Evergreen Indian Folk music

Like Indian folk art, Indian folk music also traces its roots way back to the dusty remote and pristine villages of India.

They represent the folklore of India and the variations they carry are dependent on the place of origin.

The beauty of Indian folk music is that there is no standard procedure or strict format; it has evolved with time without a formal period of apprenticeship where the student is able to devote their entire life to learning the music. The music is an indispensable component of functions such as weddings, engagements, and births.

There is a plethora of songs for such occasions. There are also many songs associated with planting and harvesting. In these activities the villagers routinely sing of their hopes, fears and aspirations.

Even amongst folk music, there are different subdivisions based on the state of origin, the popular folk music forms being – Bhangra, Dandia, Lavani, Garba, Bauls etc.

Most of these folk music forms are an extension of dance forms. Folk music has a pattern which closely follows classical music and the instruments like Dhol, Dholki, Ghatams, and Bansuri do have a similarity to the ones used in classical music.

Folk music has been the ‘music for sons of the soil’, very connected to the heartland of India. It is a music which transcends boundaries is usually sung by common men and women in day today situations. There are day to day situations like singing a lullaby for a baby, at a day’s work. There are also harvest songs, betrothal songs, chorus songs etc.

Bhangra, Dandiya and Lavani are more dance oriented forms of music. Bauls originated in Bengal in the 18th century and follows a light music pattern.

Cutback to the present times, where you feel the relevance and presence of folk music has faded; we still see the roots in special cultural occasions and festivals, the best example being Holi.

Folk music is still used quite rampantly in Holi, where it blends seamlessly with the banter and mirth involved. In fact many contemporary singers do still practice folk music, the popular ones being Manoj Tiwari, Shyam Lal, Sucharita Gupta etc…

Same as in occasions like ‘godh bharai’ which means pregnancy, in the 6th or 7th month; festivities use a lot of folk music. Of course, the languages and nuances change from place to place in India. This is mostly to take the blessings of the Lord and safe ‘delivery’ of the child.

'Music Binds all' the short movie made by mLab in Gurgaon, India used folk art and animation with folk music as a base.

The movie elucidates the solution by showing a social gathering of people , the music created by the people attracts the nature and environment metaphorically explain the connection between human and nature is through musical vibration, it's the beat of music has power to reinforce the relation.

This movie grabbed the spotlight because of the unique way folk music & art have been created using flash animation. This is a good pointer to the fact that Indian folk music in essence is so rich that it can still strike a chord with the contemporary audience.

Thus Indian folk music can also be termed evergreen as it has not lost its charm so far and is still mint fresh in the minds of people. It is also versatile enough to be revisited and recreated to suit the tastes of the younger audiences.