How marginalised communities gave folk expression to 'lost' inheritance in eastern UP
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*
Fourteen years ago, when noted Hindi author and historian Subhash Chandra Kushwaha took the initiative to create a space for folk artistes against the culture of indecency and vulgarity in the name of folk culture, particularly in the Bhojpuri heartland, nobody ever assumed that the event would become hugely popular with the masses and ultimately gain international repute, perhaps the most sought after in this rural hinterland in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
A nondescript village Jogiya, about five kilometres from Fazil Nagar town, is a place where lovers of folk art, music and dance wait to visit every year during the Lok Rang festivities. Over the years, Bhojpuri expatriates, particularly those who belong to the families of indentured labour or what used to be called ‘Girmitiyas’, have found this event extremely important to perform, which gives them a feeling of ‘speaking to the people of their motherland’.