CHAPTER-IV

PRESENTATION OF FOLK FORMS IN MODERN STAGE

4.1 Dialogue with Folklore

Folk culture and the IPTA are akin to each other; it had opened an intrepid

inroad into a multidimensional performing art culture in India with all its

variety. But the foundation had always been based on folk-traditions. The

Indian society, in essence is a peasant society. Conceiving this fact as

supreme, the people who laid down the foundation for the IPTA realized

that the problems of this society have to be raised through the IPTA’s

platform. The IPTA activists not only propagated people’s culture but

contributed towards the peasants’ liberation from all kinds of exploitation.

In Assam, people with left orientation and some of the members of the

Congress Party with progressive outlook had taken forward the peasants’

movement parallel to the freedom struggle. The popular Cultural

Movement owed its origin and growth to people’s struggle for freedom and

peace and various other movements for the right of the peasants and

workers in India like the Telengana Peasants’ struggle of Andhra Pradesh.

Hemanga Biswas wrote, “The Telengana peasants’ struggle made them

rebellious where peasants’ occupied 3000 villages by dint of a prolonged

united struggle.” This movement tremendously inspired them and restoring

lands, struggling for land were the sources of their creativity of art and

music. The IPTA and its activists were the products of such struggles. He

further said that dhaan aru gaanor ek odvut mil aase (there is a peculiar

resemblance of paddy and music). When a farmer struggles for paddy

music comes out through his throat spontaneously (Bharali 1992: C). The

IPTA in Assam stood on the strong pillar of the peasant movement like

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aadhiyar andolan1. Such organized movements whereby peasants and

workers played a key role in expanding the Theatre Movement with the

patronage of colossal figures like Hemanga Biswas, Jyotiprasad Agarwala,

Bishnu Rabha and many others. They could feel that it was the historic

necessity to unite the people on the basis of culture. Approaching the

masses through the People’s Theatre was the chief aim of this movement.

The Indian national culture had always been in the foreground before the

IPTA ideals. Folklore adaptation was one of the prime strategies of their

cultural work policy. As discussed in the previous chapters, patronaging

and promoting folk culture was primary to the cultural movement of the

IPTA. Because, folklore is something which is analogous to folk-life,

which is a common binding factor; history has left numerous evidences

regarding this fact and therefore, many a time influential events and

characters have found place in folklore. Thus, folklore itself is becoming

history at times. “Influence of old religious scriptures hopes, aspiration and

experience of long struggle which altogether is called as ‘Mother’s Milk

Ideology’ got expressed through melody” (Rai 1992: 48). This melody

springs from folk experience of life. Hemanga Biswas referred to many

folk ballads of Uzbekistan and Yemen in the form of panegyrics where

Lenin has been depicted as a legendary hero. So, folklore is not just a

matter of ancient or pre-historical past or ‘survival of the past’ but

current themes which have created an impact on a larger scale may

also find place in folklore. Therefore, fairy tales or ballad or any form of

folklore may flourish even in the days of evolutionary realism. Hence,

adding new themes and legendary events have enriched the storehouse of

folklore. This facet had been appropriately caught in the following verse:

1 A movement of tenant peasants’ which cropped up in Assam during 1945 and first of its kind

in India, Telengana peasants’ revolt to be the next.The south Kamrup area had become the

chief center of this movement which rapidly proliferated to other parts. It started off as an

economic struggle that was mobilized into a huge political movement.

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Now, how can fables ever die?

To folklore they are the nearest kinsmen

And that’s exactly what I thought

The shortest road to reach the masses

In fables then I taught them

How to hate the hostile classes

(Demyan Bedney as cited by Biswas 1990: 91)

Likewise, the trend of politicization and popularization of folklore in

contemporary times has been experienced across the world. There are

ample examples throughout the world. It was done by “making folklore

forms a vehicle of protests movements and political ideology by

individuals and organizations as seen all over the world in the last decades:

by Blacks in North America, by communists in Latin America, Asia and

Africa” (Naithani 1998: 225).

The artists of the IPTA in Assam were influenced by such global trends.

They noted that many folk songs were created on the ‘6000 miles Long-

march’ of China without tampering the folk tune and folk dialect. This is

not a new phenomena; whenever any movement, be it social or religious,

has occurred in the past, it has been depicted in numerous folk songs. For

example, many songs were composed on the theme of widow re-marriage

system, advocated by the social reformer Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar

(Biswas 1990: 92-94). But since our study is limited to the province of

Assam, so the concentration is restricted to this area only. This particular

chapter is intertwined on the basis of both primary source and fieldwork.

4.2 Mission of Popularising Folk songs

Hemanga Biswas initiated this mission in Assam. He emphasized on

recollecting folk songs and reviving folk-instruments. He had developed a

keen interest in folklore since his childhood. He had grown up seeing the

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Manipuri dance, listening to band parties in auspicious ceremonies, dhol,

Kobigaan, Gajan gaan, manasa Mangal (Songs of the Goddess Manasa)

and other folk songs which gave him an artistic sensibility (Bharali 1992).

