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protect their religion. Different types of culture is found in

this area. It was believed that the Kingdome of Garhwal

occupied by the Panwar and Parmar Rajputs many years ago.

Chandpur Garhi was the main place to them. Among the fifty

two ‘Garhs’, Chandpur Garhi was ruled by Ajya Pal from the

Pawar dynasty. In the same time Rajput emerged in various

places in Uttarakhand. In 14th century Pawar Kingdom was

established and the first king of this kingdom was Kanakpal.

Seeing the treasure of Garhwal, Gorkha kings invaded

Kumaon region in 18th century and again in the first decade of

19th century, they invaded Garhwal too. Britishers impressed

by the beauty and nature of Garhwal and Kumaon so they

marched towards the hills of garhwal and fought bitterly

against Gorkhas. They won the battle and captured entire

garhwal. The entire Garhwal became a part of British. Seeing

the potentiality, bravery, sincerity and employbality,

Britishers set up two battalions of Indian Army, particularly

Garhwal Rifle. During this period various types of goods

were exported while raw materials and essential goods were

imported with the help of Garhwal rifle to maintain the

prosperity of Garhwali people. Pauri is the capital of Pauri

Garhwal. During British command most of the administrative

work was done from Pauri. But Srinagar (Garhwal) was the

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largest city for export and import of goods. Later on most of

the districts were the part of British government. such as

British garhwal, Tihari Garhwal, Nainital, Almora and

Deharadun. After the independence, British Garhwal called

Pauri Garhwal. Today we have two major divisions of

Uttarakhand, they are Kumaon and Garhwal along with 13

districts. Uttarakhand became 27th state of the country in the

year of 2000. So their could be seen and heard thirteen types

of folk songs in Garhwali and Kumaoni language. The entire

history of Uttarakhand is sung in the form of folk songs.

Uttarakhand state is situated in the Northern part of India. It

has 53483 area square km. The sky kissing mountain peaks,

snow covered hills, evergreen forest, beautiful and peaceful

vallies and rivers which flows from the narrow vallies and

zig-zag, up down land and various temples set up in every

hundred metres, attract every being all the time. This is the

scene or picture of Uttarakhand. Most probably Uttarakhand

is a hilly area. At least 35000 square Km. hills are above 200

metres from the sea level.

Garhwal is a very difficult place where Garhwali people work

very hard to survive. There living standard is very simple.

They have small houses but very srong and well decorated.

According 2011 sensus , the total population of Uttarakhand

is ninety lakh. Sixty lakh people live in Uttarakhand while

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thirty lakh Uttarakhandis are spread in different places of the

country in search of job and employment. Uttarakhand has

very small firtile land for the agriculture. More than sixteen

thousand village people work in the field. On a view point of

geographical and physical, Uttarakhand has unity in diversity.

Garhwal has dark forest and very difficult place while

Kumaon has firtile plateau, vast planes and well prosperous.

Generally two major languages are spoken in Uttarakhand

such as Garhwali and Kumaoni. There are sub languages as

Jaunsari, Buksha, Tharu and Bhotia.

There are two big regions in Uttarakhand. They are Kumaon

and Garhwal regions. Most of the people living in these

regions speak Garhwali language. But now the scene is

something different. Day by day Garhwali language is

shrinking from Garhwal. In search of employment many

people shifted in cities. Their children also do not take

interest neither they get suitable environment to speak

Garhwali. Garhwali script is very similar to Hindi script. In

some extant Garhwali language is related to Sanskrit.

Therefore Garhwali people has given high status to Sanskrit

language, even it became an official language of Uttarakhand.

As per the religion, art, literature and culture Garhwal is very

rich and prosperous. It is also believed that garwal is the

origine of Hindu religion and culture because most of the

rishis took shelter in this area. Uttarakhand is bordered by the

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mountain ranges of Tibet in the North, in the eastern part of

Uttarakhand the black river separated Nepal, the mighty river

Yamuna separated Uttarakhand from Himachal Pradesh while

in southern part Utterpradesh is adjacent to Garhwal. I don’t

think there may be any state in the country which have

number of rivers and fountains as in Uttarakhand. Some

rivers got mythological name such as Bhagirathi, Ganga and

Mandakini. They all are holy rivers. In modern days these

rivers are utilizes for the purpose of agriculture, generating

electricity and many other purposes. But in the same way

these rivers are also polluted. Number of Garhwali folk songs

are sung frequently in the valley of garhwal based on various

issues.

The history witnessed, Garhwalis are always brave, sincere,

determination and cooperative. Garhwali people has the

record of bravery before independence and after the

independence. The people of Garhwal took part into the

struggle of freedom so they got high reputation in various in

various aspects. It was a commendable job by Garhwali

people. that had gained considerable momentum in most parts

of India, particularly at the beginning of the 20th

century. Garhwali got name and fame not only in the field of

battlefield but also in the field of literature. Some great

personalities born and brought up in garhwal and contributed

towards the goodness of Uttrakhand. They were Sridev

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Suman, Pt. Narayan Dutt Tewari.Govind Ballabh Pant, P.

C.Joshi ,H.N. Bahuguna and Chander Singh Garhwali.

Uttarakhand is a land of high and rich cultural heritage. There

are lot of differentiations in the life style and living standard

of Garhwali people. Each region has its own nativity and

speciality with different cultures and traditions.

