From Oral to Virtual Forms: Migration and Transformation of Garhwali Folk

Kritika Kshettrie   
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Modern European and Other Foreign Languages, S.R.T Campus Tehri, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, India.

^{Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 18, Issue 1, 2026. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v18n1.02
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Abstract

Migration threatens the continuity of a region’s indigenous literature by altering its demographic structures. Where individuals of productive age become disconnected from their native land and community, concerns emerge about the survival of local folk traditions. However, drawing on the definitions of folklorists such as Ben-Amos, Alan Dundes, and Richard Dorson, folklore is not a relic of the past but a dynamic expression of shared cultural and experiential knowledge. This paper argues that Garhwali folklore has adapted itself across generations and media, shifting from oral traditions to cassette recordings, music videos, and digital folk expressions like memes, proving that Indigenous literature remains dynamic through cultural hybridity and technological change. These transformations also reflect the evolving identities and hybrid cultural experiences of second and third-generation migrant Garhwalis. Although vastly different in medium, these modern expressions carry the same essence of collective experience, reinforcing the adaptability of folklore. This paper argues that instead of erasing cultural traditions, migration reshapes and transforms the forms of folklore in ways that find relevance in the times of globalization. By examining the visual and digital evolution of Garhwali folk expressions, this paper redefines Indigenous literature not as a vanishing tradition but as a continually evolving cultural experience, one that transcends geography, embraces hybridity, and asserts its relevance in the digital age.

Keywords: Migration, Folklore, Garhwali Khuded Songs, Digital Folklore, Indigenous Literature, Cultural Hybridity.