INDIAN CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION : A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RURAL FOLK OF WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH

 

 

India is a very complex and colorful country. It is blessed by mountains, rich and fertile land, ocean in the south, east and west, rivers, pastures, green fields and four different type of season in the year. Besides being rich in natural resources, India is also famous for its rich heritage and culture. It has several religions, traditions, customs, rituals, and systems of living. Food, clothes, language, dialects, dances, tales, songs, stories, local gods and goddesses, worshiping patterns, marriage systems, post life rituals make this country more complex. The traditions are strong and good that the next generation learns it from the existing generation and passes it on to the next to next generations. The caste, and other useless systems do not come in the way for our traditional communication. Indian culture is so rich in its formation that it cannot be washed out very quickly. Hindu way of life is the essence of India. All other religious systems are equally important that make Indian culture more and more acceptable to the rest of the world. This paper examines those factors that are responsible for the furtherance of the culture and the traditions that have emerged very strong for the centuries due to its composition and values embedded therein. Let us first examine those factors first:

Collectiveness : Our collectiveness is incepted from the childhood and from the beginning of any rituals or systems. We share our responsibilities individual but collectively. Our joint family system for centuries have developed strong bonds among family members and relatives. In the joint family , nobody is an individual entity. Everybody is for everybody and the duties are generally shared. Birth celebration, marriage arrangements, any big work to be done in the family all have to be  collective responsibility. Sometimes,  for hundred years, the agriculture land is not even divided among the legal heirs. It is used by the members and the generations undividedly . The sorry and the happiness are shared common in the family.

Family bonds : The families either joint or individual, the relationship among the members and relatives is so strong that it is intact even after little uneasiness in the relations. There are no serious differences among the members of the families. The siblings are sharing the bonds throughout their life. The sister cares for the brother and the brother in return cares for the sister throughout her life. The children of the sister and brother further are bonded in love and affection because of their parents. In this way the  family relationship develops further. Every relations is so deeply is accepted that it cannot be separated.  The relationship of husband and wife is not for one birth, rather it goes for seven such births. In the old age both care for each other. The children and the grand children of the old people, do take care of the old persons not for any reason or for any specific gain, but as a part  of the culture and the bonds they have with them. In return, the old people also take their grand children as their own. The play with them and give everything they possess  to their children.

Festivity : Another factor in the life of an Indian is the festivity in every aspect of life. Starting from the birth of a child in the family, to the death of a person in the family, every step is celebrated with fun and flavor. In spite of the fact that a new born child is in the ownership of the parents but the as an asset , the child is an inseparable part of the family and the society at large.  The marriage ceremonies are well-known in the world. Hindu marriage is not just  one hour concept , rather it is for one months. The relatives specially the married daughters and sisters are invited to the family one month earlier  for the marriage. All relatives sing the song and prepare the target for the marriage. He or she is given turmeric lotion and bath every day for a week and is given dry fruits for eating so that one gets strength and prepare for the next days to come. The decoration of the marriage hall and the makeup of the family members including groom and the bride are notable in the area. Entire family remains in the new clothes that even in the royal look. Gold ornaments, and other offerings are given to the target of the marriage. The marriage party is given a grand reception and even after the marriage the celebrations continue for weeks to come.  Our festivity is visible in every happy moment . Even if it is a result of the child, job  of the young man, promotion of the father, mother, or friend, let there be a party and there is music and dance with food. The festivity is in our brain and blood.

Shared customs :   Some of the customs of Indian society are very common. Great festivals like Holi and Diwali are celebrated all over the country. All sections of the society participate in these festivals. There are many products associated with the festivals. Like Durga Puja in west Bengal is associated with the artistes who make idols of Durga and other deities. Lord Krishna and his leela is celebrated throughout the country and all people from all religions  take part in these. Davat -e valima is another feature prevailing among Muslims. It is the kind of feast that is given after the marriage of the son of the family. Dashhera is another festival where the skeleton of the devil Ravan are being made by the Muslim and this festival is of Hindus. The livelihood is obtained through Hindu and Muslim customs equally.