Geographically Uttarakhand is a very safe and sound but in

the same way it is very sensitive. All the regions have their

own styles of cultres and traditions. Even it is famous for the

medicinal treatment. Many people visits in garhwal for their

treatment which they get from the plants and trees. This

variation can also be observed in the folk arts which are a part

of the cultural treasure.

Studying folk arts of Garhwali is an interesting as well as a

deep subject to deal with. It is expected that, in entire

Uttarakhand there exist more than ten kinds of tribes. The

history of folk art forms of Uttarakhand is as old as the

history of Garhwali language. Generally, performing folk arts

are of three types viz, folk music, folk dance and folk drama.

Various folk art forms could be seen in Uttarakhand freely

and frequently. Some of them deal with singing instrumental

music and dance and some with singing accompanied with

instruments.

Uttarakhand is the home of temples. Most of the temples were

established in the period of Katyuri. Actually Garhwal

flourished in this period. Adbadri, Kartikeya, Joshimath,

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Barahat, Lakhamandal, Jageshwar, Bageswar and Baijnath

were the art centres of those days.

Uttarakhand is a very new and small state of the country. But

it is origine of the ancient civilization. The great rishi,

Vedbyas constructed ancient mythology (Puran – Grantha ) in

the land of Tapovan. Uttarakhand is the place of Pandava. It

is believed that all five Pandava passes to Brahmlok from

Uttarakhand. Even the great poet, Kalidas described

Uttarakhand as Alkapuri in his book Meghdoot.

Though Uttarakhand do not have huge area yet it is devided

in five physical features such as high mountainous areas,

small himalyan river vallies, shivalik vallies, Bhabhar area

and Plain areas. Nanda Devi peak is the highest peak of this

himalyan belt. Many folk songs are also sung on the name of

Nanda Devi Mountain.

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Uttarakhand has been the centre of education from the ancient

time. In Vadik Literature, the aim of education was to make

individual well cultured. It was believed that worldly

happiness, prosperity and name and fame could be achieved

with the help of Vadik Education. In ancient garhwal

Himalayas education was under the Traditional Gurus and

Acharyas. There was no interference of the state. During

those days it was necessary to study Ved Puran. Today

Uttarakhand state has high reputation in education. Number

of reputed schools and colleges are established in different

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districts. Dehradun, Nainital, Ranikhet, Massoori, Haridwar,

Ruraki, Gauchar, Gopeshwar etc. are the places where

number of schools and colleges are set up for the better and

enhancement of culture.

It has been observed that many dialects from other states are

also mixed in Garhwali language, such as Turkish, Arabi,

Nepali, Sanskrit, Rajasthani, Panjabi, Gujrati, Bangala

Purtgali, French and English. So the shadow of such dialects

could be found in Garhwali Folk Songs- lokgeet.

Folk literature is the mirror of any community life, culture

and civilization. Most of the literature is written in Garhwali

and Kumaoni. There is a lot of similarity between these two

languages so there is difference in their folk songs. So many

regular and traditional tales as well as songs originated in the

form of lyrical ballads and chanted by itinerant singers. Now

these folk songs and lyrical ballads considered classics of

Hindi literature. Music is a heart and an integral part of the

Uttarakhand culture. There are some popular types of folk

songs such as mangals, basanti, khuded and chhopati. These

folk songs are played on instruments including dhol, damaun,

turri, dholki daur, thali, bhankora, Mandan and masakbaja.

Music is also used as a medium through which the gods are

invoked. Jaagar is a form of ghost worship in which the

singer, or jagariya, sings a long song of the gods, with

allusions to great epics, like Mahabharat and Ramayana that

describe the adventures and exploits of the god being

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invoked. Narendra Singh Negi is a popular singer of the

region in this respect. Crafts of Uttarakhand include

handcrafted gold jewellery, basketry from Garhwal, woollen

shawls, scarves, and rugs. The latter are mainly produced by

the Bhotiyas of northern Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has a great

diversity of flora and fauna. Uttarakhand has many tourist

spots due to its location in the Himalayas. There are many

ancient temples, forest reserves, national parks, hill stations,

and mountain peaks that draw large number of tourists.

"In these hills, Nature’s hospitality eclipses all that man can

ever do. The enchanting beauty of the Himalayas, their

bracing climate and the soothing green that envelops you,

leave nothing more to be desired. I wonder whether the

scenery of these hills and the climate are to be surpassed, if

equalled, by any of the beauty spots of the world. After

having been for nearly three weeks in the Almora hills, I am

more than ever amazed why our people need to go to Europe

in search of health."4

- Mahatama M.K. Gandhi

"These mountains are associated with the best memories of

our race: Here, therefore, must be one of centers, not merely

of activity, but more of calmness of meditation, and of peace

and I hope someone to realize it."

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- Swami Vivekananda (replying to the address given to him by the people of Almora).

There is no doubt Garhwal is a paradise of gods and goddess.

Rich culture, treasure of flora and fauna, abundance of nature,

variety of traditions, honesty and religious faith are the

main characteristics of Garhwal. Before setting the title of

my research work, many questions arises in my mind such as

why did young generation neglect pahari language? How to

create the interest and what are the sources of it? How to

recognize Garhwali culture and the real life situation of men

and women? So I coined the title for this research purpose:

THEMETIC STUDY OF GARHWALI FOLK SONGS –

LOKGEET (TRANSLATION).

