RAJASTHAN:THE LAND OF

VIBRANT COLOURS

By:Ayushi Rajput

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW Introduction of Rajasthan Culture Attire Languages and Dialects Cuisines Ballads Myths Folktales Legends Music and Musical Instruments

CONT… Dances Dramas Tribes of Rajasthan Folklorists of Rajasthan Feasts, Fairs and Festivals Deities of Rajasthan Art and Craft Preservation of folklore of Rajasthan. Conclusion

RAJASTHAN

INTRODUCTION Earlier Rajasthan was known as

Rajputana. Rajasthan is bounded on the west by

Pakistan. On the north by Haryana and Punjab. On the east by U.P. and M.P. and on the south by Gujarat.

Major attractions of Rajasthan is ancient Forts and Havelis, traditional jewelry, mouth watering spicy food, proficient dancers, puppet shows and snake charmers.

CULTURE The rich cultural heritage of the state is

reflected in its impressive folk music and dances, different languages and dialects, the majestic forts, palaces, mansions and divinely holy places of religious worship, its multihued fairs and festivals, its tempting cuisines, and, above all, its inviting and cheerful people.

Every nook and corner of Rajasthan delights and compels visitors to fall in love with it.

ATTIRE Both males and females dress in the

customary dresses fully influenced by climate, economy, status and the profession.

The traditional dresses being, 'dhoti', ‘ kurta’, 'angrakha', ‘saafa', ‘ghaghra-choli’, ‘kanchli-kurti’, amongst Hindus; and 'tilak', 'burga', 'achkan' amongst Muslims, which are fast changing now with 'bushirt', 'salwar' and 'skirts', saris and pants accordingly.

LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS The language of Rajasthan is Rajasthani

which consists of five principal dialects like Marwari, Dhundhari, Mewari, Mewati and Hadauti.

Other major dialects spoken here are, Shekhawati, Bagri, Ahirwati and Wagdi.

Hindi is also widely spoken here.

CUISINES Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the

war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region.

Famous dishes include ‘Bajre ki roti’ (millet bread) and ‘Lashun ki chutney’ (hot garlic paste), ‘Mawa Kachori’ from jodhpur, ‘Alwar ka mawa’, ‘Malpauas’ from pushkar and ‘Rassgollas’ from Bikaner.

‘Bikaneri Bhujia’, ‘Mirchi Bada’ and ‘Pyaaj ki kachori’ are the famous snacks.

Sweet dishes include, ‘Churma’, ‘Gujia’, ‘seero’ (halwa), ‘Imarti’, ‘Ghevar’, ‘Feeni’, ‘Besan Chakki’, ‘Balusahi’ and Palang Torh.

BALLADS Ballads in Rajasthan are of various kinds. Whilst

some of these are heroic or romantic, others are mythological or historical in character.

Pabuji ka Pawada is a heroic gatha or ballad. The Bhopas are the singers of these Pawada. They also keep a phad or a picture-curtain to illustrate the contents of this song.

On the other hand, Bagadawat is a romantic ballad and is about the battles of 24 Bagadawat brothers.

Nihalde Sultan and Dhola-Maruni are also some romantic ballads.

Amba Ras, Draupad Puran, Narasiji ro Mahero are some of the mythological and historical ballads of Rajasthan.

DHOLA-MARU

MYTHS A myth Is a story that usually explains

something about the world and involves God and supernatural things. Rajasthan has preserved many such myths in its boom.

The most famous among them are, myth behind Bhangarh Fort, Sambhar Lake, Mt. Abu etc.

BHANGARH FORT

FOLKTALES Folktale is a general term for different

varieties of traditional narrative. Land of Rajasthan is filled with many such tales.

Some of the famous tales are the tale of, ‘The wishing tree’, the tale of pannadai- ‘A great sacrifice’, ‘When goddess Lakshmi begged’, ‘Justice by parables’, ‘Destiny’ etc.

LEGENDS Legends are the stories that arise

from historical figures or events. Rajasthan is blessed with many such figures.

Some of them are, Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Pratap, Maharaj Surajmal, Rana Sanga, Rana Kumbha, Maharani Padmini, Mira bai and many more.

MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Rajasthani music is very famous not only in India

but also in the world. Music and dance are deeply ingrained in Rajasthani culture.

Folk tunes of Rajasthan are very popular. Mand, Des, Peepli, Nihalde, are typically sung and accompanied by Rawanhattha.

An inseparable part of folk music, Folk Instruments add the ever so important rhythm and melody to the folk dances and the vocal performance.

String instruments like Sarangi, Rawanhatha, Kamaycha and Bhapang add haunting melody to the music. Percussion instrument like Dholak, Nagara, Chang and Dhap add the rhythmic beat to joyous music.

KHARTAL MORCHANG

TANPURA

DANCES The Thar Desert of Rajasthan comes

alive when its dancers take the center stage. Rajasthan has great variety of dances, which are simple expressions of celebration and festivity.

