Bundelkhand’s Folk Power: Alha-Ballads of Bravery

Ballads and bardic chronicles have long been a defining feature of storytelling traditions across the Indian subcontinent. While love stories like Heer-Ranjha have captured hearts in Punjab, Rajputana and Bundelkhand are steeped in tales of war and heroism. Among these, one of the most celebrated is the Alha ballad—an epic of loyalty, revenge, and martial glory that has echoed through the ages in the oral traditions of northern India. Carried across northern India by generations of itinerant bards, the Alha epic remains an enduring symbol of Bundelkhandi valour. Its verses, recited in bustling bazaars and remote villages alike, celebrate a warrior ethos that has defined the region for centuries. A striking English adaptation of the ballad’s opening cantos, The Nine