Garhwali people are pure religious and deadly devoted to

gods and goddess. They can go to any extent to follow the

religious traditions. They are follower of Hinduism. Every

peak, valley, lake and rivers has given the name of god.

Besides this, people have their local gods such as Ganesha,

Khetrapal , Ghandiyal, Aachris, Narsingh and so on. The epic

Mahabharata witnessed that the Pandavas ended their life in

western Himalaya of Garhwal. So many folk songs are sung

in Jaunsaar bhabar concerned to gods and goddess today also.

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Garhwali people are very brave. There first and the most

preference is Indian Army. They feel very much proud if they

work in Indian defence. Secondly it is also part of

employment, self respect and honour. In Azad Hind Fauz

there were twenty three thousand Indians and among them

two thousand five hundred soldiers were Garhwali.

Thousands of soldiers sacrificed and martyred for the mother

India before during independence and after independence.

During Kargil war 104 soldiers and officers were

martyrs, Such as Chandar Sigh Garhwali, Surjan Singh

Bhandari , Dev Singh Bhandari and many others. During

China War, Jaswant Singh Rawat did something new in the

history of 4th Garhwal rifle. He was just 17 years old when

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he was sent in the battle field. Jaswant Singh is remembered

for his bravery. He was the jawan who hold hundreds of

Chinese soldiers at Walong hills in Arunachal Pradesh for a

day to defend the country. Today the sound of his shoes and

his voice could be heard by the duty soldiers.

No doubt Armed Forces, police and central forces became a

source of employment. Most of the Garhwalis prefer to join

Indian defence or army as a mark of respect and proud.

Designated as a "Martial Race" under British India, recruits

from Uttarakhand are still over-represented in the armed

forces compared to other states. The nineteen battalions of

the Garhwal Rifles together with the Kumaon Regiment of

the Indian Army clearly reflects the participation of the

Garhwali people in defending and safe-guarding the frontiers

of India.

Garhwali soldiers’ bravery could be seen frequently in the

Garhwali folk songs and Garhwali folk stories. Havaldar

Gajender Singh was another brave soldier who fought against

terrorists in Mumbai during the 2008 terrorists attack at

Nariman house. He was NSG Commando. While securing

Nariman House, Gajender Singh was badly wounded and

sacrificed for the nation and humanity. Today Gajender Singh

could be seen and heard in Garhwali folk songs in different places.

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The life of women is very tough and sometime pathetic.

There is no doubt, the reality and the treasure of life is

hidden in our regional folk songs and lokgeet . In this respect

I would like to put my hearted effort towards the translation

of Garhwali songs into English so the people all over the

country and the world will come to know about Garhwali

culture and society.

The main profession of the Garhwali people is agriculture and

cultivation. Garhwali women has the practice of singing while

working in the field or anywhere. Music is a tool to get relief

from their stress and strain, and to gain vigor during their

work time. Most of their songs are related to God as they

have a philosophical and devotional bent of kind. These songs

are sung in simple tunes with a limited compass and with easy

rendering.

The most important feature of Garhwali folk song is oral

expression and the presentation of this form is completely

original and has not changed in any form. Though

Uttarakhand is divided into different regions, linguistically it

is still one. There are many folk songs spread all over the

state. The woman of Garhwal has no time to make decoration

themselves. They are very laborious and work in the field

morning to evening. They are bound to do this as most of the

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men are out for earning a living for their families. There is

also widespread migration to urban areas due to lack of

employment opportunities in the state, especially in rural and

remote areas. People work hard for their livelihood.

It is observed that Garhwali language is a central pahari

language. It belongs to Northern Zone of Indo Aryan

languages. Garhwali language also changed like other

languages time to time. Generally Garhwali language is very

close to Sanskrit. Some time dialects are also similar to

Sanskrit dialects. Later on Garhwali language mixed with

Hindi language. Garhwali language is one of the 325

recognised languages of India spoken by over 2267314

people in Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarkasi, Chamoli,

Dehradun, Haridwar and Rudraprayag districts of

Uttarakhand,. Garhwali is also spoken by people in other

parts of India including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi Haryana,

Punjab, Uttarpradesh and Bihar.

It has been observed that Garhwali language is very similar to

Rajasthani and Himachali. Garhwali language developed

from the ancient period that is Dravidian and

Mongoloid. These are primarily the Munda, Bhil, Naag,

Yaksha, etc. Sanskrit is also the origine of many Garhwali

words. The language of the powerful Khasas, is believed to

be the source of Garhwali language. The later Aryans with

their Vedic Sanskrit and Prakrit languages helped in adding to

the vocabulary. Subsequently, Saurseni and Rajasthani

Apbhransha had considerable influence in shaping the

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Garhwali language. During the Medieval period, due to

increasing interaction with outside regions, Punjabi,

Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali words also crept into

the repertoire of spoken Garhwali..

