\nFolk performance traditions stand in a precarious position in many parts of the world as the growth of urban centres, modern lifestyles, along with the widespread availability of television, film, and Internet entertainment have pushed them away from the centres of public life. In some cases, the last masters of these arts are advanced in years with no committed disciples ready to follow them. In others, young performers eager to prove themselves lack opportunities to display their talents or simply find their audiences dwindling. What then does the future hold for these ancient traditions and are there ways in which the existing ones can be evolved? How does one think of Folk traditions in an age of television soaps, movies, glossy advertisements, mobile phones, online streaming, video parlours, and YouTube? lf folk arts are so adaptable to change, why are so many of them in decay? \n\nThis book, a result of two jam-packed days of talks and discussions on the subject of folk performing arts, organized by KnlDS, (Centre for Knowledge Ideas and Development Studies), with support from the Indian Council of Social Science and Research, Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-ERC), is a collection of essays which deliver insights into the above mentioned problems and can move discourses on folk performance in new directions.