Log Kehte Hai!

Abstract

Stories, folktales, myths are an integral part of any community. These stories, myths, etc. are evolved from and within the culture. In the archive of tales, there is addition of contemporary folklores. Folklores establish connections with Great Traditions, this is how little traditions are evolved and sustained in our culture. These myths, tales, oral narratives are an inseparable part of our culture, that are narrated through various forms or mediums. Eventually, these stories are absorbed into a cultures’ tradition. One finds many such myths, tales etc. which are deeply integrated into our culture. For example “Om Banna Ji” is considered a local deity in the village of Chotila, near pali district in Rajasthan. A recent and locally revered God who is worshipped to protect people from road accidents, transportation and money related concerns. In Om Banna’s temple, people worship him and his vehicle, his motorbike; and the offering made is of alcohol; a combination of traditional ideas and contemporariness can be witnessed here. This is called Apo- theo -sis” (or deification or divinization). The glorification of a human mortal subject to divine level.There is a long tradition of heroic gods in Rajasthan cultural ethos, Pabuji, Teja Ji, Dev Narayan Ji are some of the important folk gods of the region. In fact, Pabuji and Dev Narayan Ji are the most famous local gods across Rajasthan and these two gods have painted Phads. Phad is a folk art form of Rajasthan, where heroic stories and genealogies of a particular god are painted by a chitarkar. The painted phad is narrated in the form of an oral and visual story performed by the Muhkvanchi Bhats known as the Bhopa or Bhopi. The project “Log Kehte Hai” is a convergence of the various communities in Rajasthan such Phad artists, Bhats, musicians etc. creating an effective communication of the story which is part of the Rajasthani culture, from the people, by the people, and for the people. The end product of the field research is in the form of an animated film which talks about the process of myth-making, the evolution of myths, the multiple narratives that co-exist, and the relationship between little and great traditions. The visual language of the film follows the traditional phad painting style, integrating the idea of myth-making with phad making. The second part of this project constitutes the making of the film “log kehte hai” through field research. The scenario of the Om Banna’s temple, stories, and experiences of the devotees, peoples beliefs, practices, rituals, etc. are recorded. This is integrated with the visual depiction and process by the artist. The “Making of Log kehte hain” compliments and integrates the ideas or decisions that were concieved and visualized during the making of the animated film. Hence at a certainpoint, both are linked to each other yet can stand independantly.