U.P. to conserve rural cultural groups engaged in promoting music, art

Registration of such groups to be undertaken across state, to be invited to showcase talent at govt events

Now rural “Bhajan Kirtan Mandalis” or groups of singers and musicians singing devotional songs as well as groups staging mythological and cultural plays, dramas at social and religious events like Krishnaleela and Ramleela etc across Uttar Pradesh can look forward to encouragement and support from the state government.

A Kirtan Mandali performing in a village in trans-Ganga area of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. (HT file photo)

“Considering them an integral part of conserving the valuable oral traditions of the region and taking into consideration their role in not just conserving cultural traditions but also making the Gen Next aware of them, the state culture department in a first-of-its-kind initiative by the state government will now formally allow them to register themselves gram panchayat wise through a link provided on the department’s official website— https://upculture.up.nic.in/hi. “The link is already active,” said a senior official of the state culture department.

As part of an effort to ensure such groups do not die out, the registered groups would then formally be invited to perform and showcase their talent at government organised or sponsored events, including fairs and fests, held all the year around, he added.

The order, a copy of which is with HT, makes plain that to speed up the registration process of such groups which are five or more years old and have a minimum of six members, the district tourism cultural council would also hold camps in their respective districts as an offline initiative to support the online registration option already made available.

Another condition for getting registered is that these groups should have performed in a minimum of 10 events, including private and government ones, certificate of which they will have to provide duly signed by the gram pradhan concerned and if they are affiliated to a temple or organisation, they will have to produce a certificate to this effect too signed by the manager or proprietor.

A single group may have anywhere from six to even 25 members, the missive makes plain. Welcoming the move, Roop Narayan Tripathi, a singer and harmonium player of ‘Hanuman Sangh Kirtan’ group of Baraipur village of Hanumanganj area of Prayagraj’s trans-Ganga region, termed the step a “great encouragement” for groups like his.

“Most of who are part of such Mandalis struggle to survive in today’s age of DJ music and high-powered and cheap music systems that have reached all homes. I have been singing since the age of 8 and have been performing on the stage for the past over 10 years now along with my group that has eight members. We perform at ‘Sunderkand paths’ to household religious ceremonies with each member of the group making around ₹1500 to ₹2,000 per event on average,” said Tripathi, 42, who has two kids and a wife besides old parents to take care of.

“In a month, we hardly get five to six events but there are months in between when we do not get any invitation,” he added. “I also have a small farmland on which I grow local crops to support my family,” he said.