Traditional folk media like folk dances, dramas, and songs are still important ways to communicate with rural populations in India given high illiteracy rates. These forms are integrated with local languages and customs and can effectively spread messages about development issues from health to education to rights. Government and nonprofit organizations increasingly utilize folk media for social marketing and development communication because these forms attract large audiences, are economical, and impart messages subtly without audiences realizing they are being taught.

1. Name of Institution
Module II – (Traditional Media)
Introduction to traditional media
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2. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
• The boom of electronic media cannot undermine the
significance of folk media. These arts or media assume
more significance in a country of villages like india.
• The alien electronic media can fail to impress upon the
rural poor, the print media may be out rightly rejected by
illiterate or semi-literate people but not the traditional/folk
media as they have lived with us over the centuries.
• They are close to people’s hearts, therefore, have the
direct-to-heart power of transmitting the messages.
• The folk arts deserve to be called the mediums of mass-
communication.
• Folklores have been inextricably interwoven in our
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3. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
• culture since time immemorial to communicate with us
on socio-religious issues.
• They attract and appeal masses with effective and
idiosyncratic way of communication.
The folklores possess the following pre-requisites of being
called a medium of mass-communication:
 The message (the theme of the presentation),
 The sender (folk artist),
 The receiver (audience),
 Common platform: The audience of the folklore are on
the same platform at the same time, receiving the same
message through same channel,
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4. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
 The feedback (applause or whistle of the public to
appreciate the presentation)
 The channel, which can be diverse as per the kind of the
concerned folklore.
That is why; we construe folklore as a mass media. In a
country like ours where majority lives in villages, the
effectiveness of the folk medium cannot be ignored.
• The folk media, that are basically the mediums of
entertainment, are now being seen as ‘edutainment’, that
is, a combination of education and entertainment.
• The development needs of our country in view of
rampant poverty, ignorance and illiteracy have led to the
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5. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
revival of folklores as an effective means of communicating
with the poor and illiterate masses who are in majority
and who cannot afford mechanical devices.
Developments:
• The development thinkers and policy makers have been
emphasizing folklore to be included in social marketing
as its essential element.
• Innumerable voluntary organizations of our country have
been using folk media to communicate with the rural
masses on development issues.
• Not only voluntary organizations even government is
also trying to make effective use of folk media on
different issues. 5

6. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
• The National Council for Science and Technology
Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India, has introduced the art
of puppetry for popularizing science and technology
communication in the masses
• The National Literacy Mission also uses folk media in
order to sensitize the rural people on the issue of
education
• Two departments under the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, viz., Directorate of Field Publicity and
Song and Drama Division invariably use all the mediums
of folklore to transmit the message of public welfare,
development and government’s policies especially to the
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7. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
rural people. Be it health or hygiene, literacy or rights of
people; messages are easily got through to rural folk by
these departments with the help of puppetry, Nukkad
Nataks, songs, dramas and dances apart from
organizing melas and exhibitions.
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8. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
Following qualities of folk media make it distinct from other
mediums of communication:
1. These mediums are a part of our culture, close to the
heart of the people.
2. Because of flexibility, the folk medium can be moulded
as per the need and situation.
3. Integration of local language, local ways of life, local
customs etc. leaving a lasting impact on the minds f the
people.
4. The colorful presentations attract people easily.
5. The folk media are usually economic unlike radio and
TV.
6. People have an easy access to these mediums in 8

9. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
comparison to other mediums of mass communication.
7. These arts are very rich in variety and accordingly the
development messages can be easily integrated in it.
8. These folk arts should be preserved and promoted
because they are the effective means of passing on the
cultural legacy from one generation to another.
9. Folk arts communicate the message in a disguised form
so to say, without letting people know that they are being
given a message. Infact this is the most important need
of development-communication that people should not
realize they are being given lecture or being taught.
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10. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
Following folklores form a part of the rich cultural heritage
of our country:
 The Ramleela and the Rasleela of Uttar Pradesh
 Yakshaagana of Karnataka
 Terukutta of Tamil Nadu
 Jatra and Putul Nauch of Bengal
 Khayal of Rajasthan
 Maach of Malwa in Western Madhya Pradesh
 Tamasha of Maharashtra
 Bhawai of Gujrat
 Bandi Pather of Kashmir
 Swang of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh 10

11. Name of Institution
Introduction to traditional media
Following folklores form a part of the rich cultural heritage
of our country:
 Nautanki, Biraha and Kajari of Northern India
 Puppetry, which is found in different forms in Northern
and Southern India
Broadly speaking, there are three groups of Indian
folklores. They are:
e) Religious: Ramleela, Rasleela or Yakshagana, etc.
f) Socio-religious: Jatra, Khayal or Maach, etc.
g) Social: Puppetry, Tamasha or Nautanki, etc.
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