He studied at the George Institute of Dibrugarh from 1925-27. Nilamoni

Phookan, the thinker and literateur of Assam was the headmaster of the

school. Thus, he got an opportunity to be familiar with the prime route of

Assamese culture. He had an opportunity to be acquainted with various

aspects of Assamese society and culture like food, dress, living habits,

songs and dance. His passion for folk songs turned into a mission when he

ushered in the Theatre Movement in Assam. He got familiarized with

Assamese folk songs like Bangeet (pastoral song) when he came in contact

with Congress leader Bimala Prasad Chaliha, who later became the Chief

Minister of Assam, during his stay at the Nagaon prison in 1932. He also

learnt a few patriotic songs composed by Jyotiprasad Agarwala. He at once

got attracted to Assamese folk tunes (Biswas 2012: 381). That was

probably the starting point of a new era of a unified cultural movement.

Common people always have special inclination for folklore materials,

because it springs from their mode of living. Folk songs were very much a

part of their entity. Hemanga Biswas therefore attempted to associate these

folk forms with the movement of the common masses.

In 1938, a huge peasant rally marched to Shillong, the then capital of

Assam, as a protest against taxation and the landlord system. While

marching ahead to Shillong the peasants’ sang the famous song composed

by Hemanga Biswas. The initial line of the song was:

Age age cholo mazur kisan

Samar sibire son hakise bisan

(March forward peasant-workers

Listen to the trumpet of war blowing in war camp)

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Most of the songs of that period were composed keeping in view some

purpose. Therefore, the compositions needed to be simple and easy so that

anybody could sing them with ease. That was one of the prime reasons for

using folk tunes in most of the songs. Biswas even used a Scottish tune

played in bagpipe, which he had heard in a military band in Shillong. The

British used to make the military of the Nepali community sing in that

tune. The same tune attracted Biswas so much that he composed the

following song:

Inqlubi hake oi, sun pete kan

Asuk durdin, saathi Rus-chin

Urdde uddin hero rakta-misan –

(Listen carefully the sound of Inqilub no matter

How grim the days become,

China-Russia is with us

Red flag soaring high)

The songs that were composed in Bengali language used many folk-tunes.

One such form is bhatiali, a tune that features mostly in East Bengal. The

following song was one of such kinds that gained wide popularity in the

rural areas:

Tor Sonar dhane borgi name dekhre chaliye

Tor luthe nei fosol

Desbideshi dhonik, bonik falsi dosyudol…

This song tried to arouse awareness among farmers regarding fascist

invasion on their soil. Through the song, Biswas pleaded them to be alert

as the enemy confiscated their paddy fields. Each song created by the

artists of IPTA had a setting. Another song in the bhatiali tune was

composed during 1951 when Biswas was in the Jayantia hills. It was

composed to commemorate the martyrdom of a peasant comrade in Silchar

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jail. Bhatiali songs have an inherent pathos, which he tried to keep intact in

the following song:

Amra to bhuli nai swahid, se kotha bhulbona-

Tomar koilijar khune rangailo je andhar jailkhana...

(We have not ceased to remember you o’ martyr

Never would we forget that your bleeding heart reddened the dark

Prison cell)

Various tormenting issues came in along with the partition of the country.

This found expression in the following song in bhatiali form composed in

‘baromahi’ (song of twelve months) style available in Bengal and Assam:

Amar man kande re padmar chorer laiga dordi re

Amare santir griho, sukher swapna kei dilo bhangia

Dorodire, ashin mare koto khusite

Bhai bone aito naior nite

Bhora gange rongila nas baiya…

The pain of being alienated from one’s own land and river has been poured

out in the above song and the bhatiali tune emphasized the agony even

more. This effect is reached due to perfect harmonization of form and

content. The form gave meaning to the content. Therefore, it did not seem

to be a superficial blending.

Gradually, Hemanga Biswas learned the art of using folk tune to create

mass songs of rebellion. His experimentation with folk forms was soaring

high. His gifted sense of keen observation allowed him to listen to songs

unnoticed by others. One such song was composed on a sarigaan (song

sung by boatman) that he heard while a sailor was singing:

Sabdhane Gurujir nam loure sadhu bhai…

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In the tune of Dhamail (folk song of Bengal), he has depicted the

sorrow and plight of a woman. Unable to bear the pain of starvation, a

woman takes to prostitution. He narrates how many women lost their

chastity in the hands of lustful foreign militaries:

Tora bol sakhi bol, bol amare

Oke ghar bar korlo nari ra

Chilo sayai dhaka pakhidaka mayai ghera ghor

Swamir sayai dhaka mayai ghera ghor

Swamir sohag chilo kolo santanar odar

Sei ghore ke agun dilo, sarbassa dhan nilo hore.

The following song reveals the strength of a woman where she has been

depicted as a fighter against the oppressor:

Tora dekhbi jodi ai, kulonari

Loraite jai

Dekhbi jodi ai sajani, ekar mora

Marbo japani

Je japani chin desoto goragori jai lo

Hemanga Biswas wrote a song keeping the same tune which became

extremely popular:

Kastetare diu jore san kisan bhai re

Fosol katar somoi ele katbe sonar dhan

Dosyu jodi lutte ase katbe tahar jaan re…

(Sharpen your sickle with strong hands

O kisan, my brother

Press your sickle with strong hands

As you sharpen it against the whetstone

When the time comes for harvesting,

With your sickle you will gather a golden harvest,

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If the robber comes to rob you,

With your sickle you will cut off his throat)

