Eco-friendly folklore of HP

By Usha Bande

ECOLOGY, at the folk level, envisages man’s attitude towards his surroundings which includes his reaction to the forces of nature, the analogy he draws from it, and the harmonious relations he establishes with the creation. The early man drew his sustenance from nature and he looked at its inscrutable ways with awe and wonder. When man developed the skill of expressing himself through rock-drawings, clay-moulding and the spoken word, he kept close to his ecology, making it a source of his folk expression. That speaks for the rich presentation of the eco-truths in folk arts.

Himachal Pradesh is fabulously rich in its folklore — folk arts, folk dances, folktales, songs, theatre, riddles, sayings and the representation of the folk psyche through fairs and festivals. Since life of the people of this hill state is closely associated with nature, their folklore depicts their love for and careful approach to nature.

If William Wordsworth could crave to see "Proteus rising from the ocean/or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn," the simple hill folk, in their folk songs, see their gods rising from the pure white snow-clad peaks and riding through the green vales at a steady pace in the palanquins.

Inspired by the rising sun, spreading its gold on a snowy peak, a folk artiste of Kinnaur region sings:

Ginma shirna shera sheri thongjam gima,
Auo kesi phayul aulong chenasher,
Kesey hangr gyalsa yalang chena sher.

(The sun rises in the East and lights all directions. Its rays are warm yet pleasantly cool. The sunlight shines on the peaks of our native village and so sparkles the highest summit of Hangraso).

Most of the folk songs of Kangra express the beauty of the rippling streams and the dancing rivulets. The words and the lilting tunes of these songs convey the music created by water. Even when a song verbalises the mundane affairs of life or the drabness of a forelorn beloved’s existence, it draws its analogy from nature. Here’s a song eulogising Kangra:

Thandi, thandi hawa chaldi
Barfan da pani pina,
Jeena paharan da jeena.

Coming to the genre of folk festivals, one notices that almost all rituals are set amid natural surroundings and most of them adhere to the norms that preserve nature. For instance, in Kinnaur, the Phaguli festival is linked with the season, phagun. The songs, particularly of the Chagaon area, are descriptive of the beauty of the changed season. They speak of the melting snow and the arrival of spring. In the month of bhadon, a festival named Rang Korang chim — the festival of viewing summits — has adventurous and romantic connotations. The entire village climbs up high mountains to have a glimpse of a towering peak.

Some of the festivals linked with seasonal changes enjoin on the people to go out and collect flowers for worship of gods. These trips taken together in unison not only generate a feeling of brotherhood, but help the people come closure to nature. The songs sung on such occasions refer to the medicinal values of some flowers, roots and herbs, thus preserving folk knowledge from generation to generation.

In the festival of Rali in Kangra, Kulu, Hamirpur, Una and Mandi districts, girls go out, singing together, to pluck flowers. They are conversant with the names of flowers, their colours, shapes and significance. But plucking is not supposed to be a mindless act of destructive irreverance. It is done with a spirit of respect as the songs composed convey the request of the girls to the plant to yield its rich blooms and assure them the blessings of Goddess Rali. The song runs thus:

Gadua dala, gadua dala, gaduey tere charde,
Das kusumbe barde, bara bara patriyan
Raliya mai diyan maye sisa.

This reminds us of the Vedic ritual that pay obeisance to trees and plants. In Rig Veda, there are particular richa (verses) to be sung before cutting twigs or leaves of a tree for havan. "The symbiotic relationship between man and nature is maintained and it helps in the preservation of ecology. As a saying goes, "The wood-cutter’s axe begged for its handle from the tree. The tree gave it". This spirit of selflessness is seen in the folk rituals of Himachal.

The state has a rich reservoir of folktales set amid nature in which man-nature, man-animal, animal-animal harmony is shown. The story of the lamb who helps a girl and saves her from the clutches of a cruel step-mother is popular. The lamb loses his life but even after death he helps her. In a couple of tales, parrots or elephants have been given the honour of choosing a king for the people. These animals are known for their intelligence.

Proverbs and riddles are a pointer towards man’s innate observation of the forces of nature around him. A riddle conveying the description of a star-studded sky is: Naro-naro, narshim makhkoch (You count and count, yet cannot count). A Kinnauri riddle asks: "Ho-ho shabdang, khas-khulu badrang" (Noise resembling "ho-ho" is coming) The answer is glacier.

In the fairs and festivals, natural surroundings play a significant role. While in festivals like Rajo, Bisho, the villagers are supposed to collect ket grass; in Thoda war-dance, the players are forbidden to trample the grass of Jubad without first invoking its blessings. One such song says: "Chhinchidi jeye phulle meri jubdiya" (O, my meadow, bloom, bloom like chhinchidi shrub).

Wall-decorations, floor-designs, wooden crafts and embroidery are also popular forms of folk arts. The floor decoration known as likhnu, a rangoli design, is drawn on Divali and other festivals. It is a symbolic art from composed of dots, crosses, lines, triangles and swastikas which stand for the evolutionary force of the universe and represent man’s innate relationship with his eco-system. Clay figures, wooden carvings, stone-carvings, exotic jewellery and the immaculate Chamba rumaals speak of artistes’ ingenuity, vivid imagination and live interest in the world around. These arts are vital as they help create a universal idiom. They portray the timeless themes of man’s intrinsic urge to be with nature, to handle the medium with reverance and to establish a relation with his environment.

