Meghal Karki (Ambedkar University Delhi)
The festival of Holi is celebrated by singing folk songs in congregations called baithaks in several parts of India, and the Kumaon Himalayas have a rich tradition in the same that dates back to over two centuries. The festival is celebrated in stages, and the paper will attempt to engage with the temporal progression of Holi and investigate how the atmosphere of baithak rests on the performance of appropriate emotions by the participants. It invites us to investigate the myriad conceptions of time the festival is embedded in, and its connections with spatiality, emotions, and atmospheres may be extended to emotions, temporality, and festivals in South Asia in general.
Part of V3-01 Folk Singing in India, Wednesday, October 11, 7:30 pm–9:30 pm