Ghumar and Jhumar are the main dances of Rajasthan. Apart from Ghumar and Jhumar, The Kuchhi Ghodi, Terahtali, Kalbelia, Gair, Bhavai, Drum Dance, The Fire Dance are also important dances of Rajasthan.

DRAMAS Rajasthan's spectacular visual folk arts

include ‘RAS’, ‘ZOOMAR’, ‘GAVRI’, ‘BHAVAI’, ‘SWANG’, ‘KHAYAL’ and ‘KATHPUTLI’.

The most famous of all these are, Gavri and Swang. Gavri is a folk idea which signifies a drama where mythology entertainment and the cult worship of trance collude.

Swang incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue. It is dialogue-oriented rather than movement-oriented.

GAVRI

SWANG

TRIBES OF RAJASTHAN  Tribes of Rajasthan constitute 12% of

the total population. The main tribal communities of Rajasthan are Bhil tribe and Meena tribe.

Other important tribes are, ‘Bishnois’, ‘Sahariyas’, ‘Garasias’, ‘Gadiya Lohars’ and ‘Gujars’.

FOLKLORISTS OF RAJASTHAN Late Mr. Komal Kothari, commonly known as

Komalda, was an Indian folklorist and from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. A pioneer in the study of Indian folklore, he is most known for his work on the folklore of Rajasthan and its links to Music of Rajasthan and its instruments.

Besides, Colonel James Tod, a member of British Army had also studied folklore of Rajasthan and mentioned it in his book ‘Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan’.

Other renowned folklorists of Rajasthan are, Dr. Mahendra Bhanawat and Dr. Satyendra.

FEASTS, FAIRS AND FESTIVALS Rajasthan, the history laced land of

evergreen myths and legends of yore, is also the site of numerous colorful fairs and festival.

Some important fairs and festivals of Rajasthan are Gangaur, Teej, Desert Festival, Jaisalmer, Elephant Festival, Jaipur, Marwar Festival, Jodhpur, Camel Festival, Bikaner, Nagaur Fair, Nagaur, Baneshwar Fair, Baneshwar.

FOLK DEITIES OF RAJASTHAN Rajasthan is a land of God fearing

people. We can find a number of folk deities here.

The most famous are, ‘Baba Hariram’, ‘Bhuwal Mata’, ‘Devnarayan’, ‘Eloji’, Pabuji’, ‘Khetlaji’, ‘Gogaji’, ‘Ramdevji’, ‘Veer-Tejaji’, ‘Nandini Mata’ and ‘Sati Mata’.

TEJAJI RAMDEVJI

GOGAJI ELOJI

ART AND CRAFT Rajasthan is famous for textiles, semi-

precious stones and handicrafts, and for its traditional and colorful art. Rajasthani furniture has intricate carvings and bright colours. Block prints, tie and dye prints, Bagaru prints, Sanganer prints and Zari embroidery are major export products from Rajasthan. The blue pottery of Jaipur is particularly noted

PRESERVATION OF FOLKLORE There are a number of institutes and art

centres in Rajasthan which provide protection and preseve folk art and culture of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute is an organisation established by Government of Rajasthan to promote Rajasthani culture and heritage and to accumulate and maintain the old Rajasthani folk art work and folk literature.

CONT… Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is a multi arts

centre located in Jaipur. It was built by Rajasthan government with the purpose of preserving Rajasthani arts and crafts.

‘RHYTHMS OF RAJASTHAN’ is an Initiative to collaborate with the various folk performing artists of Rajasthan. This project conceived in Jodhpur, Rajasthan by Nitin Nath Harsh a folklore promoter of Rajasthan.

Rupayan was established by Late Komal Kothari and his friend Vijaydan Detha with the simple idea of collecting folk tales and folk songs to bring out the richness of the Rajasthani language.

CONCLUSION Rajasthan has artistic and cultural traditions

which reflects the ancient Indian way of life. There is a rich and varied folk culture.

The people of Rajasthan live life to the hilt after hard work in the harsh desert sun and the rocky terrain.

Rajasthan has a lot for us, It is ‘A wing of the golden bird, India’ and the most ‘Colorful Land’, the only thing is that how we see to it. If we will start admiring and accepting our tradition and culture, the faded glory of folklore can again be revived.

QUOTES A people without the knowledge of their past

history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. Marcus Garvey

A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. Mahatma Gandhi

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. Ray Bradbury

Folklore is here because I am here, when I will not be here then there will be a folklore about me. Manoj Kumar

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR TEACHER, MR. MANOJ KUMAR, WHO HIMSELF IS PURSUING PHD IN FOLKLORE AND ORAL TRADITIONS. HAD HE NOT BE THERE THEN IT WOULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLE FOR US TO GET THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN THIS SUBJECT. AND ALSO WE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE THIS PRESENTATION WITHOUT HIS HELP.

THANK YOU SIR

THANK YOU