shunashir sen shunashir. sen@ mid- day. com Fun fact. Jhumka gira re, the wildly popular Bollywood classic, isnu2019t originally the coquettish song as Asha Bhonsle sings it to be in the 1966 movie, Mera Saaya.
On the contrary, itu2019s an age- old Bhojpuri tune about a woman who gets mercilessly beaten up by her mother- in- law, sister- in- law and husband for losing a piece of jewellery at a market in Bareilly. Maybe you didnu2019t know that. But thatu2019s not your fault. Itu2019s just that in the urban confines of Mumbai, we tend to be disconnected from the wealth of folk music that emanates from every corner of this vast country. u201c People in small towns, even the youngsters, take more pride in it. I mean, I once met a doctor in Indore who taught me a bhajan,u201d says Pranita NP, who will perform at a concert called Sounds of India along with Banat Kaur Bagga and Yugm, where they will present traditional Marwari, Bhojpuri and Punjabi tunes, apart from Urdu ghazals.
But the interesting thing is that while they keep the musical compositions intact, the musicians will play around with the words to fit them into a more progressive, 21st- century context. u201c A lot of these songs have embedded racist and sexist themes, unfortunately.
I like to stay away from that,u201d Bagga says.
Be that as it may, there are also age- old emotions of love and despair that are expressed in the tracks. For instance, Bhojpur was a part of the ancient Silk Route. u201c So there are endless songs that talk about how a woman is longing for her husband, whou2019s gone away to trade goods,u201d Pranita says, adding that despite the sexism and racism spoken about in the preceding paragraph, there are far- sighted progressive messages too. u201c Thereu2019s one song where a woman is talking about taking her in- laws to court for assaulting her, and another, where an old woman is complaining about being married off to a young boy. She wants a partner her age, who can be her intellectual equal,u201d Pranita explains.
There was thus depth in what the ancient songwriters were saying, even if their perceptions were sometimes blinkered by prevailing prejudices.
So keep an open mind when youu2019re attending this concert.
And lend an ear to the sounds that emanate from the Indian hinterland, even as you sit in the venue thatu2019s in the urban jungle called Andheri West.
ON Today, 7.30 pm AT Harkat Studios, JP Road, Andheri West. CALL 9987001326 Cost ' 300 A concert this evening will showcase the rich diversity of Indian folk traditions, from Bhojpuri, Punjabi, to Marwari tunes Thatu2019s all folk music Banat Kaur Bagga Pranita NP
