"The Noble savage of Rousseau was after all not an unimaginative dud! His craving for creative expression found an eloquent outlet in the ballad". Since writing and printing were yet to make headway, the early ballads were passed on from generation to generation "by word of mouth". The oral tradition in literature thus deserves credit for preserving them. In the course of transmission over many centuries, it was inevitable that the original ballad underwent many modifications. The texts were sometimes cut to suit the taste and temperament of new audiences. Apart from such excisions, fresh material was also added to underscore contemporary relevance. Except minor variations, the skeletal outline was seldom changed. Ballads thus constitute the earliest popular literature of any country.
The Characteristics of a Ballad
The simplest definition of a ballad runs as "a narrative in the form of a poem set to music and acting". Dance, as an accompaniment, is a common feature, but not obligatory. The use of prose in dialogue is not ruled out. The story-telling is always disarmingly naive and simple. "Intensity and immediacy characterise it". Incremental repetition of refrains adds poignancy to the situations described. Margarets' cry to her dead lover in Clerk Saunders can be cited as an example: Is there any room at your head Saunders;
Is there any room at your feet?
Is there any room at your side, Saunders,
Where fain I would sleep.*
A serious and systematic study of the Tamil ballads was undertaken only in the Seventies. Thanks to the keen interest shown by scholars like Na. Vanamamalai and Ki. Va. Jakannatan, many ballads have seen the light of day. Another writer who is very much interested in folk literature is Ki. Raja-narayarjan. Mac Edward Leach, while enumerating the salient features of the Tamil ballad, makes a scintillating observation. According to him, the ballad centering round a single significant incident has much in common with the modern short story. Both achieve depth within "the given piece of ivory". Another Western critic sums up the Tamil ballad as "incident, accident, action climax and denouement". Flexi J. Oynas, Annakamu, Vanamamalai and Caktivel have attempted to classify the themes of the ballads. No classification is exhaustive. But it can be safely affirmed that the Tamil ballads fall into one of the following broad-based categories:
(1) Themes glorifying local heroes
(2) Stories from the Puranas and Itihasa
(3) Themes with a social relevance
(4) Historical themes.
(5) Stories with a supernatural bias.
Cantanattevan Katai celebrates in ballad form the exploits of a dacoit who held sway in Madurai and its suburbs. The name of Maturai Viran conjures up to the people hailing from Maturai and Tiruchi districts a romantic figure of that name. His exploits have been sung in ballad form by many unknown bards. Kattapomman is idolised in Tirunelveli district and is the hero of several ballads. Annanmar Katai tells in ballad form the tragic tale of two brothers who hailed from Konku Natu, the present Coimbatore district. The other popular heroes, who have been immortalised in ballads, are Kacittevar, Mampattiyan, Jampulinkam and Civalapperi Panti.
The ballad writers also draw liberally from the Puranas and Ithihasa's. The stories were sometime altered to suit local requirements. The story of Aravan is a minor episode figuring in the Mahabarata. Mayil Ravanan Katai, it is believed, had its source in one of the ancient puranas. This has been disputed by some scholars though none has denied that the plot is derivative. Episodes from the Ramayanam were frequently exploited by the ballad writers. The Mahabharata was another perennial source of inspiration.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
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