A yearly journal of oral traditions, folk literature and cultural heritage — published each Diwali.
Every Diwali, Umala gathers a year of fieldwork into one keepsake volume — Ovee, folk stories, dialect essays and photo documentation from villages across Maharashtra.
An annual keepsake for what was
never written down.
उमाळा (Umala) — a Marathi word for the swelling wave of feeling, the ache of remembrance, the sudden rise of song from within. It is what a grandmother feels when a verse returns to her decades later.
ROOTS या लोकपरंपरा, लोकसंस्कृती आणि ग्रामीण कथनांच्या जतनासाठी कार्यरत असलेल्या उपक्रमामार्फत यंदा प्रथमच ‘उमाळा’ हा वार्षिक दिवाळी अंक प्रकाशित करण्याचा आमचा मानस आहे.
Through ROOTS — a movement dedicated to preserving folk traditions, folk culture and rural narratives — we are pleased to publish, for the first time this year, Umala, our annual Diwali ank.
आजच्या वेगाने बदलणाऱ्या काळात ग्रामीण जीवन, लोकपरंपरा, बोलीभाषा, ओव्या, लोककथा, लोककला, लोकस्मृती आणि माणसांचे अनुभव हळूहळू विस्मृतीत जात आहेत. या सांस्कृतिक वारशाचे दस्तऐवजीकरण करून तो पुढील पिढ्यांपर्यंत पोहोचविण्याचा एक छोटासा प्रयत्न म्हणजे ‘उमाळा’.
In these rapidly changing times, rural life, folk traditions, dialects, Ovee, folk tales, folk arts, community memory and the lived experience of ordinary people are slowly slipping into forgetfulness. Umala is a small effort to document this cultural heritage and carry it forward to the generations that follow.
- · Documenting women's voices as literary authorship
- · Peer-reviewed, community-consented scholarship
- · A shared platform for folklorists and village storytellers
- · Marathi originals with faithful English translations
- · Released each Diwali as a keepsake volume
उमाळा · The Inaugural Diwali Issue
- Publication
- November 2026
- Editor
- Snehal Warekar
- ISSN
- Applied
- Language
- Marathi · English
The very first Umala Diwali ank — an annual literary publication in the beloved Marathi tradition. This inaugural issue gathers Ovee, folk tales, dialect essays, community memory pieces and photo essays from our first year of fieldwork across Satara, Kolhapur, Latur, Nanded and Jalna.
- 01Ovee at Sunrise: The Sonic World of Satara
- 02The Grandmother as Author: A Reading of Twelve Songs
- 03Field Notes from Kolhapur & Karad
- 04Photo Essay — Hands, Millstones, Voices
- 05Interview: Baijabai Kadam, Village of Karad
- 06Wedding Laments of Marathwada
Eight departments. One journal.
Editor's Note
A short letter opening every issue — a compass for the reader.
Research Articles
Peer-reviewed scholarship on oral traditions and folk literature.
Ovee Collection
Marathi verse with English translation and community notes.
Folk Stories
Long-form retellings of stories carried down through generations.
Interviews
Extended conversations with grandmothers, singers and community historians.
Field Documentation
Diaries, methods and reflections from ROOTS fieldwork.
Photo Essays
Documentary photography from the villages we work in.
Book Reviews & Archive
Reviews of new scholarship and highlights from the ROOTS digital archive.
Where Umala listens.
Each issue is anchored in months of on-the-ground documentation. The districts below are our active fieldwork regions across Maharashtra — expansion into Vidarbha, Konkan and beyond is planned for future issues.
The circle behind every issue.
Umala is authored by a community — village women, researchers, folklorists, writers and field documenters. Every voice is credited.
PhD scholar in oral traditions. Founded ROOTS on 24 October 2025.
Keeper of over 200 Ovee verses passed down four generations. Featured in Vol. 1 Issue 1.
Wedding-song singer with a fifty-year repertoire. Contributed to Issue 2.
Oral historian who has documented ceremonial rituals of her community since the 1980s.
ROOTS field researcher; audio recording and transcription lead across Marathwada.
PhD candidate in Marathi folk literature. Contributed the pedagogy essay in Issue 3.
The Umala archive.
Every issue of Umala is available for free download. Print copies can be purchased to support ongoing fieldwork.
उमाळा · The Inaugural Diwali Issue
The very first Umala Diwali ank — an annual literary publication in the beloved Marathi tradition. This inaugural issue gathers Ovee, folk tales, dialect essays, community memory pieces and photo essays from our first year of fieldwork across Satara, Kolhapur, Latur, Nanded and Jalna.
Umala welcomes voices from every corner.
Beyond the journal.
Books, working papers, field reports and open digital archives — the wider scholarly output of ROOTS.
The Grinding Mill Songs: A Marathi Anthology
First anthology from ROOTS — 300 Ovee verses with Marathi original, English translation and community notes.
Download PDF
Documenting Ovee: A Methodological Framework
Working methodology for community-consent-based recording of oral traditions.
Download PDFThe Absent Author: On Illiterate Women as Literary Producers
A philosophical essay on the invisibility of women oral authors in Marathi literary history.
Download PDFVoices of the Field · Symposium 2026
Papers from the first ROOTS symposium bringing together folklorists and community elders.
Download PDFThe ROOTS Open Archive — Vol. 1
Downloadable metadata package covering the first 40 recordings in the archive.
Download PDFSatara Fieldwork Diary — Winter 2025
Day-by-day field diary from the very first ROOTS documentation trip.
Download PDFEvery new issue, in your inbox.
One quiet letter each quarter — with the new issue, contributor calls and field notes from the road.