The Unknown Voices: A Translationof Folk Song of South Haryana

Folk songs, the repositories of cultural values in any society, have been subject of interests for sociologists and anthropologists since long. These 'lively fossils' are not merely rudiments of a bygone era; their persistence in the contemporary society has been a challenge as well as refutation to the logic of change and decadence in human societies. Despite the avant-garde experiments in art, the unflagging appeal of folklores is in itself a proof of their linkage to our basic essence. The present book reveals a hitherto unrevealed face of Haryanavi society to the English speaking audience through a documentation and translation of the folk songs of South Haryana. Mostly sung by women in this region, these songs present a unique spectacle of ethos and cultural values of this semi-arid locale.

Dr. Karan Singh Yadav is Head of the Dept. at Govt. P.G. College Ateli (M/Garh)- Haryana. He has taught at various colleges in Haryana including Dyal Singh College Karnal and S.J.P.M.L. College of Engineering and Technology, Radaur. He is Editor of the Biannual Journal OASIS and president of the society SPELL. He has been awarded Associateship of IIAS, Shimla and has published four books-Iris Murdoch: Melodrama and Metaphysics, Dalitism and Feminism, Dalit Literature: Challenges and Potentialities (Ed.) and Ethnicity/Multiculturalism: Identity Politics and Cosmopolitanism in Literature (Ed.) along with many articles. He has worked on a Major Research Project by U.G.C. on the topic "Redefining Aesthetics: The Portrayal of Women in Dalit Writings."

Dr. Devender Kumar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi was a gold medalist in M. Phil at K.U. Kurukshetra and was awarded Junior Research Fellowship by U.G.C. He completed his Ph. D. on the topic "Sexual-Textual Politics: A Study of D. H. Lawrence" from Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra under the supervision of Prof. S. K. Sharma in 2005. He has earlier worked as Lecturer in English at Govt. College, Bhattu Kalan (Haryana) also. He has presented 09 Research Papers in international and national Seminars/Conferences along with publication of 07 research papers in reputed Journals. His areas of academic interest include Interdisciplinary Studies, Feminist Studies, Translations Studies, Folklore and Indian Writing in English.

Our sincere gratitude is due to University Grants Commission, New Delhi for the grant it provided to Dr. Karan Singh in the form of Minor Research Project to work on Folk Songs of South Haryana. All our family members who have been directly or indirectly a part of this endeavour deserve our gratitude. Dr. Atul Yadav and Sh. Rohit Yadav are acknowledged as the forerunners in the field of the collection of folk songs.

**Contents and Sample Pages**