MAKHANLAL CHATURVEDI RASTRIYA PATRKARITA SANSTHAN

BHOPAL (MP)

ASSIGNMENT ON
MEDIA BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND STRATEGIES
THEME
TRADITIONAL MEDIA

Supervisor Submitted By
Mrs. Ritu Bhavsar Bhumika Malviya
paul Aniket Gupta
 INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL MEDIA

• In your earlier lessons , you have learnt a lot about communication, various media forms used
for communication as well as the use of communication in our day to day life. But it is also
important to understand that communication is not only confined to print, television, radio,
photography , internet etc. There are other ways of communication which exist in different
forms in and around you. Can you recall having seen a dance performance, a magic show or a
festival mela? Do you realize that all these forms communicate some messages of
entertainment, education or information through them? Have you ever thought of how people
used to share or exchange their joy, sorrow or information with each other before the existence
of electronic media. What were the mediums that helped them to communicate with each
other? In this lesson, you will learn about some of these mediums of communication.
• Objective
• After studying this lesson, you will able to do the following:
• define traditional media;
• identify different forms of traditional media;
• differentiate between traditional media and electronic media;
• discuss the use of traditional media in communication.
 DEFINITION OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Even today you will find villages where there is no proper
electricity. People in such places might not be able to view
television or access the internet. Similarly illiterate people will
not be able to read newspapers or magaziness. However, this
does not mean they that do not communicate. They have also
developed different ways of communication depending upon
the local language and culture.
You may have heard many stories from your parents or grand
parents about the Ramayana, Mahabharata, about kings and
queens who ruled the country several years ago. Similarly there
are stories about festivals and rituals and how to become good
human beings. Information in this way has been handed over
from one generation to another and constitute different forms
of traditional media. So, let us now define traditional media.
 The non electronic mediums which works as part of our culture and as
vehicles of transmitting tradition from one generation to another generation
is called traditional media.

Activity
Before we move on to the next section on various forms of traditional media, now can you
name a few forms of traditional media around you. Traditional media comes in different forms
and is known by different names in different regions of the country. For instance, in Andhra
Pradesh, ‘Janapadam’ indicates a village and ‘Janapadulu’ means villagers. The folk art forms of
villages, on the whole are known as ‘Janapada Kalalu’. Similarly Lok Natya or Lok Geet means
‘people’s dance’ or ‘people’s song’. There are many other forms of folk arts in other states of
India. These are used as ‘Jan Madhyamas’i.e ‘people’s media’. These forms represent the
conurned people by giving a glimpse of their style, speech, music, dance, dress, behaviour, etc.
Traditional tools of communication are developed from the beliefs, customs, and rituals
practised by the people. These are very old and deep-rooted. Traditional media thus represents
a form of communication employing vocal, verbal, musical and visual folk art forms, transmitted
to a society or group of societies from one generation to another. They are indigenous modes
and have served the society as tools/medium of communication for ages.
Do these traditional forms of communication exist today? Yes, they do. The context, culture
and form may be different but the purpose is served. Some common examples are Rangoli ( the
art of making designs using coloured powder), story telling, drama and puppetry.
 Different forms of traditional media
• A traditional media form can be anything which does the purpose of
communication in your family, friends and as a whole in society. All the
forms may not be popular but they help to communicate. You have already
seen that these forms are different in different regions and communites. But
for your understanding, these can be divided into the following:
• traditional dance
• drama
• painting
• sculpture
• song
• music
• motifs and symbols
• It will be interesting to note that in some forms of traditional media, all the
above can be used. For example ‘Ramleela’ which is a folk play telling the
story of Lord Rama in a traditional style is popular in north India and uses all
the above traditional mediums.
announcement
 Introduction to Traditional
Media
one of the popular traditional forms of communication is the
announcement made by beating a ‘Nagada’ or drum with a
stick and used for communicating messages from one village
to another through its beats.

