Question

Who published folklore of South India in massive four volumes?

Answer 1

Hint: He believed that the folklore was nationwide literature. According to him, it was ‘the most reliable presentation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics.

Complete answer:
In the growth of nationalism, history and fictions (novels, stories, etc.), folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a significant part.

During late 19th century, nationalists started recording folk tales sung by bards. They used to visit villages to gather information regarding folk songs and legends, because they believed that these tales presented the honest picture of traditional culture. All this was done to promote the traditional culture that had been destroyed by the outside forces. Nationalists believed that it was important to preserve this folk tradition in order to realize one’s national identity and to reinstate a feeling of pride in India’s past.

In Bengal, the movement for the rejuvenation of the folklore was headed by Rabindranath Tagore, who started collecting ballads, nursery rhymes, and myths. In Madras, “The Folklore of Southern India”, a huge four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales, was issued by Natesa Sastri. According to his belief, the folklore was nationwide literature; it was ‘the most reliable presentation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics.

Note: In Bengal, during the Swadeshi movement, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was created. It consisted of 8 lotuses depicting eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, which portrays Hindus and Muslims. By 1921, Gandhiji had come up with the Swaraj flag. It was also a tricolour (red, green and white) flag with a spinning wheel in the middle, which portrayed the Gandhian ideal of self-help.