Psychologists assert that creativity leads a person to a unifying sense of oneness with the earth. Abraham Maslow and Rollo May, psychologists, affirm that creativity denotes freedom from inhibition and is one of the paths that leads to the real self. This move from human fragmentation to a cosmic awareness enhances human chances of self-discovery. This is probably the reason why the hill folk have an integrated view of existence and are characterised by basic goodness and a healthy mental life.

Property scene dismal in Delhi

By Vasu

Areas in and around the national capital were once the ultimate dream buy for people dabbling in real estate. Volumes were high, turnover was rapid and money was to be made practically everywhere. Tales abounded of property which turned into gold almost overnight. But this was some time back. Today, except for some isolated prime pockets, property prices and rentals are headed downwards.

"The trend has been down for several years now and prices have declined by about 50 per cent. Even in Jor Bagh, property worth Rs 5 crore does not get a quote of above Rs 3.5 crore as the purchasers are practically absent from the market," say dealers. Rajeev Dayal, a real estate expert, says, " Values have been going down for the last three years now and after every fall in prices, experts come up with the opinion that ‘this is the final bottom line, it can’t go down further.’ However, the current market situation is that out of 100 queries only one may culminate into a deal and that too at rock- bottom prices." A case in point is the plight of the Kulkarni family, who have a two- year-old son on ventilator. He needs urgent medical intervention which is available only in the USA. The Kulkarnis have been scouting around for a buyer for their flat in GK II for over an year and have been to local and international property dealers and consultants. But they have not had even one serious inquiry, says Dayal, whose firm has attempted to find a buyer for them. Buyers are totally absent, he says, because people are fearful of losing 10 to 15 per cent of their investment with every slide as has been happening in the stock market.

However, the big- time players are there, but only those who can manipulate the market. The boom, which took place about four years ago, collapsed due to the high speculation that prevailed during that period, says another dealer. The broker would merely book a property, for say, around Rs 5,000 per sq. feet, in a posh area and then artificially create a hype to attract buyers who would come and pick up the property at around Rs. 5500. The brokers would give the assurance of finding another buyer in two months time. Thus, no money would actually change hands and the prices were jacked up. Now the buck has stopped going around and the market is falling, says Dayal.

Until the market reaches a genuine level, the situation will not change. The Urban Land Ceiling Bill, which is to be passed and accepted by states, will further dampen prices. It will release large tracts of land which could not be developed so far because of various legal hurdles.

All international property consultants like Colliers Jardine, Knight Frank, Cushman and Weikfield, Richard Ellis etc, who entered the market just when the slide began, have found that the returns have not been commensurate with their expectations. Experts opine that the slump will be reversed after another 12 months. But this is plain optimism as no reason is being cited for the expected upswing, say dealers. "Business is suffering as real estate is being disposed off by cash- strapped companies," says another dealer.

It is not only the small businessmen who have been hit by the slump. Even companies like Videocon and Godrej, who brought real estate in Maharashtra during the boom are today stuck with the immovable assets.

The common man, in the meanwhile, is prepared to wait now as he expects a further slide. Only the middle income group -related properties have buyers. Selling property in GK, South End and other prime areas is difficult, say dealers, adding that the middle and upper income group are getting good deals. It is also the right time to drive home a real hard bargain. Builders are so hard up for funds that they may even sell at a slight loss to keep the existing projects afloat, they say. Rana Pratap, who deals only in rentals, says, "The market has been buoyant only for prime areas like Vasant Vihar, Westend, Shanti Niketan, Anand Niketan, Golf Links, Jor Bagh, Sunder Nagar andChanakyapuri, Multinational companies and foreigners dominate here and would not settle for any other place, owing to the proximity of these colonies to embassies. Newly constructed apartments in areas like Vasant Vihar and Sunder Nagar have also pushed up costs. It is only in these areas that rents have gone up every six months." Three years ago, a 800 sq. yard house went for a rent of around Rs. 60,000, but today it fetches around Rs. 1.5 lakh. This does not include the cash transaction, he adds. Four bedroom houses or floors in classy locales like Chanakyapuri come at a monthly tag of Rs. 1.75 lakh onwards, say dealers, who claim that payment made through cheques do not form even 50 per cent of the total deal. The landlords prefer cash. However, multinationals and some embassies do not pay in cash .

Despite the high rentals, and landlords asking for fantastic amounts, people have to wait for a couple of months before finalising deals even in these areas, claims Sanchit, who works with a real estate firm. Rentals are down in most other areas and as far as sales are concerned, the market finds another trough every few months.

Vikram Chopra of Arora and Associates says the boom was from 1994 to1996. It was around 1997 that the recession began. The situation worsened after the BJP came to power. The instability of the government and the nuclear explosions blew apart any strength that was there in the market. Multinationals became uncertain about investments. This affected both rentals and purchase, says Chopra. When the multinationals backed out, the price of property in South Delhi fell.The rest of Delhi followed suit. A 50 per cent or more decline has occurred in the market and prices are expected to go down till 2001, says Chopra, adding that the crash in the Asian markets has also affected the real estate scene.