Its not justifiable to stop *chaama cheluve
*chaama cheluve is a play enacted by the natana group of mandya ramesh,in mysore.the story is based on a folk edition related to goddess chamundeshwari.
Stopping the enactment of chama cheluve due to controversy is not justifiable.while literary work gets its form based on a number of folklore editions,the credit of the work cannot be given to a single editor.while publishing the play all editors names can be mentioned.if the play is based on a single editors work,then it is quite natural to mention his name.
I would like to raise a basic question in this context.
when a folk singer or a story teller narrates his story and it is edited by an author,is it justifiable to publish that book in his name ?
how does he get the copyright of a work which had been transmitted from generation to generation through oral tradition ?
isn't it plagarism to publish the book in editors name instead of the original story teller ?
will his debt be settled if his name is mentioned in the foreword as an acknowledgement ?
This is certainly a bad tradition in folklore studies .when the editor claims his right over the work cornering the original narrator,it is disgusting.if the original narrator fights for the copyright ,there is meaning in it.
It is certainly not justifiable to corner the original narrator and publish the book in the editors name.
first comes the narrator who preserved the work over the generations through oral tradition.
the editor definitely comes next. he stands second when it comes to copyright.
doesn't he ?