Although Garhwali is the most spoken language of

Uttarakhand, the state government has not recognised it so

far. There are demands to make it an official language of

Uttarakhand. Even the people demand that Garhwali language

to be taught at schools, colleges and universities. At the

national level, Garhwali personalities and the eminent leaders

requested the government to include Garhwali language in the

8th schedule of the Constitution of India so that it could be

made one of the Scheduled Language of India. Satpal

Maharaj who was Member of Parliament from Pauri Garhwal

and other eminent leaders brought a private member's bill to

include Garhwali language in the Eighth Schedule of the

Indian Constitution, which is being debated in the Lok Sabha.

Still the interaction is going on. Hoping that it will be

considered by the government.

The culture of Garhwal is a vivid and very specific because

the population of garhwal is from Khas Aryan who uses to

come from different places. Songs of women become a

crucial and indispensible source material for understanding

the images and life style of women of Garhwal. The Garhwali

people observe and celebrate all the Hindu fasts and festivals,

enjoying a variety of festivals ranging from Uttarayani

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(Makar Sankranti), Basant Panchami, Holi, Diwali (bagwali),

Bikhot etc. During festivals, Garhwalis perform various folk

dances like Raaso, Harul, Jhumeilo, Pandav Nritya,

Chauphula etc.

The title of the research Themetic Study Of Garhwali Folk

Songs – Lokgeet (Translation).has its importance. The topic

provides ample information about Garhwal such as culture,

language, history, folklore etc. The lack of culture and

language are the symbols of downfall of mankind and the

degradation of state and nations moral. There is need to

describe every aspect of life of Garhwal so the readers will

come to know the reality of Uttarakhand. My creation and the

discovery of lokgeet – folk songs will be the inspiration to the

entire society. No doubt it will help in building up regional

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language-Bhasha, which is very important for any state

development. My objective is to collect, store, interact, share

and preserve the information from Garhwali culture so the

coming generations can get the benefits of it. I wish to

encourage every individual to contribute as much unique

details as possible about their villages and native places. The

reality and the treasure of Garhwali culture is hidden in

Garhwali folk songs and lokgeet. The folk songs and folk

tales of Uttarakhand, definitely the lives of the people, filled

with colourful images, dancing and singing. It is very

important to them. The songs appear as important for them as

wearing colourful clothes and ornaments. As per the belief of

Garhwali people, the gods can be influenced by their dances

and songs.

More than 70% of Uttarakhand population lived in rural area.

Their living standard is very simple. They decorate and

fashioned on the occasion of festivals. Though the conditions

of villages have improved a bit in past years, there is yet a lot

to change and transform. This could be seen in the Garhwali

folk songs or lokgeet. Garhwali has a rich literature in all

genres including poetry, novels, short stories and plays.

Earlier, Garhwali literature was present only as folklore.

Although Garhwali was the official language of the Kingdom

of Garhwal since 8th century, the language of literature was

mostly Sanskrit. In 1830 AD, American missionaries

published the New Testament in Garhwali.

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Thereafter, Garhwali Literature has been flourishing. Today,

newspapers like "Uttarakhand Khabarsar" and "Rant Raibaar"

are published entirely in Garhwali. Magazines like "Baduli",

"Hilaans"and "Chtthi-patri" contribute in the development of

Garhwali language.The main components of these folk songs

are lyric, music and rhythm. Based on the lyrics and the

occasions, folk music can be studied under several headings

viz. occupational songs, agricultural songs, moral songs,

devotional songs on special occasions etc. every heading has

again several sub divisions. There are innumerable songs,

function-songs like marriage songs, ritualistic songs, cradling

songs, humorous songs, epic or mythological songs,

children’s songs etc. Thus, study of folk music or songs is a

vast subject of interest.

Under the heading of occasional songs, several types of folk

songs are popular in Garhwal – Uttarakhand. These songs are

sung by a group of people at the work place in order to forget

their tiresomeness and to lighten their stress. Generally these

songs are not normally accompanied by any instruments and

are sung only by the workers. Sometime the workers or the

ladies sing songs while working in the field so they can

reduce their burden. Women’s songs are usually rendered by

women in the houses while attending to the daily chores.

These songs have been in existence, for hundreds of years.

Folk songs provide not only recreation and relief but also

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inspire everyone for long period. There are hundreds of folk

songs relating to agricultural songs, sung on different

occasions like, praying for rains, ploughing, sowing seeds,

transplanting, weeding, planting of sprouts harvesting and

reaping grass. All these songs have some supporting words

like, ‘hilans, buraans, kuhedi, sparrow, dandi kanthi’ etc. and

the deities Lord Shiva and Parvati, Durga, gram devata,

bhumi devata etc. Farmer songs hold a very important place

in the history of folk music of Garhwal. The farmers those

days used to sing folk songs invoking and praising the Rain

God to give sufficient rainfall for them to have a very good

harvest.

Sometime after completion day’s work and having dinner,

men and women would be divided into two groups, they

engaged themselves singing and humming melodious folk

songs. These folk songs have a place even in their daily life.

As Uttarakhand divided into two big zones and four sub

zones socially and culturally, the lyrics as well as the

pronunciation and the accents of these songs, vary from one

area to another. Women’s khuded folk songs have gained

universal acclaim and many professional folk singers have

rendered them across the globe. Mr. Narender Singh Negi is a

reputed artist in this field of singing murmuring folk songs.