Thus, Biswas and his companions used vast the folk song traditions

of Assam in their compositions which were then used in mass

movement. The above mentioned song was chosen to be sung at the

‘Beheli Peasant’s Conference’ for the first time, which highly enthused the

peasants. The song spread like a whirlwind in and around through the

voices of the peasants. This great success reassured Hemanga Biswas the

fact that a revolutionary subject could be made familiar by means of

adopting familiar forms of the masses. The above song also gives an

inspiring message of class struggle. Irawat Singh, the legendary leader

from Manipur danced while singing it with a sickle in his hand in the party

conference held in Mumbai. He translated the song into the Manipuri

language. Hemanga Biswas humbly admitted that many educated

musicians belonging to middle class including him drew materials from

folk artists. Some songs composed in folk tune and folk-song style were

solely written for the cause of the People’s Theatre Movement. These

songs merged into the trend of folk songs in due course of time. The above

mentioned song also falls into that category.

Most of the cultural items were presented before the public with utmost

commitment and loyalty. Therefore the performances became very lively.

The IPTA artists considered performances to be a direct medium of

communication with the people, said Dilip Sarma while narrating his

experiences in the interview. That is why when Dilip Sarma and

Sudakshina Sarma together performed Paneir Ponakan composed by

Bhupen Hazarika, people moved with emotion. The following is yet

another adaptation based on an experiment on bihu songs of Assam

where folk essence is reinterpreted by Dilip Sarma:

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Tamolore barison oi amarenu dexore oi

Senisampa phulbor oi

Einu khon dexoloi oi

Bhaskar Barmar alohi hoi, Hue en Chang ahisil oi

Roi nu roi roi nu roi kotonuje dekhile oi… (From interview)

Using pure folk idiom and colloquial language, he and Sudakshina

Sarma had taken this song far and wide. This narrates the history of

Huen Tseng visiting Assam. This is one of the best examples using

folksongs and folk idioms in composing yet another song of the same

fervour. The simple form and the alliteration itself are so enlivening that

the audience does not pay much attention to the content. The origin of the

above quoted song is:

Athiaje kolore oi

Moina nu jaan gulapi oi

Patene nekatiba oi

Moina nu jaan gulapi oi

Sitiki je poribo etha nu jaan gulapi oi

Bhagon masor kait nu jaan gulapi oi

Niore je niore je tiai jai ga

The mission of popularizing folk forms and using it for some purpose

is still carried forward by the successors of the IPTA in order to

mobilize people against prevailing political conditions. The following is

one such song depicting the prevailing situation based on a ghosa2 viz.

Kola Loyo Basudeva he. Emulating the tune of ghosa the following song

was composed by Naren Dutta, the first general secretary of Nalbari branch

of the IPTA:

2 Ghosa means chanting of verse adopted from Vaishnavite tradition of chanting songs of

praise of Lord Krishna that is deep-rooted in Assamese cultural life.

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Aji raijor bilai naihe

He’ raije sokupani mose

Samaj Kumbhire raijor gili ase…

Ana-guna kori raije bohi thakile nohobo

Nij mukti nij hate

Dhoribo lagibo

The verse of Ghosa narrates the story of Lord Krishna’s when he was

taken to Brindavan from his birth place Mathura by his father Vasudev

so as to escape Kangsa’s brutality. To reach Mathura they had to cross

the Yamuna River in stormy night. Kangsa, as it were, is the symbol of

exploitation and anarchy. Probably, IPTA adopted the form of the

abovementioned hymn not merely for its theme, but also for its inherent

symbolic assertions. It has the connotation that common masses have to

fight overcoming all hurdles to assert his freedom. In regard to using

materials drawn from Vaishnavite tradition , Bishnuprasad Rabha said that

the cultural items like bhaona and ojapali of Vaishnavite tradition have

to be modified so as to suit the contemporary age (Rabha 1997: 1278).

The social dynamics imbibed by the people and firmly rooted since ages

had to be given a different impetus without denying the

tradition.Vaishnavite as well as folk tradition had to be taken into account

owing to the complex cultural mosaic of this region. The IPTA people

were sensitive towards this nationality pattern and fully utilized this to get

closer to people at large.

Nikunjalata Mahanta, the life long activist of the IPTA said in her

interview that IPTA is the protector of the Assamese national culture

with a broad outlook. Therefore it successfully attempted to bring the

satriya culture out to the greater world from the restricted walls of

namghar and kirtanghar and secularized it. Narahari Burhabhakat is one

such artist to have stepped out from conservative society to a wider

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world of progressive people’s culture. Influenced by the IPTA ideals, he

pioneered and composed a dance form popularly known as bhortal nritya.

This dance form is performed with very big cymbals. The rhythm is a

combination of both grace and vigour. A pair of common Mynah, fighting

it out, had inspired Narahari Burhabhakat, the architect behind this dance

form, to compose some of the most vital movements.

Dilip Sarma said in this context that the IPTA did not deny the

classical art, but it gave more emphasis to folk art because classical art

also sprang out from folk culture. There is no conflict between the two.

Therefore the artists of IPTA composed creative songs by amalgamating

both the forms. Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bishnuprasad Rabha, Brajen Barua

and he himself experimented with it. During the period of revival of the

IPTA in Assam in 1952-53, Brajen Barua rendered his extensive support.