Common social values: Social values are inherited from generation to generation. In almost all the societies irrespective religion and caste, practice these social values. The elders and the old people gets respect and protection in the last phase of their life. Their entire wants and necessities are taken care of by the young generation. The elder in the age, is considered decision of the God and the younger provides full respect to the elder. In some communities, the very first act of the day is to touch the feet of the elders and get blessings. The children are  protected by one and all. The children are advised not to urinate in standing position in the open. The younger should stand and pay regards to the elders every time one comes across . These common social values are very common in all the societies. The sisters of the father are welcomed and respected throughout their lives. They are offered gifts and cash every time when their sons and daughters get married. Highest ever honor is bestowed on the husband of the daughter and the husband of the sister of the father. The sister of the mother is treated just like the mother and the husband of the mother's sister's husband is respected very much. These social values make the traditional communication easy.

Beside these social values and other factors that are responsible for the smooth transfer of message to the new generation, there are some other systems of traditional communication. Lets discuss them one by one and make the concept very clear. Something is being made clear.

What is to be communicated: The very first question that comes into mind is what is to be communicated to the masses in the traditional society. In other words, what is the message we pass on to the generation through traditional media? In fact we communicate the best to the new generation that is based on the rich experience gathered  from so many centuries. We do not communicate hypothetical information to the new generation . The experience that has been tested time and again for so many decades and years and found to be true and genuine  it to be communicated in Indian system. We communicate the valued life style, good manners, simple living and high thinking, mutual cooperation, mutual respect and equality of the justice. In  short the Indian traditional communication is best of the best and perhaps best in the world.

Traditional medium of communication : There is no list of the traditional medium of communication in India, however, based on the experience of the society, following medium have been identified where traditional communication takes place. These are here:

Sanskara : The Hindu way of life believes in sanskara systems. There are 16 sanskara from conception to the last rights of an individual.

Garbhadhan Sanskara ( Conception of the child): It is when the wife conceives the child. The message is that the husband and wife should have good thought so that the child also gets good character.

Punsavana sanskara ( Fetus protection) : It is for wishing male child who will carry the clan of the family further and who will be the heir of the property. It is performed in the third or the fourth month of the pregnancy when the conception is perfect. Like the previous sanskara this sanskara is also restricted to the family members only.

Simantonayana sanskara ( Wishes of the pregnant mother). It is done in the seventh month of the pregnancy for the protection and physical as well as mental health of the child. She is advised not to sit in the sunlight, and not to lift the weight etc.

Jatakarma sanskara: It is performed after the sixth day of the birth of the child. Some call it as chhadipooja. . Many rituals are performed during this sanskara.

 Namkaran sanskara: ( Naming the child). It is formed  either tenth or eleventh day of the birth of the child. There is a seperate philosophy of naming the child based on astrology. 

 Nishkramana Sanskara: This is done on the fortieth day of the birth of the child. The basic object is to take the child out of the house for the first time.

Annaprasashana Sanskara ( Feeding of solid food). The child is given a solid food for eating in this sanskara. Generally curd, honey and the ghee is mixed for the first food of  the child in this sanskara.

Mun dan sanskara ( Cutting the Hair). This is called mundan or the cutting of the hair of the child for the first time. The barber is invited in the house and a big function is organised.

Karnvedhan Sanskara ( Piercing the ears). This is done from third to fifth year of the child.  The message is that the child listens to the good things and good education.

Upanayana/ yagyopaveet sanskara ( Sacred Threads):  This is only for the male child when one attains the age of five years. Holy threads are given to the child to follow in the life. This is also called as second birth of the child.

Vedarambh  ( Beginning of vedas and scriptures). This is to direct the child for the begining of the spritual life. It is from here that he starts his academic session in the gurukulas or schools of learning.

Samavaratana Sanskara ( Completing the education): This is performed after the completing of the education in the ashram of the teacher. This is just like the convocation of todays. Now the man is qualified to get married.

 Vivah sanskara ( The marriage). From this sanskara, the man enters into the second Ashram of life. This is called Grahasth  ashram i.e. leading the life of a married man with his  children and the family. There are various rituals in the marriage.

Vanprashtha sanskara ( Renouncing): In this sanskara after the age of fifty years or sixty years in some cases, one completes the family duties and one prepares for going to the forest. One prepares for the sansyans .

 Sansyasa Sanskara:  In this after performing all the duties of the worldly relations and quitting all hopes, desires, one becomes a sanyasi or saint, or hermit. This sanskara is for maturing the manhood and before the last step.

 Antyeshti ( Death or the last rites) : This is also called antim sanskar of the life. Tulsi, gangajal, are put in the mouth of the dead. The dead body is carried to the shamshanghat for last rituals. The body is either buried or burnt as per customs.

By these sixteen sanskaras the hole life is given a message to collective responsibility, high character and valued life.

During the life time of a person in Indian communities, the communication goes on . We communicate the social norms, practices and make aware of the problems to be faced by the new generation.  The methods or the medium are just unimaginable. Some of them are here

Marriage function: The marriage of a son or the daughter is an occasion where a number of messages are communicated to the new generation by the old generation. The marriage customs and rituals differ from community to community. But there is one thing common in all the communities that the bridegroom has to be in the unique costumes and dresses. In the same way the bride is to be in the best dress of her life. But the fact is that they are taught lessons of the life by the parents, friends, relatives and others to get ready for the marriage. The ritual starts from the day of the selecting the bride for the son. Merits are decided and a selection is made that is converted into engagement or ring ceremony .From the day of the ring ceremony, both the son and the daughter are engaged in the household things and are not allowed to go out from the house. The are just feed best food and dry fruits for their physical readiness. They are not supposed to meet each other for any purpose.   On the day of marriage, the groom comes to the house of the bride in a procession of a party that is reflected as a depiction of war and the groom is generally in the dress of a prince with sword and other body guards around him. The message is that the groom has to win the battle with the in laws and bring the bride to his house as a winning trophy.

Folk Songs: Indian traditional communication is full of festivity and the songs. There is no occasion where there is no song. Starting from the birth of a child , the folk songs also starts. There are prayer songs requesting the God for providing healthy life to the child. But at the time of the marriage specially at time of the seeing off of the bride, the message based songs are very important. The essence of the songs is that the bride should treat the mother in law as her own mother and the brothers and the sisters of the grooms as her own brothers and sisters. In this way the bride is taught a lesson through these folk songs that the house she is leaving on that day was once but now onward, the house of the husband is the house of the bride forever . She is also told how to behave in the family of the groom and her behavior should be in such a way that the honor of  both the houses lies on her shoulders.

Folk Tales: Every part of India has sufficient number of folk tales. Some are common and some are exclusively. We communicate through these tales a number of messages that are very important for the successful life. The tales of Totamaina ka kissa, Battisee, Alibaba Chalees chor,  are some of the common tales that are prevailing everywhere in India. Some local tales include  Allaha Udal, Nal Damyanti, Heera Ranjha, Raja harish Chandra, Amar Singh Rathor etc. Through the lessons of the tales, the young  ones are diverted from wrong path to the right path of the life. There are aome Kahavats i.e. idioms that are also used for traditional communication. Kahavats are the essence of the big stories that have been in practice for centuries. These folk tales are also told on other occasions also. At the time of the marriage party, when it is resting after the reception or before the lunch, the Nai or the barber of the village who remains the prime person in the traditional communication, starts the story telling and collecting money in return from the members of the marriage party.   

 

Worshiping the nature:  Indian society is totally based on the association with the nature. Almost all the product of the nature are worshiped and proper care is given to the natural resources. Bhoomipoojan or worshiping the mother earth is the beginning of the building and any other construction work to be done. With this ceremony the message is give to the new generation that the mother earth should be respected as every thing rests on her. Before the construction woks starts, the crouch , shanks, coins etc made of gold, silver and other metal are put under the first five bricks. This is for  requesting the mother earth to keep the dangerous snakes and other animals away from the house or the building. This communication is for the safety of building. The doob grass is used in the worshiping. The new generation is taught not to urinate on this grass as this grass is considered as holy grass. In the same way the wood of the mango tree is considered good for the worshiping purpose . Water is again considered as good for life and as an essential element for the survival, hence in every ritual or worshiping, gangajal or the water from the river ganga is used. At the time of the death of an individual the relatives pour Gangawater in his mouth. The whole message is to protect the nature as it is the essence of life on the earth.

Signs, dress and body language: For traditional communication , the sign language, signs, and body language is commonly used in India. An unmarried women keeps her hair divided and knotted in two arrays whereas a married woman keeps open hair. A married woman uses red color which is called sindoor , in her hair . The unknown persons also can understand that the woman is married. Ultimate needs of the husband and wife are also communicated with body language that is prevailing in the country from centuries. Saari is the clothes that is wrapped around the body of a woman which indicates that she is married whereas the unmarried woman avoids daily such clothe. On the other side, the male clothe of this type is also indicator which state of India on belongs. White color of the  clothes of the women shows that the lady is a widow and cannot wear colorful dress. The turban of the men also communicate his address . The Rajasthani turban is bigger than the turban of Gujarat and Haryana.  In the same way the Payjama of Maharashtra is totally different from that of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. By looking the dress of a person, one can know which place one belongs to .

Food habits and table manners: Indian traditional communication is again unique in food habits also. Food habits are totally different in  different states. West Bengal and  Odisha people prefer  rice as their first food of the day whereas people from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have wheat as the first choice of the food. The traditions of eating the food is also great medium of communication. By sitting on earth or the floor, using mat or cloth is the traditional method of communication that food is digested better in this position. The first sight of the food is offered to the God and Prayer is offered to the God before starting eating. Thanks is also given to God for providing the food. In the kitchen, no body can enter except the authorized person that is the mother who cooks the food.  Shoes are not allowed in the kitchen as it is considered as a holy and pure place. The elders are given first priority in the food serving. Youngsters are allowed  in the last before the senior members of the family have got the stuff in their plates. Before taking food, proper hand wash is necessary and it is taught to the young children by the senior members of the family. This communication is passed on from generation to generation. 

Samagri and  Yagya :  The material used in the worshiping and lighting the fire as a part of this whole episode, Yagya is performed is a composition of almost ten to twelve different items put together. The mango wood, its leaves, Kapoor, Jaiphal, Supari, Jou, honey, ghee, rice, dust of the Chandan, dry flowers, longes nariyal, kela and other fruits,  These items are collected from all the corners of the country. For examples, supari is from Assam, Jou from Uttar Pradesh, Nariyal from Odisha, Jaifal from Tamilnadu, Long from Kerala, Honey from Pubjab and like that. The idea behind this is the communication that with this i material whole India will remain united . There will be people to people contact for the trading of this material because worshiping is practiced all over  the country.

Fairs and Exhibitions: India is country of festivals. Every day is devoted to one kind of God. Every week is special for one kind of worshiping and fasting. Every month is devoted to one Goddess. Every month one kind or other fairs and exhibitions are organized in memory of one or the other one. One side there are popular Gods like Ram, Krishna, Hanuman, etc who are worshiped in the temples and the Goddess Kali have a number of incarnations. She is remembered in the monthly or yearly fair being organized in several parts of India. Durga Pooja is a big festival in West Bengal whereas  Ramnavmi and Janmashthmi is celebrated through fairs and exhibitions. Ramleela is famous for its staging and Dashera is also famous for its exhibition in the North India.The message in these festival is the victory of the truth over the wrong. The government of India and several other states are using this opportunity for communicating to the mass about the plans and the schemes of the government. Information centers are opened during these festivals. The government of Odisha brings Tribes from their native places and show them the fairs at their own cost. In this way the government wants to communicates that they should come in to the main stream of the society by learning through these fairs.  New products are also brought out by the companies before the public through these fairs. Some commercial fairs are also being organized throughout the year. Famous Nouchandi fair of Meerut and The Gwalior Fair are famous for its market and public response. , India International Trade Fair being organized on 14th November every year is India's show to the world. Other exhibitions and fairs include Book fairs, Khadi melas, craft fair of Haryana and food as well as flower melas.

Late night gathering: This is unique feature of the rural India that in all seasons specially in the winter season, people gather in the late evening on a bowl of fire,. This fire is burnt with the material they people get throwing cleaning the road or their houses like tree leaves, woods, remains of the sugar cane.etc. The people of all ages sit around the fire and get warmed. During their sitting around the fire, some exchange cigarettes or Beedees and sometime it is village Hukka. Generally all the information of the villages and the problems are discussed here. There is always joyful environment . The jokes are also told by everyone with a certain message. This is the time and place where there is no difference of the relations and age of the people. All make jokes of each other. The youth learn tips about the successful sexual and family life. They are taught the lessons on how to be a good husband and how to keep the  family happy. Domestic problems and their solutions are discussed in a very humorous way. All type of information ,including marriage of someone, character of someone, the qualities and the habits of the rich person. In nutshell it is the time for collecting and disseminating the information about the village. Some time during the elections, the candidate specially for the Panchayat elections, the candidates used this time for their campaigning. Besides these, there are many disputes that are also settled here. This place is considered as the hub of the information communication. All the people just join without being invited to the fire.  When the fire is almost over and its the fall of the night, the people go to  their houses .

The institutions of Nai, Dheewar and Kumhars etc.: The rural village depends on the artisans for their day to day necessities. There are some traditional communicators in each village who are known for their communication skills and wisdom. One such is Nai that is Barber. In return of cutting the hair of the entire village the barber receives one part of the crop once in a year. He also searches matches for the young boys and girls of the villages. It is he only that know the eligible boys and girls who are ready for the marriage. he knows about the background of the parents, land, financial position as well as social status of the parents and the clan. He also decides the marriage of a number of boys and girls. People do believe on him and he becomes a match maker. Lots of messages are communicated by the villagers through this institution of barber. In the same there is yet another institution who is called as Dheewar. The man from this community supplies baskets and other wooden material required during the marriage. He also manages water for the family and the guests during the marriage. In return of this he also gets a part of the crop in year. The third big stake holder in the marriage is the Kumhar who provides earthen utensils for  the marriage.  The pitchers, terracotta plates, and other pots for use in the marriage are managed by him. Now a days these are also called as Prajapatis.  These stakeholders of the village system are also the communicators of the messages that is passed on to the two families .Some traditional systems of marriage are also kept by these people and are not shared with the other public as they use this knowledge for their livelihood.

Holy  Places and traditions : One of the oldest institution of traditional communication is the holy places notified by the hermits centuries ago. Such institutions are still practiced as a part of traditional communication. The Pushkar Tirth in Rajasthan is very famous for such tradition. Almost all the erstwhile kings of various princely states have made ghats i.e. place for holy bath. People go there for the Pind daan of their parents, grand parents and great grand parents. This is to show honor for the departed souls from their families. Every son is supposed to perform of the pind daan ritual in his life time and pay respect to their ancestors. There is special place in Bihar called Gaya. Some call it Bodhh Gaya where the people from all walks of life go for the pilgrimage and perform the rituals of the pind daan. Surprisingly, the records of last five hundred years of the visitors of the family members at these holy places are kept  for the information of the new generation. While performing pooja at this place for the new comer, the priest who happened to be the family priest for centuries discloses the names of the mother and father of last five hundred years. The priest with surname of Jha are the proper recorder of the biographical information at these places.  The priest also guides and suggests the new worshiper to follow the traditions of the family. There are other holy places and temples where the new generation visits in search of their kuldevtas. Such places are Kashi, Mathura, Vrandaban, Sarnath. Truipati, Kamksha, Haridwar, Muktesher, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Jagannathpuri,  and many more.

Panchayats and Khaps: Though the concept of Panchayats is centuries old is recorded from the time of Lord Buddha, yet the importance of this institution is still in practice for traditional communication. Panchats are also the epicenter of the village information and activities. All the information about every household of the village and the persons of the village is properly kept in these panchayats. Sometimes the panchayats also act as the local judiciary system to resolve the disputes among the villagers. Everybody has to  honor the decision of the village panchayat. This system helps the village in keeping the traditions and discipline of the villagers in tact. The role of the khap is very impoprtant. Khap is the association of panchayats of the cluster of villages based on the caste and the clan. In western UP and Haryana, these khaps play their crucial role. The entire politics of the area depends on the directives of the khaps. Now a days, the khaps are engaged in the Kissan agitation in Delhi. The also play role in the traditional communication. Inter caste marriages, intra village marriage, are not allowed and these khaps keep watch on such events and cases. Some khaps also organize training camps for socialization of the boys and girls and training them in good manners. There are some other side effects of these khaps also. Due to the access of the inherited powers in the khaps, some cases of honor killings of the couples have also been reported from a number of places. There are separate dictate for girls and women of the villages and the area. But all this type of communication is well done by these kihaps. Though there is no codification of the law of the khaps.

Commuinity Organizations and Associations: As said earlier and is a hard fact that Indian community is a religion and caste based society. The roots of the caste are so deeply rooted that the person cannot come out from it even if one is of open mind. For the successful traditional communication, these castes have form them into associations and these are called as Samaj. Almost every community in a big city has one or more community based organizations.  These organization organize welfare activities for the members of the society. Young boys and girls are advised to lead good life and functions are organized for their all round development. Marriage carnivals are also organized for the bachelors of the society. Those who do good job in the society are honored and the boys and the girls who stand good in the results of the academic calendar  are also given prizes.. Some societies also publish the newspaper or the magazine doe the welfare of the members of the society. They communicate among themselves the social values for the new generation. They also keep watch on the wrong doings of the members of the society and punish them socially by boycotting them from the social contacts.. These social organizations are also recognized by the governments. Some organizations have got the status of a permanent institution for the law.

Swangs and theatres : One of the methods of traditional communication of the Indian village has been the swangs i.e. village theme based local theatre group that performs during the special occasions. The message of patriotism and honesty is communicated to the masses through these theatre groups. The groups visit the villages and in the open air , joining some local vans and bullet carts, a theatre stage is made. The them of the swang is generally historical or the social value. Amar Singh Rathod, Prithvi Raj Chouhan, Nal Damyanti, heera ranjha are some famous swangs being performed in the villages. Ramleela is such a big show that all the social values through the actors of Rama, Ravana, and other characters are depicted before the audience  . These theatre and staging the historical plays have been for centuries and have their great impact on the minds of the people. The Rajput community connect himself every time the play is staged. In this way the traditions, social values etc are properly communicated through these methods. Themes of Mahabharat are also staged in Chhatisgarh through traditional methods. Teejan Bai is a famous artiste who stages the theme of the Mahabhaart in her own stype. She has got the recognition world over for her performance and communication traditions .

Puppets and Shades shows : Puppet  is the invention of the border of the Rajasthan and Gujarat border community. This medium is used for communicating local  traditions to the masses in either fair, exhibitions or specially organized show in the villages. Wooden idols of various characters painted in attractive colors and dressed like queens and kings, the puppet show is the finger work on the threads. The threads are camouflaged and the person who uses his fingers is invisible for the audience. The characters are permanent and the theme is changed with every message given to the party for communication. Even the government used this media for its children based programs.  In the same way, the portrait of some characters are made either on the paper or on the leather and are tied on a strong stick for movement. Real battle field scenes are created before the audience through these posters. The impact is so much so that the sound and the shouting by the audience shows that the public is very much interested in such shows. The social and urgent messages are communicated to the public, This method is very useful for the less educated or uneducated masses.