Usually, women sing these songs either in a group or

individually. The songs are really enjoyable to listen though

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they sing with polite and rustic voices. There are numerous

songs in villages which appear in day to day life, sung on

different occasions. Village festivals are celebrated in a grand

way in the villages have a touch of folklore in the songs,

dances and devotional songs. There are several songs popular

in the ritualistic festivals. The songs sung by the gurus or the

Brahmins of the village temples have very good moral values.

It is interesting to note that a few traditional folk tunes are

found in the songs of some classical somposers. Most of the

folk songs not only deal with devotion, but also the social

customs. Northern part of Chamoli Garhwal is famous for

several traibes and folk people. The people live in Himalayan

belt. They worship several Gods. In the hill area of Joshimath

and Badrinath people pray to lord Shiva, Parvati and Kul

devata to save their lives. Every year they pay offerings to the

god and worship. On that occasion, they sing several folk

songs on the deity.

There are some folk songs sung by mothers, to their children

to sleep when they are afraid of something or the other are

innumerable and each one of them has a very good lyrical

value. Even the village children are the centre of attraction

during the village festivals and other occasions. They are very

rhythmic in rendition and the dance carried out to these songs

is eye catching.

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During winter especially in December and January many

villages organized Goddesses Jaatara such as Nanda Devi Raj

Jaat. In the celebrations, many wild offerings are made to the

goddesses and many folk art forms are performed in the

presence of the deities. These celebrations vary from one

place to another place. Coming to the folk music at the time

of marriage, everyone will try to make the occasion a unique

event by participating in dancing and singing. A great variety

of songs are rendered at different events that take place in the

wedding. There are different occasions in a wedding when

different songs are sung from ‘engagement to sending the

bride to the mother-in-law’s house.

Generally, folk people compare the bride groom and

bride to Lord Rama and Sita, who are the role models to

Indians. This is the reason why many of the marriage songs

are on Rama and Sita. At the wedding the old ladies of the

house sing songs by praying to God to bless the new couple

with a happy and long life. A very popular marriage song in

Garhwal is -

De deva baba ji, de deva baba ji, kanya ko daan.

De deva baba ji, kanya ko daan hoo…..

The bridegroom’s party generally holds an upper hand and

always tries to make fun of the bride’s party, of course, in a

lighter vein. Here also a number of folk songs are rendered by

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both the parties in different ragas of folk nature. There are

plenty of songs popular in Garhwal.

Several romantic and love songs are also popular in folk

songs of Garhwal such as-----

O, bhina kaske jaandu dorhat, dorhat kothik jaandu

Dorhat.

O, syali, chal du syali dorhat, dorhat kothik jola

Dorhat.

Nak maa nathuli ni ch, kaske jaandu Dorhat, wakhi

gadolo wakhi banolo dorhat, chal syali kothik jola

Dorhat.

In this folk song a young girl, sister in law wanted to go

Dorhat fair but she doesn’t have nose gold ring. With a great

love her jija ji promise her that he will make the nose ring in

the fair. Another interesting form is the verbal discussion

between two people, set in a folklore way. The conversation

is in the form of a son and it may be between the mother-

daughter or wife and husband or mother-in- law and

daughter-in-law or between lovers such as ---

Female: Paar chhaiy beena pooch ghasyari, malu

rey tu malu katan de malu ri,

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Male: Ku chaiy tu beena pooch ghasyari malu ri tu

malu na kati malu ri

Female: Mai teri syali tu mero bhina malu ri tu malu

katan de malu ri.

In this song, the highland or the grassland lady requested the

forester to allow her to cut the grass. She gave her reference

and relationship as (jija – syali) sister-in-law and brother-in

law so he can allow her to cut the protected grass or trees.

This is a best example for their plain and simple interaction

between men and women.

The romantic songs between Lord Shiva and Parvati: Lord

Krishna and Gopikas (girls) were of folk nature. These scenes

were illustrated by many poets romantically in the form of

folk songs. The pranks played by Krishna have been

visualized in a beautiful manner by many composers.

Devotional and spiritual content delivering good messages to

the society is rendered by many in folk music. There are

several philosophical songs sung in the villages of Garhwal.

One such song is from ‘Gopichand folk song’ ------

Na ghar mera, na ghar tera, chidiya karegi basera.

It means that the house is neither mine nor your, the birds will

make the their home in our house. So nothing comes and goes

with man. Nothing remains. So why this unnecessary greed!

Many sages or sage poets have tried to teach people with their

teachings in folk style, so that they could be understood even

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by the illiterate. Folk songs also deal with pathetic, sorrowful,

philosophical and jovial contents.

Folk music is blended with our lives, even without our

knowledge. Then there are these gypsies, who don not stay at

a particular place continuously for a long period. They keep

moving from one place or the other for their livelihood,

according to the seasons. This community is very good at

singing folk songs. They belong to every part of uttarakhand

and and they carry with them their traditions and customs and

their folk music as well thereby conveying them to the people

of the new polace where they choose to stay for some time.

Along with folk music, folk dance also has journeyed

together in the history of folk tradition of Uttarakhand. Many

tribes like bhotia, jaunsari and others propagate folk songs.

More importance is given to folk songs or their expression

than the dance component.