Bhupen Hazaraka offered his credence to Brajen Barua for his contribution

to the Assamese modern songs through his experimentation with western

music and giving a new taste of music through orchestration. He composed

an orchestra in western style named as Juddha aaru Xanti (War and peace)

on the basis of the Indian primary classical modes of music. This

composition was regarded as one of the best creations by Hemanga Biswas

(Majumdar 2008: 95). The following evergreen song was composed by

Keshav Mahanta and was tuned by Brajen Barua:

O aai amar kopalote

Ronga sendurere tilok aki dia

Dawar phali rongor melaloi jao…

(O mother draw a red tilok

On our forehead

Breaking the cloud

We are heading for the

Fete of colours ….)

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The song is a harmonious blending of music and lyric. It song is a

synchronization of accented pause (after each four accents) and simple

appeal of the native tune. Similarly, Bhupen Hazarika created his

immortal piece of music Bistirna parore, axangxya janare which was

an adaptation of Paul Robeson’s most acclaimed protest song – ‘The

old man river’. But, the song composed by Bhupen Hazarika sounds so

original because of his unique style of depicting a contemporary picture of

his native society by replacing the river Jordan with Luit. Hemanga

Biswas quotes George Thomson regarding improvisation of folk songs. In

the famous book ‘Marxism and Poetry’ Thomson said, “every minstrel

with any skill at all always improvises, so that he cannot recite a song

twice over in exactly the same form …. However this is more relevant to

classical based songs, but improvisation of folk song is a collective

process. Moreover, improvisation of folk song can be done keeping its

local musical mode. It follows a certain melodic pattern which is a special

attribute of folk songs” (Biswas 1948: 49). That pattern has been employed

by IPTA so that common people may well relate themselves to it.

Following folk songs have been collected from Barak Valley, the form and

tune of which are adopted by the IPTA. The following is a Shepherd’s

rhyme:

Jhilkore jhilkore

Jhorjhoraiya teka pore

Bhaigonar bari, chauler mocha

Ek ek chaule noi noi mocha

Aamito khujia khai

Aamito magia khai

(Trickling trickling

Coins drop in plop

Nephew’s home, rice with mocha

I live on begging

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I live on alms)

Keeping the same tune and form the IPTA in Silchar composed the

following election song:

Look, look, brothers

Money falls swiftly

But certainly brother

Zero earning at month end …

Yet if you want money

Keep it mind

Clutch on to a minister

Run after him

Following is a ballad narrating birth story of husking pedal:

Suno suno boin go suno suno sakhigan

Eikhanete kori prosar dhekir biboron go’ dhekir biboron

Narad gela mamar bari sange nai tar bahon

Biswakarmar suniya taha gotre uthe kampan …

(Listen, listen o sisters, listen o friends

Let me recount you the story of dheki

Narad had been to his uncle’s home without a vehicle

Hearing this Biswakarma’s body gets a pull …)

The same mood and tempo of this folk song was adopted by the IPTA

(Silchar) during the time of election so as to capture the mind of the

general public. The aim of using folk forms here was political

mobilization. As such, it electrified the masses. The song is as follows:

Suno suno bondhugan suno desobasigan suno mebnotijan

Bochor ghurte abar ailo dese nirbachan, bhaire suno dia mon

Satchallise varatbarsa hoiachilo swadhin

Poroborti ponchas bochor congresser odhin

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Bhaire ki pailam etodin …

(Listen o listen friends

Listen o listen o countrymen,

Listen of listen o toilsomes

Election has approached with passing of a year

Brother lend your ears

India gained freedom in forty seven

Remained under Congress for the next fifty years

Pity brothers, what have we gained …?)

As the above cited songs were composed during the time of election, the

contents or the dictions are completely propagandist in nature and folk

tunes seemed to be used deliberately and in a superfluous manner. Though

it might have served the purpose of the IPTA, songs of these kinds do

not appeal much as those songs that were composed and tuned keeping

the authenticity of folk songs intact. Hence, these songs cannot be said

to have contributed significantly to the perpetuation of folklore. But their

role cannot be denied in regard to mass mobilization.

4.3 Incorporartion of folklore in the IPTA Repertoire

Folklore was an integral part of the IPTA’s venture to reach the common

people and assimilate them on the same ground. Keeping this in mind,

activists thronged into villages, factories, mines and tea gardens to collect

folklore materials. They could gather numerous folk songs as they had

an easy access to these riff-raffs. While organizing the movement, the

IPTA brought folk artists and folk items to focus,

They covered not only the thickly populated cities but

also remote villages and hamlets and hill areas…posing

before them social, economic, and political problems

through their songs, dances, dramas and most of the

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powerful traditional folk forms in all languages and

dialects of India, in the spirit of their singing motto-

Peoples’ Theatre Stars the People (Sen 2002).

That is how interplay had taken place between folklore, particularly, the

oral artifacts and the contemporary socio-cultural movement. Folk music is

one such dominant expanse that the Theatre Movement in Assam had

treaded on. Bhupen Hazarika precisely considers folk music as an ideal

vehicle for mass communication. Because, it has a directness and

simplicity in narration, that deals with a local specific subject and the

music is simple and therefore, easy to to learn and easy to sing. It is these

characteristics that make folk music a means of communication. He says,

“From my experience in this field as a folk song collector and interpretor, I

feel one should have a zest for life, a genuine love for his environment and

love for humanity-if one wishes to be a collector and interpretor of folk

songs” (Hazarika 2008: 1312). The zest for life combined with love for the

world as well as humanity is the influencing feature of the songs

propounded by the IPTA.

