Ecological Concerns in Bhojpuri Folk Songs
Author : Neeraj Kumar and Dr. Shweta K Kapoor
Abstract :
Culture and environment are embedded in each other in Indian tradition. The folklore also complies with this setting. Bhojpuri serves as the mother tongue of the major populace of the rural regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar. It has a significant tradition of folk songs like seasonal melodies, wedding compositions, Sohar songs, Chhath songs, Sanjha-parati, etc. The songs that are sung on different occasions encompass a plethora of eco-critical significances. They reflect the engrained relationship between the environment and human existence. This paper attempts to trace the attributes of such relationships, in select Bhojpuri folksongs. An attempt has been made to analyse the songs through an ecological lens. The discussion will also reflect on how the universal concerns are domesticated in the form of folk songs and up to what extent regional imagination incorporates those concerns. The present study employs the discourse analysis method for its advancement. The folk songs have been drawn from diverse categories, each associated with its specific occasion.
Keywords :
Environment, human behaviour, culture, folk songs, domestication.
