TRADITIONAL FOLK MEDIA IN INDIA by Shyam Parmar, Geka Books,

N. Delhi, 1975, Rs . 45 .00 or $ 10.00 (In English).

The desire to utilise the format of folk forms for mass electronic
me~a has become an urgent need in times like ours when a societal approach
to hltQlan problems has taken such multi-level and multifarious forms . To

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reach out to the common man and to communicate with him is, in fact, the
greatest possible challenge posed to a media man . He has to find an answer
to the problem of directly bringing the mass-mind face to face with the reali-
ties of modern life . Knowledge of advanced technology, mingled with differ-
ent levels of social development in a given society, has resulted in new
processes of thinking and this challenge has to be met, if we want to keep
pace with the forces of change.

Shyam Parmar has tried to focus the attention of media-men on the

traditional lore of our country and emphasize its usefulness to different
communication media. His work makes mention of the various forms of folk
entertainment and performing art-forms which can serve the great need of
communication . He rightly points to the problems faced by media-men. They
cannot just l:xx;!ily lift ciur folk-forms and try to re-inforce an age-old tradition.
Media-men will have to delve deep into the form and structure of the folk
item selected and then alone can they mould a new version, responsive to
the needs of contemporary society .

Dr. Parmar has dealt with a few forms like folk theatre, puppetry,
folk music, ballads, the harikatha form of recitation, community dance, kavad
etc. All these provide a traditional format for inculcating the modern message .
Once it is accepted that a particular form has a fair degree of potential
for responding to contemporary themes, it is worth one's while to examine
the particular channel to which the form is most suited. When we think
about the electronic media which have made it possible for us to reach
a great number of people at a given time, it becomes all the more impor-
tant to select different forms for the different media. This would surely
mean that folk forms will have to be uprooted from their social soil and
yet exist as a real art-form exercise . There can be no compromise on the
question of its aesthetic value. Dr. Parmar dwells on the contribution of
All India Radio, of the Song and Drama Division, and of Television and its
efforts to draw ·on folk media for its programmes. What we need to analyse
and understand is whether this· is the right course open to us .

Another very pertinent question can also be raised . Is the grafting

of a contemporary message the only area where we need the service of
fol~ mediai' Should not folk forms be cultivated in their own right in order
to serve the culture needs of the peoplei' Dr. Parmar makes out a case
for new messages which propagate ideas. But it is also necessary to identify
the cultural needs of the people. A due stress on this aspect of folk media
should not be ignored .

Dr . Parmar's work raises another significant problem regard ing our

exhaustive knowledge about the folk forms of country. A country as big as
India, with myriads of forms and variants, requires a far more thorough
survey. This calls for deeply involved scouting. The forms mentioned by
Dr . Parmar are merely those which the present media-personnel have in mind .
But there are many other folk forms which can give us a deeper insight into
the psychology of the mass mind and bring us nearer to aspirations of the
people . One fact will always remain important : Who are the people or per-

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sonnel or media-men who will shoulder the responsibility of injecting the
so-called message into the forms? It is certainly very important that the
media-men should be fed by scholars of folklore . They should be informed
about the different discoveries in these subjects and provided with a struc-
tural analysis of the same . A superficial or arbitrary utilisation of forms will
merely damage our great traditional heritage . Closer collaboration between
folklore scholars and the mass-media personnel is needed because the
present machinery of propaganda is using folk forms in quite a question-
able way .

It will have to be appreciated that every folk form cannot easily be

used for the mass-media . The use of the kavad (a painted box) can only
be limited to a very small and intimate audience, whereas puppetry has greater
POtential and can be exploited in films, T.V. and even in the theatre . Care
should be taken to lay down the limits of each form .

Dr . Parmar has taken pains to compile a book on folk-media and

deal in detail with different forms . The work will be of use in training media-
men in our country.

KOMAL KOTHARI

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