The common mass identified easily with the culture promoted by the IPTA.

Hemanga Biswas very clearly showed the relation between the IPTA and

folklore in many of his writings. His comrades and successors such as

Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bishnu Rabha, Bhupen Hazarika, Mukunda Das

Bhattacharya, Keshav Mahanta, Brajen Barua, Dilip Sarma, Ramen

Barua and others have skillfully employed folk forms and tunes in

their artistic endeavor. They popularized some folk songs without

modifying its content. Following is an example of one such song based on

naokhelor geet3:

3 Folk song sung during traditional boat race held in Barpeta of lower Assam.

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Mor moluak kone marile

Hai mor molua re

Riha riha kore tai

Hai mor hori

Riha ani dilo moi

Hai mor hori

Rihar asole dhori kande mor mol ua re…

(Who killed my dear one

She asks for riha

And I fetched her one

Holding its end, she weeps

Oh Lord, she weeps…)

The rhythm and diction of folk songs are always appealing. Hence, the

IPTA had consciously blended different folk elements in order to

experiment with it. This experimentation involves adaptation,

improvization, selection and rejection. It was equally applicable in case of

dance and theatre. It is termed as ‘creative folk art’ by the creative dancer

Mukunda Das Bhattacharya who defines it in precise term as “when an

item of folk song or dance is modified in order to be more receptive

for a wider community, we call it creative folk art.”

The songs where folk expressions found a place and where remoulding of

folk songs are done by sustaining the folk spirit and zeal became immortal

pieces. The following song was composed by Bibhuranjan Choudhury, the

IPTA activist of Assam. The song is based on an Assamese folk song

known as dehbichar geet4 . The original folk song is as follows:

Dehar bharasa nai re

Kondina pagal sorir

4 Mystic songs revealing transience of human body.

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Kondina jabo choliye

E’ Hari e

Dhan buli moi dhan sanchilu

Bohu din kham pam buli

Dhon roilo pori

Deha goilo choli

Jen kochupator pani

(This human body cannot be relied on

Someday this cranky body will collapse

O’ lord

Craving for riches I set it aside a plentiful

Hoping to get a lot out of it

But money laid low

Body laid off

Like water from kochu leaf)

Keeping the flavour of the folk tune in the same frame Bibhuranjan

Choudhury composed the folk song by changing the content:

O’ raij tuponi vangibor hol

Nithur satasue karhile ses sambal

Jatanare bhora tomar kahini suni

Xihotor buku jano bhange …

(O’ the masses wake up from slumber

Heartless enemy has snatched away the last provision

Listening to your story of Plight

Do their hearts break …?)

Here, the rhythm of the folk song is not tampered. Many such

compositions have a pictorial quality for which they are sung even

today. The previously discussed Rangmon-Haradhanar geet is one

such example which depicts a picture of joy and sorrow of two farmers

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belonging to two distinct communities. The following is yet another

adaptation which blends the tune of zikir5 with a little improvisation:

Kutumar tejere radhili barhili

Kutumar tejere bonti jolali

Tor hiyakhon nuthilne bhagi mor bandhoi oi

Tor hiyakhon nuthilne bhagi mor bandoi oi

O’ ram tor elagi ne rahim tor elagi

(You cooked in your kin’s blood

You lighted the lamp

Dipping in kin’s blood

O’ companion did your heart not smash?

Who is ousted by you?

Rahim or Ram?)

This song touches upon hearts due to the appeal of the content. It is

so skillfully synchronized with the form of zikir that it creates an

original effect of folk song. This song is trying to raise a very vital

question at a time of communal violence. There are many other songs

composed by the IPTA artists that deal with the theme of communal

harmony and praise of humanity. The IPTA in Assam not only used folk

tunes of Assam but also of other parts of the country. Even the folk tunes

of foreign countries have attracted artists like Jyotiprasad Agarwala,

Bishnuprasad Rabha, Bhupen Hazarika, Hemanga Biswas, Dilip Sarma and

others. Hemanga Biswas composed the following song inspired by a

Khasi folk tune, and thereby have transformed it into a mass song

having an universal appeal. The Khasi song is as follows:

5 The zikirs are religious songs attributed to Ajan Fakir, a Sufi saint.

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Thaniyam6 (a flower) ne mo haitoo

Thala dopki sla wapo

Hemanga Biswas composed:

Ajadi hoini ajo for

Nababandhana srinkhaldor

Dukhoratrir hoini bhor

age kodom kodom jor

This song strikes the minds of both the youth and old even today because

of its vibrant rhythm and bold appeal to march together to bring about true

liberty. The following lyric is penned by Keshav Mahanta and tuned by

Dilip Sarma. He picked up this folk tune from Poland when he went there

to take part in the World Youth Festival held in 1955. The song was:

Axomore sotalor rod- kasoli

Kareno laoni senduri mukhoni jilmilai

(Sun beam washed yard of Assam

Whose rosy cheeks glow?)

