Chekka Bommalata - the exquisite art form and its dwindling culture

Isha Bhattacharya

The tale of Chekka Bommalata, the rare art form of wooden-string puppetry from Telangana, its arduous past and the diminishing culture of the Bommalollu puppeteers.

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Phad in the times of Corona - In conversation with a Phad artist

Isha Bhattacharya

We spoke to Vijay Joshi, an acclaimed traditional phad artist from Rajasthan about his phad painting that helped create awareness about the coronavirus and how he has been sustaining himself and his art through these uncertain times.

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Folk and Pop Culture

Isha Bhattacharya

Folk art has had a monumental influence on our movies, music, TV shows, advertisements and popular culture. For it directly appeals to the emotions rather than the intellect and helps create a sense of belonging and companionship that is so fundamental to the human experience.

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Bridging Tradition and Modernity | Karmic justice in The Man-Eater of Malgudi: A throwback to the Jataka and Panchatantra tales

Dhruba Basu

While he based The Man-Eater of Malgudi on the Mohini-Bhasmasur myth, RK Narayan also drew on the subcontinent's oldest folk tales to end the novel with an absurdly ironic climax. 

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The Exquisite Travelling Temples of Rajasthan - Phad

Isha Bhattacharya

Immersed in vibrant culture and history, the Phad paintings of Rajasthan boast about their unique origin and storytelling tradition. And, the folk art form

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Bauls – the bards of Bengal

Arupa Lahiry

কি সন্ধানে যাই সেখানে মনের মানুষ যেখানে। আঁধার ঘরে জ্বলছে বাতি দিবা রাতি নাই সেখানে। (I go there to search what? The place where my “Moner Manush” stays? Where in the dark house glows a single light- a place beyond day and night)

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Bridging Tradition and Modernity | Mohini-Bhasmasur in Malgudi

Dhruba Basu

RK Narayan was a huge fan of myths and folk tales. In The Man-Eater of Malgudi, he draws on both to craft a hilarious modern interpretation of some of oldest themes in storytelling. Here we look at his subversive treatment of myth in the 1961 novel. 

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Harikatha: One Tradition, Many Stories

Dhruba Basu

Combining various art forms and requiring specialised knowledge and training, harikatha defies easy categorisation. But at the heart of the oldest extant folk tradition of the subcontinent is an impulse that hasn't changed and never will: the impulse to tell stories that inspire people.  

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Food For Folk

Isha Bhattacharya

India and its cuisine have an incredibly diverse history, and we are arguably a nation of hedonists with our choicest guilty pleasure being food. And for all our diversity, food and storytelling are two of the most common elements that unite us, and understandably so, our folklore reflects just this long-standing relationship we share with food.

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Bridging Tradition and Modernity | The use of Harikatha in Raja Rao’s Kanthapura

Dhruba Basu

Folk traditions are indispensable links to our shared cultural heritage, but they are more than just a reminder of simpler times. In this series, we look at some of the ways in which these complex, powerful and enduring traditions have been reimagined for the modern era. 

In his seminal novel Kanthapura, pioneering Indian writer Raja Rao shows us how a small orthodox village in Karnataka adapts the ancient south Indian storytelling tradition of harikatha to the needs of the Indian freedom struggle.

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Putul Naach

Isha Bhattacharya

Puppetry is widely recognised as the most ancient style of folk art as well as traditional entertainment and, West Bengal, its brimming cultural hub. The Folk puppetry in West Bengal is called Putul Naach, which directly translates to Puppet Dance. 

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