Folk music contains natural elements like lyric, raga, tala and

instrumental assistance. It does not have the features that are

essential in the traditional classical music. Folk songs that are

sung as a part of the stories generally do not

requireinstruments. But they are as melodious as traditional

music. There are several folk instruments, used as

accompaniments. They are folk Veena, Kartaal, Shehnai,

Dholak, Damaru, dhol, damaun, thali, hudaki etc.

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Thus, folk music of Garhwal is a vast subject which has a

great scope to study and to conduct research on it. Everyone

should remember that today’s culture has its roots in the

ancient folklore. It is the responsibility of every individual, to

safeguard and preserve it for future generations.

1.1 Meaning - Themetic

Thematic means something in relation to, or being a theme.

Thematic refers to belonging or relating to a particular subject

matter, topic, theme, idea or proposal. There are a number of

things using this subject for instance thematic analysis,

thematic teachings, thematic approaches and thematic

planning.

A theme represents an entire story or a poem. The charatcters,

plot, incidents ect. are the supporting objects of the main

theme. Sometime the writer gives titile after the completion

of the story. This does not necessarily mean the frequency at

which a theme occurs, but in terms of space within each data

item and across the data set. No doubt theme is more

important to understanding the data.

Thematic means relating to or constituting a topic discourse.

Thematic – of or relating to a melodic subject (thesaurus

disctionary)

Folk songs are educative to the masses, and indicative of the

social changes.

.

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1.2. Classification of Folk Song

Garhwali folk songs are so varied and are in such numbers

that there had been debates and discussions for classifying

Garhwali folk songs. The credit goes to the city of Dehradun

that most of the important works on collection of Garhwali

folk songs and poublishing was done in Dehradun except the

work of AbodhBandhu Bahuguna, Bhajan and the works of

analysts of modern time . garhwali a periodical (1905) used to

published the Garhwali folk songs regularly. ‘Sadei’ by Tara

Dutt Gairola is the first collection of folk songs published

from Dehradun. Today we have many scholars who studied

Garhwali folk songs but the work of five scholars always will

be referred for discussion.

There are five main enchanted and research scholars such as

Dr. Govind Chatak; Dr. Shiva Nand Nautiyal; Dr. Mohan

Babulkar; Dr. Hari Dutt Bhatt and Abodh Bandhu Bahuguna.

Analysis of Garhwali folk songs started by Abodh Bandhu

Bahuguna in 1954. It is the first work of analyzing and

classifying the Garhwali folk songs. Abodh Bandhu

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Bahuguna classified Garhwali folk songs on the following

types:

Mangal (auspicious songs)

Kula char (introducing and description of family tree)

Panwada (praising achievers)

Khuded (sad song)

Jagar (awakening songs sung in Ghadela)

Tantra Mantra

Hori (Humorous and sung at Holi time)

Chakhulya (personification of animals)

Naya Geet

The main flow on this classification is that it is not analyzed

on scientific basis but on conventional basis.

Classification by Dr. Govind Chatak: Dr. Govind Chatak

(1956 ) credited for doing depoth research , study in

collection and analyzing garhwali folk songs. Dr. Govind

Chatak classified Garhwali songs on the basis of local names

as he accepted in introductioin of his classic book ‘Garhwali

Lok Geet’ and he classified the Garhwai folk songs on the

following divisions:

Mangal : (Auspicious)

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Prem, Roop, Ras (Love songs)

Chhopati

Laman

Vasanti (Spring)

Bajuband

Chhuda

Samajik Geet

Vividh Geet

As per the classification by Dr. Hari Datt Bhatt, in his book

Garhwali Bhasa aur Uska Sahitya’ (1964), Dr. Bhatt

bifurcated the folk songs of Garhwali into following

categories.

Mangal : Awhahan Geet, Puja Geet, vivah Geet.

Jhumailo : (sad and love songs), Chhopati, Laman.

Thadya Geet : Vasnti and Hori

Bajuband ( Rhymical dialogues)

Chaufala (Achieving right objectives, ambitions, economical

benefits and final solutions)

Khuded Geet

Kuachar

Chumasa ( songs of rainy season)

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Baramasa (songs for every seasons)

Updeshatmak ( inspirational )

Samayik (songs of contgemporary subject or happenings by

Badis)

Rashtriya Geet ( patriotic songs)

Classification by Dr. Shiva nand Nautiyal : Dr. Shiva nand

Nautiyal had been also collecting Garhwali folk songs and his

edited books are Garhwali ke old Folk Geet (1964), Garhwal

ke Khuded Geet (1965 ). Chham Ghugharu Bajala (1964) and

Garhwli Baramasa.

Dr. Shiva nand Nautiyal never thought of analyzing Garhwali

Folk Songs as his above contemporary scholars were

classifying songs. Only, in 1979, Dr. Shiva nand Nautiyal

classified Garhwali folk songs in Garhwali Manas (1979,

page-52) and surprisingly his classification is more scientific,

more subtle, more clear than his contemporary researchers.

He divided following songs and dances together as follows:

Mangal : Awhahan Geet, Puja Geet, vivah Geet.

Jagar : Narsing , Nagarja , Devi, Hantya, Pandav, Bhairon etc.