This was greatly appreciated by the people of Assam which, according

to Sarma, signifies the universal appeal of folk tunes. This realisation

helped the IPTA to raise folk songs to a level of mass songs and from a

regional boundary to a universal pattern. The song is also enjoyable

because of the idiom. “Keshav Mahanta could stir a sympathetic cord in the

hearts of his readers by an abundant use of folk and popular idioms in his

poetry” (Sarma 2006: 250).

6 Thaniyam is a flower (commonly called ‘night queen’) that blooms for only few hours in a

year and it attracts the youth.They cannot stay back at home. Hence they go out with their

guitar. It is in a way a panegyric on nature and youth.

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Folk songs of pastoral origin like Bihugeet, Bangeet, Boragir Geet,

Biyanaam and Aainaam and many other genres were sung on ritualistic and

other social occasions. These were widely prevalent in rural areas of

Assam. But the Assamese elites paid no heed to folk songs of this kind.

The IPTA in Assam had brought a new wave in the field of Assamese

music by composing songs based on folk songs of distinctive style and

tune.These songs became popular among rural and urban people

alike.Thus, folk songs found their way into the repertoires of mainstream

music. Through the use of folk music elements, they created a distinctive

national variant to suit the contemporary context that was accepted by all.

These kinds of experiments do not fall into the categories of folk songs but

may be termed as ‘modern creative songs’ with adaptation from folksong.

This in turn took the shape of mass culture that had been the pre-

determined objective of the IPTA. As discussed previously, folk music and

folk theatre were taken up by political and a social movements throughout

the world. The IPTA conformed to the same principle.

4.4 Form and Content

The Century Dictionary (1889) defined folksong as “ a song of the people;

a song based on a legendary or historical event,or some incident of

common life, the words and generally the music of which have originated

among the common people, and are extensively used by them.” (Sharp

1907: 3)

Alan Lomax commented, “A song style, like other human things, is a

pattern of learned behavior, common to the people of all culture. Singing is

a specialized act of communication, akin to speech, but far more formally

organized and redundant… Whether chorally performed or not, however,

the chief function is to express the shared feelings and mould the joint

activities of some human community. It is to be expected, therefore, that

the content of the sung communication should be social rather than

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individual, normative rather than particular” (Lomax 1968: 3). Hemanga

Biswas quotes a definition on folk music framed by the International Folk

Music Council while discussing form and content of folklore adaptation.

“Folk music is the product of a musical tradition that has been

involved through the process of oral transmission. The factors that shape

the tradition are:

• Continuity which links the present with the past,

• Variation which springs from the creative impulse of the

individual or the group,

• Selection by the community, which determines the form or

forms in which the music survives… The term does not cover

popular music that has been taken over readymade by a

community and remains unchanged for it is the re-

fashioning and recreation of the music by the community that

endows to it its folk character” (Biswas 1990: 97).

The IPTA consciously or unconsciously followed the same principle with

great success. All the artists had their unique style of adopting folk

form.While discussing the adoption and synchronization of form and

content of songs produced by the Assam branch of the IPTA, various other

related devices like the lingua-franca, expression or metaphor comes into

question. Hemanga Biswas discussed these issues very clearly. Like his

counterparts (the pioneers of the IPTA movement in India), he was also

focused on employing folk form and introducing revolutionary content in

it . Herein arises the question of effective use of form and content.This has

always been a matter of controversy among writers and critics of

sophisticated literature. Typically we do not find any conflict between form

and content in oral derived literature. They are well synchronized with the

life activities of the unidentified author or a community where these are

produced,

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The subject-matter or the sources of inspiration of the

folksongs may vary. It may be free personal expression of

human feeling or expression of the group attitude towards

life…The folksongs are associated with life-activities of

individual or community. These are oral testimonies of the

traditional literary thoughts depicting the socio-literary

background of the societies still retaining the ‘primitive mind’

living in the unsophisticated way of life. In modern times the

folk songs are collected and found in written form. Thus, the

songs are dissociated from the music, melody and tune of the

songs, which are essential companions of the words, spoken

or written (Mahapatra 1967: 156-157).

The IPTA performers used folk forms very carefully. Along with form,

language was also carefully chosen. Colloquial or easily understood

languages are equally indispensable as familiar or popular forms. The style

and mode of singing varies from place to place and that is related to the

natural surrounding of the place where it originates. It is compared to a

child speaking its mother tongue without learning the grammar. He again

speaks of pitch in this regard where he says that pitch varies

according to geographical variation. That means it will differ when sung

in plains from when sung from a highland area. This is a universal

character of folk song. Moreover, folk songs of some distinctive places

have such a tonal uniqueness such as ‘yodeling’, ‘folk timber’ etc. that

even a very expert singer will not be able to catch even though the

melodic structure is well conceived off by him (Biswas 1990: 65).

The changes in form and content were necessitated by demands of

popular culture with new tone and vigour of the new art forms,

modeled on folk tradition and somewhat different from the existing

forms.

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Folk forms like Yatras, Bhaonas, Ojapalis and such other people’s art

form of Assam are still eking out of limping existence among the

peasant masses who still try to keep these forms alive as their off-time

cultural pursuits, because they need a fresh stimulus to ensure growth

and revival. It is for the the IPTA to study these forms and infuse

into them the sprit of the age (Pradhan 1982: 243).