Nagada
• Puppetry is a popular form of traditional media which exists in rural
areas of India. Shadow puppetry and string puppetry are popular
forms. • Patachitra katha refers to stories that have been told
through the medium of palm leaf paintings. • Story telling is
another interesting format of traditional media which existed at a
time when advanced forms of communication such as the written
word did not exist. For example historical stories of various local
heroes who fought battles and participated in the freedom struggle
were performed through song and drama. These were not written
or documented. Instead they were orally communicated from one
house to another or one village to another. They kept the stories
alive. Can your recall any such stories from your region? Story-
telling forms such as ‘Harikatha’ and ‘Kabigan’ played a vital role in
communicating historical and epic stories. Story telling is also
practised in traditional youth clubs like the Ghotul of the tribal
murias of Bastar or the Dhumkuria of the Oraons of Bihar
Introduction to Traditional Media
• Nautanki is a famous form of folk arts involving a mix of music and dance
and popular in northern India. It was the most popular form of
entertainment before the advent of cinema.
• Fairs and festival sincluding social, ritual and ceremonial gatherings created
a platform to meet and exchange views among people.
• Folk dances vary form one place to another. For example, you will find a
variety of tribal dances in the north eastern region, Orissa and Gujarat. Every
tribe has a different dance form and dress, accessories, symbols and motifs.
• Traditional paintings, wall paintings, inscriptions, statues and stupas played
a vital role in communicating ideas and culture from one generation to
another.
• Forms of traditional media also include the house barn and fence types. Ven
the traditional conventionalsounds used to summon animals or give them
commands are considered as different modes of communication. You must
understand that these are only broad categorizations. There are many
regional variations.
 myths • legends • folktales • jokes • proverbs • riddles • chants •
blessings • curses • oaths • insults • retorts • taints • games •
gestures • symbols • prayers • practical • jokes • folk etymologies •
food-recipes • embroidery designs • costumes •medicine •
instrumental music. • crafts • ballads • charms • customs • tales •
places • names, • superstitions • witchcraft • folk medicine • gestures
• festivals • rhymes • literary artistic expressions • tales • fables •
beliefs • dance • metaphors • names

TRADITIONAL MEDIA VS TELEVISION

Have you found any difference between watching a television
programme and watching Ramleela or listening to stories from
your grandmother? Let us list out some of the differences
between traditional media and electronic media.
Differences between Traditional Media and Television

Electronic media
Traditional media
. Non technological in nature . Technological in nature
. Flexible in nature but . flexible but enjoys
culturally rigid cultural freedom
. Less expensive mideum
limited reaches out to a
large number of peopel

Street Theatre performance Watching television

• Introduction to Traditional Media
In traditional media forms like story telling, theatre, dance, singing etc,
your body is your media. You can create messages and communicate
without using any form of mass media. You can create your own media.
For example in street theatre, social or political messages are presented
before the public with a performance by a group of performers. You do
not need any special piece of equipment unlike in television or radio.
Likewise, ballad singing is a popular form where a single person sings on
issues related to the public. It will be very simple to understand. But at
the same time, it contains several critical comments about society. Here
also, there is no need for instruments, chorus or a stage. A singer with a
creative thought and awareness of issues and loud vocal strength can
turn himself into a powerful people’s (traditional) medium. On the other
hand, for the electronic media, you need a certain style, dress code,
diction, literacy etc. They generally do not involve active audience
participation. But traditional media is inclusive in nature. They are highly
intimate and local specific and deeply connected to one’s own lives.
USE OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN COMMUNICATION
Traditional media have been in existence in India for long and have been used as a
medium of communication in rural areas. Over the years, rural masses have been
using the folk media for expressing their social , ritual, moral and emotional needs.
Traditional media has a crucial role to perform in the process of socio-economic
development in India. It helps in convincing and influencing people in a very effective
way. For example during the freedom struggle, folk media played a great role in
spreading the message of patriotism. Utpal Dutt who was a popular actor is said to
have used Jatra, a traditional theatre form in Bengal during the freedom struggle.
Paala, a traditional form of ballad singing is used for spreading awareness on various
social issues by the government of Orissa . The Song and Drama Division of the
government of India uses various forms of traditional media to spread awareness on
a number of social issues like AIDS, polio immunization etc. You all know that during
festivals, we exchange sweets , greet each other and decorate our houses. This
communicates our friendship and love for others. This is also an example of the
traditional form of communication. Today we use modern ways of communication
such as the mobile phone and internet to send messages of friendship and greetings.
Communication through traditional media thus helps in building good relations