Pandwade (Chivalry songs): Historical and non historical )

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Tantra Mantra

Thadya Geet

Chaufula Geet

Khuded Geet

Baramasa Geet

Kulachar geet

Pasara Geet

Vasanti Geet

Hori Geet

Bajuband Geet

Laman Geet

Lori geet

Patkhai men chhuda

Naunyali songs

Chaumasa folk songs

Classification by Dr. Mohan Babulakar : Dr. Mohan

Babulakar (1967) classified Garhwali Folk song as below

given in his book ‘Garhwali Lok Sahitya ka Vivechanatmak

Adhyayan:

Sanskaron de geet

Devi Devta stuti, tyoharon ke geet

Khuded geet

Ritu ( season) and virah (pain of separation)

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Samuhik gey geet ( group or community songs)

Tantra mantra geet

Laghu geet (short songs)

Jatiyon ke geet (songs created and sung by specific class)

Indian culture has a high place in the world history, dating

back to thousands of years. The festivals may be different,

marriage traditions may be different and temple customs may

be different, but from the just born baby to the octogenarian,

every religious function is performed with utmost veneration.

At all stages, folk music, instruments and dances have a place

of importance in the rituals.

Garhwali folk literature and art reflects the religious, social,

economical sentiments, and cultural traditions of the region.

Folk songs are also the mirror of collective experience of the

artists through many generations and the expression of

historic events which the land of kumaon has witnessed.

The word ‘Loke’ is used from the ancient period in Indian

literature. The feeling of comradeship is established in

Garhwali folk songs. Loke literature is the expression of

hearted and personal feelings of human being. Sometime

unknown writers’ literature also is a gift to the society.

Garhwali literature could be found in three different stages,

such as Poetry, Prose and combined literature. Most of the

songs are handed down to others. Along with the physical

beauty of Uttarakhand, the people of Garhwal are known for

33

their truth, reality, and nature. A song that is traditionally

sung by the common people of a region always praised by the

people. The hard life, small staircase zigzag fields, the narrow

ways, the high snowy cliffs and hills, the deep and broad

valleys, green forests, rivers hissing sound, Ghugooti

(sparrow), Kafoo bird, panghat, the sound of gharaat, the

sound of sickles while reaping and cutting the grass, etc. all

reflects in Garhwali folk songs.

"Laman" and "Pawada" are the other melancholy songs of

Uttarakhand. In "Laman", it’s the men singing about their

sacrifices and "Pawada" is the song of the bygone ages, when

women used to express their distress as their husbands left for

the battlefield.

Any kind of folk could be remembered easily due to it’s

melody, tune, mystery, simplicity of the poetic form and so

on. Even the lyrical love songs and the narrative ballads has

very important place in Uttarakhand literature. Most of the

Folk songs are anonymous, even their music is unknown but

they always transmitted orally. It is believed that the basic

and the root of of a folk melody is produced by an individual

and then transmitted in a group to express the feelings. Today

it has been observed that folk songs are artificial. Generally

the folk literature gave birth to ballad. Originally it is sung

village to village. Most of the Garhwali folk songs sung in

some very special festival of the special month. It has been

observed the very few folk songs are written in Garhwali

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local language a form of verse. And these folk songs are of

the simplest kind, such as a memorable feud, a thrilling

adventure, a family disaster, love and war, and the like. The

tale is usually fierce and tragic and frequently introduces the

supernatural. Harmony between thought and expression could

be seen in every line of the folk songs. The repeated words

create music with heavy emotions. There are some

characteristics of Garhwali folk songs.

� Garhwali folk songs are lyrical and melodious.

� There is no boundary of time and place in these songs.

� Garhwali folk songs communicate the struggle or lacking

something in life

� but do not mark or count the lacking in life.

� These folk songs express the simplicity of human culture and

emotions.

� The language of these songs are of country folk men

therefore, folk songs

� do not have the language of meteoric poetry.

� These are away from the cities or towns. Therefore there is

nature,

35

� landscape, human life, and seasons of village of rural regions.

� Most of the songs are concerned to women and sung by

women.

� Garhwali folk songs are traditionally ballad in nature and not

of written form.

1.3. Importance of Folk Songs

The folk songs are an integral part of folklore and need to be

studied from the sociological as well as literary angels. The

study of folk songs in India continues to be in infancy in view

of the vast potentialities and possibilities of researches in this

field. As is evident from the review, except few analytical and

serious studies, the efforts in this field have remained

confined mainly to the collection and mere classification of

the folk songs in the different states before we arrive at

certain general conclusion regarding the folk song researches

in India. The songs collected in this thesis bring out the folk

traditions of Indian villagers and some of them are connected

with the themes of favouring change, abolition of

36

untouchability and discrimination, cooperation, nationalism,

women conditions, separation, faith on gods and spirits and so

forth. The scenic beauty of nature as well as the beauty of

human beings apparently have inspired the people to burst

into spontaneous expressions leading to poetry of the earth.

The Garhwali songs deal with the common themes of life.

The mother, for example compares her son to her earring.

Human beings are compared to flowers, trees and birds. The

girls threshing rice and labourers bending in their ceaseless

toil all have their own favourite songs which they sing while

at work. These folk songs are moulded by rhythm of life and

are the true expressions of the Garhwali minds. There are

number of delightful Garhwali folk songs which have not

been identified with any tribe or caste. Today folk songs are

on the lips of every Garhwali young or old. The folk ballads

are popular in the village where they are sung by the

wandering minstrels and flute. The Garhwali songs, rich in

theme, contents and forms, have been classified by some

37

Garhwali writers. No doubt there is much in our folk songs

which ought to be preserved. There is a wealth of rich

material in folksongs.