Along with forms, folk expressions were also borrowed so that the

song or dance items become acceptable for all. For the IPTA artists,

neither form nor content is an independent entity, rather one complements

the other. Many a times the first quartrain or initial lines are adapted

from a folk song to grasp the attention of the listeners, and then the

content is gradually modified so as to throw a message. This is called

blending (as mentioned by Bibhuranjan Chaudhury). The following song is

one such adoption, which is based on folk song of Barpeta. Purosottam Das

composed this song:

Rati puailo re, o kuruai pare rao

Balite bagori kande duti baghor chao

….karo bhagyot namil din karo vagyot rati

Sokur agot heral tar sat puruxor mati…

Starting with a popular folk song, it tells of the disparity prevailing

in society. The folk rhythm and tune is sustained till the end so as to

grasp the mood of the listeners. Many songs were built on the ballad

form with a modified content. Bihu, Bhawaiya, Bhatiali, Jari-gaan, Sari-

gaan and other folk forms acquired a new life when social issues

and concerns were introduced as the content of these forms (Rai 1992: 63).

These songs were accepted and added to the treasure of folklore and

gradually acquired the status of folksongs. Because they did not remain an

individual product, eventually they became a collective expression. The

dealt problems raised by those songs are sufferings by the community

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and they, thereby, become a collective expression. Many songs depict

social awareness of the folk artists like Ramesh Seal, Gumani Dewan7,

Nibaran Pandit8, Gurudas Pal

9 and Tagar Adhikari

10 whose lives and songs

attracted communist artists. Many progressive artists were influenced by

their creations. The folk artists were given a scope to perform their

creation on the IPTA platform. The folk artists of the working class

were recognized as the pride of the organization. For that reason, artists

like Moghai Oja could internalize progressive ideology without being

theoretically trained in it. Folk artist Gurudas Pal probably was the first to

use Jatra form as a media of expressing political ideology (ibid). The

following song composed by Tagar Adhikari shows proclivity towards his

livelihood

Diner sobha suruj re

Rayter sobha chand

Ar sachir sobha hal krishi

Jominer sobha dhaan…

(Sun ornate the days

As moon does to night

Plough is the glory of the farmer

7 (1896-1976) He was known, by far, as the greatest kavial (impromptu composer and singer of

a music form in which a public debate is conducted by way of singing) of Murshidabad. His

fame as a kavial spread far and wide.He was widely respected for his talent as a musician as

well as his broadness of mind and respect for all religion. 8 (1912-1984) a famous folk poet and musician from Mymensingh district of Bangladesh who

later settled down in Bengal. He had a life long association with the IPTA. He was a share-

cropper and bidi worker. He became quite famous for his songs composed on the occasion of

Hajong Bidroho, a peasant revolt in Rangpur (presently in Bangladesh) and several other

songs on People’s War, on National Defence and food. 9 He was born in the Metiaburuj region (near Kolkata). He also worked in a bidi manufacturing

factory and came under the influence of the communist party thereafter and composed many

songs and plays.One such was Muktir Dak (Call for Freedom). 10

(1914-1972) a blind folk singer and a proficient dotara (a two-string folk musical instrument)

player, from a small village of Dhubri district which is considered as a center of folk-music in

Assam. His life story was later dramatized by the Late Bijan Bhattacharya in Mora chand

(dead moon) on the basis of folk form.

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As paddy adorns the fields)

Folk song emanates from folk life, their sorrows, plight, joy and

struggle. There is yet another dimension of folk songs and that is

spirituality. Many of the folk songs are ritual based. The IPTA did not

adapt all the elements of folk songs. They adhered to the principle of

acceptance and rejection and did not just pick up folk forms randomly.

They collected the folk songs with a purpose. The elements which could

enthuse people were adopted and the rest kept aside. At times some

creations could not gain favourable response from the audience due to

non-conformity of form and content. For example, a contemporary

problem may not fit into certain folk forms like ballad, resulting in

mass rejection of the composition. One can not always forcefully infuse

modern themes into folk form (as said by Subha Nandi Majumdar in the

interview). But most of the time, the IPTA was successful in creating mass

songs out of the rich resources of folk music. Because, apart from the folk

artists of humble origin, artists coming from the middle class background

were also exploring the folk genres on their own accord.This was done

even before they got themselves associated with the IPTA, as has been

discussed in the previous chapter. Some of them were also well-versed in

classical music. So, many a times they blended folk with classical music by

using both indigenous and western classical instruments.These experiments

of course sprang from nationalistic sentiments. After the formal

inauguration of the IPTA, such experiments got an ideological momentum

and these efforts were streamlined by providing a desired platform for arts

and artists from all arenas of life.This practice had become one of the vital

parts of the cultural movement. They had an assigned task of involving the

downtrodden and making them aware about their oppression and

emphasized on class struggle and penetrated into their work. Thus, mere

enfolding ‘folk’ forms did not transform these songs into mass songs. It

was the contexts in which they were performed. Referring to the audience’s

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reaction to Paul Robeson’s songs; Bhupen Hazarika quoted Shirley

Graham to define mass songs, “They clapped! They shouted! They waved

their handkerchiefs, they stamped their feet! Again and again they shouted,

they would not let him stop” (Hazarika 2008: 244). Therefore, Bhupen

Hazarika felt that when masses participate with the content and form, a

song becomes a mass song (ibid). Once he remarked, “The kind of songs

that I wrote during 1940 or 1945 may not resemble the songs that I wrote

in 1994. Some songs were written to help the contemporary conflicts.”

