Research, Rustom Bharucha Notes on the Invention of Tradition Routledge 1996 Much of this article's focus is on the discourse of theatre, in which the concepts of the folk and the theatre of roots will be examined as inventions of the urban intelligentsia. when people invent tradition, they unavoidably imply that they have lost touch with the immediacies. yet the new invented traditions often maintain an illusion by placing the invention within the mainstream of tradition itself. Mediations of Technology, "Inventions" come from an urge to "find or produce something new" they are concerned with making new artefacts, not bringing to attention old traditions. One factor that effects new inventions is the mediations through the intervention and assimlation of foreign structures of representation.
Professional theatre in India in the late 19th Century was successful with theatrical renderings from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Traditional Indian texts. mythological in content. The point to be stressed here is that our tradition had already been mediated by the colonial manchinery of the 19th century theatre, the conventions and stage tricks of the English Victoria stage. these derivations had been thoroughly indianized through music, colour and pathos and histrionic delivery of lines that are intrinsically a part of the popular theatrical tradition in India. People are prepared to accept new inventions of tradition so long as their faith in dominant myths is substaniated and enriched. it will be interesting to see in the future as the media becomes more fierece, to see how the viewing capacities of our spectators will be altered. will the audience stil see what they want and are willed to see? or will they be numbed into passivity? will media create new myths? or simply reduce myth to the level of commercials?
Enviromental Changes
Eg a religious symbol for Lila had to be burned, a village could not afford to burn the replica every year, it was too expensive, so instead they burnt symbols to represnt the Ravana. changing the tradition for economic reasons, but keeping it alive. If a tradition still lives today it is because it has changed and evolved throughout history. change occurs slowly in deference to the larger needs of its community. Moving a performance to a different country changes the very context of the performance. reduced to exotica, resemble spots of colour without mind body or soul. How can this be acceptable?
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Research,
Rustom Bharucha
Notes on the Invention of Tradition
Routledge 1996
Much of this article's focus is on the discourse of theatre, in which the concepts of the folk and the theatre of roots will be examined as inventions of the urban intelligentsia.
when people invent tradition, they unavoidably imply that they have lost touch with the immediacies. yet the new invented traditions often maintain an illusion by placing the invention within the mainstream of tradition itself.
Mediations of Technology,
"Inventions" come from an urge to "find or produce something new" they are concerned with making new artefacts, not bringing to attention old traditions.
One factor that effects new inventions is the mediations through the intervention and assimlation of foreign structures of representation.
Professional theatre in India in the late 19th Century was successful with theatrical renderings from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Traditional Indian texts. mythological in content.
The point to be stressed here is that our tradition had already been mediated by the colonial manchinery of the 19th century theatre, the conventions and stage tricks of the English Victoria stage. these derivations had been thoroughly indianized through music, colour and pathos and histrionic delivery of lines that are intrinsically a part of the popular theatrical tradition in India.
People are prepared to accept new inventions of tradition so long as their faith in dominant myths is substaniated and enriched. it will be interesting to see in the future as the media becomes more fierece, to see how the viewing capacities of our spectators will be altered. will the audience stil see what they want and are willed to see? or will they be numbed into passivity? will media create new myths? or simply reduce myth to the level of commercials?
Enviromental Changes
Eg a religious symbol for Lila had to be burned, a village could not afford to burn the replica every year, it was too expensive, so instead they burnt symbols to represnt the Ravana. changing the tradition for economic reasons, but keeping it alive.
If a tradition still lives today it is because it has changed and evolved throughout history. change occurs slowly in deference to the larger needs of its community.
Moving a performance to a different country changes the very context of the performance. reduced to exotica, resemble spots of colour without mind body or soul.
How can this be acceptable?
Inventing the folk...
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