When it comes to a country as diverse as India, you can bet that in terms of folk regional music, you will probably never run out of options.
Folk music has frankly never really been given the amount of appreciation and attention it deserves and it mostly relegated for foreign tourists who want to see the ‘true India’ or for arty type people who refuse to listen to ‘mainstream music’ and instead flaunt their knowledge of the latest indie artist they are a fan of at the moment.
In this case, Coke Studio has really helped indie bands and artists in a country where music means Bollywood film songs and nothing else.
However, even Coke studio might just have passed over these not-so-mainstream regional folk music that you must be unaware of even till now.
So let us take a look at some of these folk music types:
1. Sana Lamok:
Coming from the state of Manipur, the Sana Lamok is the traditional way to welcome the new king and is usually sung during the coronation ceremony. The singer is usually the priest or Maaiba and it is believed to help revive the spirit of the head deity called Pakhangba.
The north-east has so many other regional folk music that people are still unaware of.
2. Bhatiali:
The bhatiali folk music comes from the culture rich Bengal and is mostly a music type for the fishermen and oarsmen community of the state.
Nirmalendu Chowdhury is a popular artist in the Bhatiali folk music sector.
Read More: 5 Indian Rock Bands Every Music Lover Should Know
3. Pandavani:
The Pandavani folk music is quite popular in the regions of Chattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
This folk music is mostly about narrating a particular story from the epic literature Mahabharata and the singer enacts all the different characters in the story.
Some of the popular artists that are known for this folk music would be Ritu Verma, Usha Barle, Teejan Bai and more.
4. Mando:
Goa might be known for its parties and beaches, however, one must not forget that the state has a treasure chest full of art, literature, and culture that is always giving us something new.
One might not have known about Mando, a kind of Goan folk music is about all different types of subjects like love, tragedy and even societal problems including the resistance of people during the reign of the Portuguese in Goa.
Mando is made up more of slow verses and has combinations of both western and Indian musical influences. Instruments used with this type of folk music range from the western violin and guitar to the Indian ghumot drums.
5. Kashmiri Folk Music:
Kashmiri folk music is not something that is given a whole lot of attention, people instead focusing on the beautiful gardens, shikaras, the snowcapped mountains and more.
However, Kashmir has some beautiful and pleasing the ear types of folk music like Chhakri, Bhakha, Ladishah and more.
Chhakri is one of the most popular among the folk music, usually sung during the henna ceremony of a wedding or to tell fairy tales. Where Chakri is more of a sweet musical form, Ladishah is a more humorous and sarcastic type of music that takes up social and political issues and presents them in an entertaining manner.
Image Credits: Google Images
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2017/11/k-pop-fever-taking-india-storm/
http://edtimes.in/2017/11/eight-bollywood-songs-that-will-help-you-fight-depression/