(ibid: 1285). Songs and situations complimented each other. Because, “it is

not mere art divorced from society and its institutions. Performance

situations are always linked to societal situations” (Sen: 2004: 100).

The connoisseur artists of the IPTA explored the diversified field of

folklore in the plains and hills and propagated an art where form and

content is inseparable from each other. Along with other provincial

branches of India, the IPTA in Assam also brought to the limelight several

unrecognized genres which were suffering in ignominy as these were given

no heed by the then Assamese elites. That is why Hemanga Biswas

believed, “Our masses are on the move and new songs are being

born, revitalizing the traditional tunes with new contents of life. The

people’s composer shares the life of the people and gives expressions

to the emotions of the millions gripped by a new ideology of economic

and political emancipation. Our task is to collect, treasure and propagate

this” (Biswas 1967: 176).That was the only way to achieve the widest

possible contact with the masses and their daily toils and sufferings and

other experiences of real life opening up a massive opportunity for the

development of popular themes. Easily understood, acceptable to the

people, clear and realistic forms are popular forms. The content of those

songs are attuned to adequately express the thoughts and ideas of the folk

artists.

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4.5 A Case Study on Haradhan-Rangmon Kotha

In Assam, the folk and the modern culture live side-by-side, one

complimenting the other. Besides, the folk is an infinitely self-sustainable

area and can accommodate all changes from within and without. The

interaction between the folk and the modern cultures can be monitored with

reference to folk songs and music. They bear witness to the movement

launched by the IPTA and were effective in bringing about harmony

between communities. Composed combinely by Hemanga Biswas and

Bhupen Hazarika, Haradhan-Rangmon Kotha is the milestone to such an

attempt which still lingers on the minds of people who came in contact

with the IPTA in one way or the other. It touches upon the emotion of any

listener and arouses the humane feeling. People had even shed tears while

listening to it. Subha Prasad Nandi Mazumdar, a mass-singer and an

IPTA activist of Silchar while sharing his conviction as a cultural

activist said so. He also said that this song is a unique blending of two

different folk tunes, Bihu and Bhatiali composed in two languages,

Assamese and Bengali. This could be made possible due to the great hold

of Hemanga Biswas and Bhupen Hazarika over folk songs of both the

communities. Each verse was preceded by a speech to build up the

conversation. Therefore, it can be called a musical feature rather than a

song:

Ghoroto nobohe mon xomoniya- potharoto nobohe mon

Kohua tulabor jenekoi urise, tenekoi uribor mon

(My mind would rather wonder

Like water cress flower, not involved in the fields, my mate

Nor interested in household chore)”

But at the same time he does not forget Haradhan’s woe and tries to

raise his spirits with language of love in the tune of Bihu :

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Monore bononir senehor nijorar panike etupi piu

Porakoi bhetite tumi ghor bandha ami tongal tolaie diu

(Let me have a wee drop of water

From the spring of love in the minds woods

We’ll all help out with thatch and roof)

A sorrowful melody of goalpariya lokageet (folk song of the Goalpara

district) springs out from the painstricken Haradhan’s throat-

Abar bandhum ghor, abar gaimu gaan

Dukhe Jodi pasan gole; golbe ki poran

(I will build a house again where I’ll sing

If sorrow can melt stones, won’t it move the heart…?)

Victory of humanity echoed through Rangmon’s song:

Luitor saporit sakoie kandile- manuhor naokhon sai

Manuhor dukhote manuh buribo-anokson doxibor nai

(The brahmini duck wails in the sand bank of Luit

Man drowns on his own, there is no blaming others)

Haradhan sings this time with poise expressing his appreciation and at the

same time seeking an answer to his query which he is unable to find:

Padmar tufan udaiya nilo amar sukher ghor

Ujan theilya ailam ami Luitero chor,

Amar vanga naoe bondhu tumi dilai pal

Ami dhorlam boitha bondhu tumi dhorlai hal

Ei Milan gange anlo bolo ke biveder baan

Chor vangilo ghor vangilo dublo sonar dhan

Amaar dehe bristi sukai

Roktokolai suruj ghumai

Haler khuti uthite sobhai

Tobu keno upobasi

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Nij dese porobasi

Somonia bolona amai

(The banks are flooded, the houses wrecked

The golden crops are sunk

My body soaks the rain dry

The sun sleeps in my blood

The plough signs in my feast

Yet why do we starve?

Why am I a refugee in my own land?

Tell me O’ comrade…)

Rangmon replies expressing his solidarity :

Vaxa nubujiu juge juge ahe, manuhe manuhor pine

Moromor vaxare akhor naikia, bujibo khujile sine

Gangar saporir tolite dekhiba, Luitor poloxo ase

Tomar mor aiye kandile ekei sokupani mose

Tumie moie dexkhon gorhote, jodihe kesagham xore

Duiore ghamere milone dekhiba, buronji rosona kore

(Alien tongues, yet man meet man in love

No letters though but with love we follow

In the bed of the Ganges you’ll see silt of the Luit

When our mother cries the same tears they shed

When we toil with the sweat of our brow

We make history while the crops grow)

Both sing together in the tune of Bihu , