Folk Culture Gender and Representation A Study of Ragni by Pandit Lakhmi Chand and his Contemporaries

Abstract

The present research is a critical analysis of four mythical tales composed, sung and performed newlineas sangs or ragnis Hoor Meneka , Heer Ranjha , Satyavan Savitri , and Pooranmal . For newlinethe purpose of the study, the researcher has eclectically chosen four folk bards namely, Pandit newlineLakhmi Chand, Baje Bhagat, Mange Ram and Dhanpat. The methodology adopted for the newlinepresent research is textual analysis of all the four ragnis. Under this head, the researcher has newlineexamined the tale in its historical as well as present context and has tried to describe the content, newlinestructure and functions of the message contained in the ragnis in question. In doing so, the newlineresearcher has focused on the two major aspects in ragni as a folk form narrative of ragnis and newlinediscourse of the bard(s). A carefully examined analysis of the content brings about the hidden newlinecultural meanings embedded in sangs and ragnis. Since ragni is a performative act, the newlineresearcher has carefully looked at various recordings of these folk performances in order to newlineanalyse, interpret and enquire into the aesthetic richness of these performances. The ideological newlinediscourses embedded in these folk performances give the critical reader an insight as to how newlinedeeply the society of Haryana and its customs and rituals are patriarchally governed. The newlineresearcher being one from within the culture of Haryana, has tried to shift the focus of reader newlinefrom the aesthetic beauty of these folk operas towards its purpose to create and establish deep newlinerooted patriarchal territories which calls for unequal gendered relations.