The Festival Soundtrack; Yet Another Display of the Folk’s Engagement With Art.

Every year, numerous Ganesha pendals set up across the state herald the arrival of September. They are set up with great effort, incorporating various aspects of ritual tradition and regional culture, often competing with each other. Pop culture invariably makes its way to these pendals; largely influencing the decorations, idol designs and the most evident of all, the pendal soundtracks.

Over the decade, pop music has emerged as a celebrated part of Ganesha Habba. From orchestra performances to playing DJ remixes during visarjane, pop music has found its way into what is largely perceived as devotional gathering.  It is so prevalent that it almost seems organic.  Songs like ‘Deva Shree Ganesha’ from Agneepath and ‘Shambu Sutaya’ from ABCD have emerged to become synonymous with the festival across the country. While ‘Gajamukhane Ganapathiye’ is indispensable; people grooving to ‘Kenchalo Manchalo’ is also long standing in Karnataka. Any regional song with a catchy tune or upbeat rhythm that gains popularity, finds its way into the pandals each year, irrespective of its original context.

Pop music is one of the most accessible forms of art.  It is often crafted to appeal to the greater lot; becoming infectious in no time. Popular music is widely promoted through streaming platforms, radios and television, ensuring its reach to a large audience quickly. Social media platforms like Instagram allow rapid sharing and discovery, increasing its accessibility. It is also observed that themes and lyrics of these songs are most likely to revolve around universal experiences like love, joy and heartbreak that resonate with the common folk. In addition to this, many engage with them to fit in with their peers or to be a part of current trends (social conformity). It is easier to conform to popular culture than it is to high culture due to various factors like affordability, accessibility, social exclusion (the distinction between pop and high culture in itself is a form of exclusion) and perceptions of ‘what constitutes art’. 

Consequently, pop music seeping into a community celebration like that of Ganesha Habba is unsurprising. This phenomenon of pop music becoming an integral part of a traditional practice is a result of the effort to make this celebration more relatable over the years.  This is a reflection of the folk’s ability to make both art and the celebration their own. So, was it truly startling to hear ‘Don’t Worry Babby Chinamma’ in pendals this year?