Madhya Pradesh - Art, Culture, Heritage @ whatisindia.com

MUSIC
The folk musical material of the state may be classified into three groups. The first being the tribal music, which is undoubtedly very rich in content. The second group is of the countryside music. It includes legendry narratives, ceremonial songs, work songs and the songs linked with rituals, love longings and occupations. Its music survives in cross-cultural traits of social relationships. Its structural shades vary from caste to caste and from region to region. The third group of songs has a close affinity with the Bhakti cult of the medieval period. The vast concourse of these songs draws themes from mythology and ranges from the traditional Harikatha to the simple rendering of old Bhajans, art songs, lyrics of poets Chandra Sakhi and Sukhai and the devotional songs attributed to Ramdev, etc. Thousands of songs and Vaishnav padas are sung into varied complexion under religious and devotional fervor. Some of the complexions even admit embellishment and to a small degree tanas and alap in their stylized crudeness.

The folk musical map of Madhya Pradesh has certain predominant features. The people seldom confine themselves to their own songs except when singing ritualistic songs and the one's related to wedding ceremonies. The peasant class has no taboo to sing popular songs of other racial groups. Singing up participation is instinctive and unavoidable.

The folk music of Madhya Pradesh comes from the tribal areas. Bastar which is the land of the famous Muria and Sing Maria tribes is known for its haunting melodies. The Relo is a remarkable type of the Muria song. Every young man must respond to its call. It is an everlasting favorite song of the Muria boys and girls. They may sing the Relo on any occasion.

The music of the Hill Marias and the Bhils is full of short scales. Gooning is not rare in the music of the Abujhmar tribe. The Murias of north Bastar generally sing with a high-pitched voice using five to six notes. The music and dance are interdependent among these tribes. The Murias, the Sing Marias, the Bhils and the Korkus do not share the common traits of their traditional music with the exception that the Gonds seem to have certain common layers overlapping with the Murias. They have melodies of short ambit with occasional move to the octave.

Leja song

In the surrounding villages of Jagdalpur, the Leja song has a significant place. The Leja has its origin with the 'send off ' ritual to some dear one. Literally, the Leja means 'take it'. Many of the Leja songs are lengthy. The rhyming line serves as a relic and could be recited to unfold any song. The recitative line seldom has any affinity with the actual song. It merely helps to enhance the form of the song. Any subject could be the theme of the Leja songs. The Bhatra and the Panka classes of the Adivasi population sing numerous Leja songs.

The land of Bastar is known for the Chait Parah and the Dhankul songs. The former is of the seasonal category while the latter is associated with the invocation to the goddess Danteshwari.

The stock of the traditional music of Chattisgarh is semi tribal in texture. It has many traces of tribal phrases woven into the fabric of its own music. The music of Chhattisgarh is not fully agricultural in its socio-perspective.

The marriage songs of the Kamars are generally short. Many of them are addressed to the trumpeter Moharia. The Dadaria of this region has a pattern of rhyming lines. They are also called Ban-Bhajans or Salho. The Dadaria has a style of question-answer rendering.

The basic structure of the songs from Bundelkhand rests on the medieval sentiments. The musical compositions of the songs are simple and rigid. They have a few dominant characteristics of rhyming phrases.

The Bundelkhand region and Baghelkhand which is the land of the Baghelas are known for their heroic deeds. Hardaul is the popular deity of both these areas. Though semi-historical in character, Lala Hardaul has received deep reverence in the contents of the folk music of Bundelkhand.

The songs of the poet Isuri came into prominence among the people of this region. His four-lined compositions (Chaukaria Phag) have become part and parcel of the folk musical tradition of the region stretching down to Bhopal. In Nimad, songs attributed to Singa and Daluji are very much alive. The ballads about Chhatrasal and the Rani of Jhansi have also become one with the existing folk music. As compared to the seasonal songs and the children's songs the music of Bundelkhand is not of much antiquity.

There are romantic Led and the Pai songs. The Pai is associated with the Saira dance of the rainy season . The Bambulia of Bundelkhand has religious fervor and is always sung by the people who go for ceremonial bath to distant rivers. The song corresponds to the Batgamni of Mithila. The Alha of Jagnik narrates the account of fifty-two battles fought by both Alha and Udal against Prithviraj of Delhi. The Alha reciters are known as Alhets.

The dirges of Nimad are full of pathos and the Sati songs of Malwa are haunted by sadness while the Jogiras and the songs about Raja Bharthari and the folk devotional type of Sakhis of Kabir, sing of the transient nature of the world. The Garbi of the Narmada valley has a softer melody than the Garba songs of Nimad. It has three variations like the Rewari Garbi, the simple Garbi and the Gujarati Garbi.

