The Tradition of Folk songs in Chittagong : A Quest for identity/ চট্টগ্রামের লোকগানের ধারা : স্বরূপ-সন্ধান

Abstract

Folk songs in every region of Bangladesh are spontaneous creations of the local mindset of that area. Like other branches of folk creation, the folk songs of Chittagong are born from the local life of this region and are an evolving cultural element shaped by the flow of time.In the folk songs of this region, alongside the collective characteristics of the rural lifestyle, there are various exceptional tendencies for several reasons.Here ,in addition to classical music and kirtan,many diverse streams of music can be observed. In fact, the rich and diverse tradition of folk music has been practiced in this region for nearly one and a half centuries.Therefore , the folk songs of this region are considered a rich tradition of bengali folk music. The present article attempts to present a cronological intruduction to the diverse streams of folk music prevalent in Chittagong.