The main concept of themetic study is to explore hidden folk

songs by translating in English. In Uttarakhand, Garhwali is

spoken in every village and city, wedding songs, folk songs

and even films are all in Garhwali. Garhwali films are much

more popular than bollywood , Hollywood & Bhojpuri films.

In today’s luxurious life people have no time to see each

other. There are various problems of women, old people,

young generation, nature, family and environment. Folk

songs are the major sources to reflect problems, happiness

and sadness before the society. This study reiterates the

significance of looking at the lived experience of

communities with the nation of empathy, participation and

wholeness, wholeness means in that all parts belong together,

that they partake in each other.

38

Understanding culture is more that what the words imply. It

involves an in-dwelling, listening to the hum behind the

spoken word. Songs are to be understood as a matter of actual

experience, of participation and of keen observation. All this

means that a new form of perception, a different spiral of

understanding other then that of objectivity is required. This

approach is radically different from the normal linear

methodologies of social science research which tend to

fragment disciplines and treat human beings as passive

objects.

Basically in a developing world, for a woman, ‘choice and

right is very important’. Lack of information, environment,

illiteracy, economic, social and cultural barriers act as forces

against a more informed choice. No doubt folk songs of

Garhwal became a powerful source of social communication.

1.4 Purpose and Scope of the Study

The main purpose of Garhwali folk songs is to keep alive

Garhwali culture. Another purpose is to analyse to draw up

complete picture of the life of the people of garhwal.

Garhwali folk songs reflect social and historical background

of Garhwali people. Folk songs also describe the holistic

images and the emotional state of women. The Folklore has

39

many cultural aspects, such as allowing for escape from

societal consequences. Garhwali people have great belief in

folk-lore. With the help of their enchanted folk songs and

dances they impressed Gods.The art of dancing also owes its

inspiration to the fascinating mythical dancing damsels who

dwell on snow-clad peaks and are variously described as

Ancheris, Kecharis or faries.They are fairies or women who

move in the firmament, young women of surpassing beauty,

sumptuously clothed and supposed to belong to the court of

Indira. His dancing girls, they are said to fly or float along the

sky without any visible wings. Some believe they are the

souls of spirits of young unmarried girls who died with no

funeral rites; they are the daughters of Ravana who offered

them to Lord Shiva as his hand-maidens. The most popular

version makes them part of the Krishna legend and lore,

making them into the Gopis who dance the 'Dance Celestial'

with their Lord. Folklore frequently ties the practical and the

40

esoteric into one narrative package. It has often been

conflated with mythology, and vice versa, because it has been

assumed that any figurative story that does not pertain to the

dominant beliefs of the time is not of the same status as those

dominant beliefs.We must create an enabling environment

that will help the youth to make their choice and internalize

their concerns. As a researcher I felt that while we do make

analysis, it is subjective coming from our own knowledge and

discourse. There can be both a moral and psychological scope

The scope of the Garhwali folk songs is very broad. Social,

economical and political activities are highlighted with the

help of Garhwali songs. Garhwali folk songs are generally

related with festivals, folk stories, gods and simple pastoral

life of people in Uttarakhand. Garhwali music is integrated in

every part of Uttarakhand and we can start feeling the aerial

music of Garhwal as soon as we enter this holy land of gods. .

The variety of Garhwali songs or Garhwali music stretches to

a larger scope with the areas like ceremonial mandals, martial

41

panwaras and melancholy khuded, thadya and jhoda. Songs

as a source of culture for understanding people’s lives. I

thought the best way to do my study was to get in touch with

the lives of the people. In the last few decades many

Garhwali folk singers like Narendra Singh Negi, Bhartwan

and many more have roused people's interest in Garhwali

language by their popular songs and videos. On average there

is one movie in four or five years in Garhwali.

To promote Garhwali culture, music, art and tradition, folk

songs always help the people. Occasional festivals, dances

and music are the beauty of Uttarakhand. Seeing the beauty

and the melody of Uttarakhand, a group of non-resident

Uttarakhandi in New York launched internet radio of

Garhwal/Jaunsar in the year 2008. Due to this, for the first

time Himalaya was seen on the global screen.

Now the migrant and the inhabitant are getting significant

popularity.Even the internet radio was named after a very

famous melody of hills of Himalaya, Bedupako Baramasa O

42

Narain Kafal Pako Chaita meri chaila. Today the scope of

Garhwali folk song is unique. Due to various purposes of

Garhwali folk songs, it spreads all the ways. Garhwali and

non Garhwali people in the country and abroad are like and

take interest in Garhwali folk songs.

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1.5 Objectives of the Study

1. To translate old folk songs in English.

2. To find out origin of folk songs – lokgeet.

3. To explore the mystery of Garhwali people. Generally Garhwali

old folk songs are hardly written. They are handed over mouth to

mouth . Garhwali folk songs are based on vivid and common

themes.

4. The research aim is to study Garhwali Lokgeets with

5. reference to Jaagar, Khuded geet and other songs which are

typical in Garhwal valley.