WHILE APPRECIATING the decision of the higher echelons communicated through the Haryana Sahitya Academy in bringing out an anthology of the folksongs and folk dramas traditionally propagated in Haryana by a number of self-styled singers and performers, R.S. Phaugat, a renowned author and reviewer on folklore and culture has urged both -- the bureaucrats in the Department of Public Relations, Haryana and the litterateurs in the state who would be associated with the project, to exercise caution in accomplishing the project. Firstly, it is already well known that the desirable level of competency for accomplishing this task in Haryana is non-existant.

Secondly, ‘the literary intensity of understanding the content of only the songs and drama - as part of the folklore of the land, and presenting it in a decent and scientific manner may assume gigantic proportion as editing begins after the task of compilation and selection of material is completed’, he said. He observed that without taking the directions from renowned linguists and competent managers of information and literature, it might become a difficult challenge for the Academy to ensure all-round quality. Moreover, as previous published works in the realm of dialects had posed a challenge for a non-Haryanvi to reckon the text it needs to be decided how the Academy plans to ensure the anthology as of a citable quality, he apprehended.

The news item entitled ‘Akademy to publish anthology of folk drams, songs’ published in a section of the press carries an erroneous impression about appointment of the general or overall editor for the publication. It could be gathered that the Academy has picked up a handful of persons from the serving and retired scholars from the academic institutions, media and freelancers to provide an array of songs and dramas that used to be sung or performed at the time of public or private gatherings in Haryana. It may be an exciting revelation that none of the folk-dramas historically known and performed by renowned artistes such as Pundit Lakhmi Chand or others had its thematic origins in Haryana. It used to be part of common folklore heritage of northern India.

Most of the so-called dramas were never meant to be created for literary audit and scholarly reviewing but only for musical rendering. By bringing musical performances under literary scanner would not only be ethically erroneous but might also inflict damage to the public impression about the traditional performers.

"The performers or singers of Haryana had only adapted from oral narratives or re-written the legends and myths in local dialects -- e.g. Kaurvi or Bangru," said Mr. Phaugat and added that it would be a fascinating disclosure as how the scholars, which the Academy proposed to engage, might plan classification of the epics or sagas, chronicles and narratives that qualified inclusion in collection and submitted as Haryanvi folklore.’ In order to avoid wastage of intellectual labor and funds to be earmarked from the pubic exchequer, a scientific protocol need be drawn first by subjecting all issues for thorough scrutiny during a brain storming session to be organized by the Academy. This will not only ensure transparency but also improve quality. Haryana Sahitya Academy has already earned criticism in the past for publishing of poor quality works as well as supporting poorly peer-reviewed works and never attempted a literary audit to prevent wasteful expenditure of the intellectual assets of the state.