Powada

The powada () is a genre of Marathi poetry that was during the late 17th century in India. Powada, which means ‘to glorify’, is a traditional Marathi ballad that traces its history to more than 750 years Powadas often glorified and celebrated deeds of popular folk figures and leaders such as Chhatrapati Shivaji and Tanaji Malusare, and were also written to raise awareness on social issues such as female foeticide, dowry and corruption. Powadas were also used as a medium to create an awareness during Samyukta Maharashtra movement.
Details.
The composer-cum-singers of the powadas are known as "Shahir"s. The professional powada singers formed a guild or caste known as the "Gondhali"s. The earliest notable powada was "The Killing of Afzal Khan" ("अफझल खानाचा वध") by Agnidas, which recorded Shivaji's encounter with Afzal Khan. The next notable powada was "Tanaji Malusare" ("तानाजी मालुसरे" ) by Tulsidas, which gave an account of the capture of Sinhagad Fort by Tanaji. Another notable contemporary powada was "Baji Pasalkar" ("बाजी पसाळकर" ) by Yamaji Bhaskar. They are also mentioned in the 13th century Marathi scripture Dnyaneshwari.
During the Peshwa rule, several celebrated "Shahir" poet-singers, which include Ram Joshi (1762–1812), Anant Phandi (1744–1819), Honaji Bala (1754–1844) and Prabhakar (1769–1843), Annabhau Sathe (1920 - 1969), Atmaram Patil and Amar Sheikh composed a number of powadas.
About sixty "powada"s were collected by Harry Arbuthnot Acworth and S. T. Shaligram and published under the title, "The Saga of Historical Heroic Men and Women" ("इतिहास प्रसिद्ध महापुरुषांचे व स्त्रियांचे पोवाडे ") in 1891. Out of these, ten "powada"s were translated into English verse by H. A. Acworth and published as "Ballads of the Marathas" in 1894.