The Lavani came to Malwa along with the Marathas in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Nirguni Lavani (philosophical) and the Shringari Lavani (erotic) are the two types which is popular in the south of Nimad. The Panwaras are very close to the rural population. They are sung in a quick tempo. The purity of the original tunes of folk music is mostly preserved in the ritualistic and ceremonial songs of the countryside women. The songs of the folk poet Sukhai of the Chambal ravines of Bhind and Morena districts are full of verve. The land adjoining the Braj-speaking zone is rich in love songs. The impact of Braj music is obvious on the people of Gwalior.

A large portion of Malwa and Nimad is inhabited by the Adivasis. The songs of the Bhils, which accompany their dances and the songs of their festivals and nuptial ceremonies give a glimpse of the life-pattern they hold. These songs are sung at an even tempo with regular rise and fall. In most of the songs, meaningless chants are introduced to fill up the gaps between the lines. The Bhils always sing in groups. Dancing is inseparable from their music. The only exception is the Dhak song which is sung with a belief to cure the physical and mental ailments of a diseased person. They treat this song as very sacred since the music of the Dhak is supposed to have a magical effect on them. In Bundelkhand, such songs are sung before Karas Dev, the village deity, whose associated songs are called Goten. The Banjara songs like the Shri Maharaj ri Bel and the Rasturavan; the long narrative, Heeda of the Gujars and Ahirs; and the Ekadasi, the Chain Singh and other ballads popular in Malwa have sustaining music.

The music of the folk-drama called Maanch has a texture of its own. The beauty of the Maanch, often reveals in its musical dialogues, recited to the accompaniment of drums.

The folk musical modes of Malwa are very much suited to different occasions. They depend on four to five notes. In rare cases, six notes are employed. The music of the songs sung at the time of sacrifice or rituals in remote villages gives rise to an awe, while tunes of the Jhoola songs clearly convey the swinging motion. The notes of the raga Bhoop are evidently felt in the Garbi songs of Nimad. All the song types have certain swara-scale.

In Malwa, legends about Raja Bhoj and Bijori, the Kanjar girl and the tale of Balabau have a peculiar appeal. The devotional music of the Nirguni cult is popular all over the zone. Love songs like the Naik Banjara and the Ranubai, have soft music. The agricultural society-born music has a tendency of insertion known in the musical term as 'Stobha'. This tendency is unfolded in four ways: in Matra stobha, the syllable insertion; in Varna stobha, the letter insertion; in Shabda stobha, the word insertion and in Vakya stobha, the sentence insertion. The music of Madhya Pradesh is not an exception to this mode.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The drums are of various types and the technique of drumming among the tribals is fascinating. In Bastar there are big drums played by sticks. The Bhils use heavy Dhols and Mandals. There are small -sized drums. The Durbari of the Bhils, that is the Dumri of the Gonds is identical to the Goga Dhol of Dandakaranya. The Mandri is a mini Mandal. Like the narrow-waist Dhak of the Bhils, there is the Parang drum of the Murias. The Ghera is an octagonal rim stretched with goat hide played by one padded stick. The Dphala, the Chang, the Damahu, the Timki and the Tasa are different types of membranophonic instruments. The drumming is an invitation or a call for dancing.

Of the aerophonic instruments, the Bans is peculiar of Madhya Pradesh. It is a long bamboo stem about four feet in length, used mostly by the Rawats who were the cowherd community of Chhattisgarh. As an uncommon instrument of the flute category, the Bans is moreover akin to the Ayar Kuzhal of the south. The instrument produces peculiar sounds resembling the thundering of clouds or the hoofs of wild beasts. The other instruments of the areophonic group are the Pawli of the Bhils and the Algoza which is a pair of flutes. The professional musicians Dewars use a crude type of Sarangi to recite legendary tales. This instrument is made of a coconut shell resonator and horse-hair strings. The Dhungru is a plucked instrument having catgut strings. The Sindhi or Sing is a horn-shaped instrument used all over the state. The Been or the Pungi is the snake-charmers instrument. The Morchang (jews harp) and the Ghangli of the Bhils are favorite mini instruments of the rural boys. The Ghangli is made of bamboo chip with a vibrating tongue.

Chatkora (Chatkauaa), the Thiski, the Thapi and the Zhanj are the auto phonics instrument. The chordophonics instruments are the Tonkya of the Bhils and the Chikara or the Kingri.

The scrapper is no more seen except in the Vindhyas and Dandakaranya. The Bhils call it Karkhara. In Bundelkhand it is named as Khirkhira. The oldest instruments of the tribes of Bastar are Dhankul which is the plucked instrument and Tirududi (or Jhunki) which is the dancing stick of the bison-horn Marias.

Reference:
http://www.webindia123.com/

Home Page

Archives | Links | Search
About Us | Feedback | Guestbook