The Folk Tales of Uttarakhand

Dr. Govind Chatak (1933-2007) is the well known folklorist and writer. He has several books on folk tradition, language, criticism and culture. He taught in the Department of Hindi of the Rajdhani College (Delhi University) and has been honoured by The U.P. Hindi Sansthan, The Sahitya Kala Parishad, The Ministry of Environment and The Hindi Academy (Delhi). His Uttarakhand ki Lok Kathayein is one of the most original compilation and a treasure trove of the rich oral folk tradition of Uttarakhand.

Arun Pant (The Translator) teaches as Associate Professor in the Department of English, HNB Garhwal University at SRT Campus, Badshahi Thaul, Tihari, Uttarakhand.

It is not difficult to outline the reasons for taking up the translation of the folk tales, which have been assiduously compiled by late Dr. Govind Chatak. One should begin by stating the reputation of Dr. Chatak as a folklorist where his efforts to cull these stories from the traditional oral sources are itself the stuff that contribute to the making of a legend. There are still many grown-ups who can reminisce about the efforts of Govind Chatak in the hill villages as he surrounded himself with the traditional bards and musicians oblivious to all other concerns.

The authenticity of the tales given in his seminal work Uttarakhand ki Lok Kathayein can only lead us to the amazing diversity that is embedded in the oral tradition. It can be our guide to the Collective Consciousness of a whole region, in this case, the hills of Uttarakhand. We can fathom not just the outward landscape. the rites and rituals of war and sacrifice, religious beliefs and natural and supernatural forces that shaped the human destiny but above all the deeper forces of human psyche that are reflected in the outward events.

It has long been established that the animal characters with human dimensions in folk and the fairy tales are nothing but the aspects of human traits and behaviour which exists at the level of instincts. Thus all such stories presented here have a kinship with the fables found in all cultures across the globe.

**Contents and Sample Pages**