The song of awakening
G. JAYAKUMAR
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The first Jhummer concert that was held in Thiruvananthapuram had the audience longing for more.
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PHOTO: S. GOPAKUMAR
SONGS OF THE SOIL: Parvathy Baul sang, danced, emoted and played the ekathara.
"Jhumur is the song of awakening. The word `Jhum' means to doze and `har,' to take away," explains," says 70-year-old Salabat Mahato.
Mahato is a living treasure of knowledge of the Jhumur tradition of Baul music, the music of the wandering minstrels.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the first-ever performance of `Jhumur sangeeth' in Thiruvananthapuram. Jhumur originated in the Purulia district of West Bengal and is performed in several parts of Jharkhand and Orissa as well.
Against feudalism, caste
The centuries-old music, which is against feudalism, oppression and caste barriers, is in the words of a Jhumur poet "is neither new nor old, this music is like a forest tree with roots deeply buried in the past but which continuously puts forth new branches, new leaves, new fruits.''
The programme began with a presentation by Mousumi Parial, popularly known as Parvathy Baul. In a brilliantly synchronised display, she sang, danced, emoted and played the ekathara, a one-stringed lute and `dorgi,' a drum, with equal ease and in harmony with the jingling of her chilanka.
She rendered a boatman's song Ronge, ronge ar kotodin. It portrays a boatman who is battling the waves to steer the boat and the merchandise to safety although neither the boat nor the merchandise is his. Penned by Radharaman, the song has been set to music by Parvathy herself.
This was followed by a song portraying universal love, which is the quintessential of Jhumur music - Prem raser ghache ras ache tai. Written by Houre Gosai, this is the underlying message of Jhumur sangeeth.
Then the acharya of Jhumur sangeeth, Salabat Mahato, revelled in the melody of the music that awakens one from stupor. From slow, gradual paces the tempo increases to the noble values of shringar.
The song dedicated to his Purulia village, which was written and composed by him, celebrated the glory of the red earth of Purulia, covered with fruits, flowers, forests and rocks (`Puruliar lal mati'). Parvathy Baul also sang a song she had learnt from Salabat Mahato (`Sapana saguno dekhi'), written by Bhavapreeta, wherein a love-lorn woman longs for the company of her lover.
This was followed by Govindolal's poem `Chalo chalo sahachari,' rendered by Salabat Mahato. It emphasised the need to surrender the ego. The song was followed by a solo performance by Srushtidhar on the madhol.
On a request from the audience, Salabat Mahato rendered a farmer's song.
The programme concluded with the audience offering 'gurudakshina' to Salabat Mahato.
Tapas Mahato and Srushtidhar Malakkar accompanied on the cymbal and madhol respectively. The recital made the audience long for more of the haunting music. But a nagging question remained: should not such wonderful traditional art forms be made accessible to the general public rather than showcased to a privileged few?
The programme was organised by Ekathara Sangeetha Kalari, Nedumangad, headed by Ravi Gopalan Nair.
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