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Beat of India preserves Indian folklore |
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| Published:
2004-05-26 |
| Beat of India preserves Indian
folklore |
| VRINDA MANGLIK |
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 India Post News Service
STANFORD, CA: At Stanford University’s Bechtel
International Center, a hush falls over a mixed audience of
Indians and Americans. The scent of samosas lingers in the
back of the room and the screen at the front reads, “Music
gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the
imagination, a charm to sadness, and gaiety and life to every
thing” (Plato). This screening of Colors of the Earth, the
latest production of New Delhi-based organization “Beat of
India”, is one of seven US screenings.
Colors of the
Earth, available on DVD, is a documentary-style musical voyage
across rural India. CEO and Founder of “Beat of India” Shefali
Bhushan spent two years with her crew producing this film.
Their goal was to help popularize traditional music. They
searched high and low, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the
Ganges River, to find the music formed in the dust and soil
that has resonated in the Indian landscape for generations.
They found this rare music through villagers willing to share
their art with the world. The musicians were cooperative, and
as a result, “Beat of India” has been able to make traditional
Indian folk music accessible to the world community.
The music of this film reflects upon village life,
toned with themes present in all human lives. Musicians
sing about topics ranging from family, marriage, monsoons, and
dying, to stories of Krishna’s childhood and the journey of
the soul.
“The direct link with the day-to-day
life of the people makes the folk music of India so much more
compelling and unique,” said Bhushan.
Bhushan traveled in
the US in May to promote her film and to share her joy of
music with a wider audience. At the Stanford performance,
Bhushan was the soloist in a dramatic piece (directed by NK
Sharma) which wraps a narrative around Colors of the Earth to
produce a multi-medium performance. Bhushan played the role of
an Indian folk musician to facilitate the audience’s
comprehension of the true culture of rural life.
Beat
of India also produces CDs of a similar nature. The DVD of
Colors of the Earth and CDs are available on Beat of India’s
website: www.beatofindia.coms.
In Bhushan’s narration,
she observed, “It seems as though no hand has bent these
words, and no mind composed their tunes. As if they’ve
emerged from the different textures of soil, and have got
their rhythm from the waterfalls, the streams, rivulets, and
drops of rain.” |
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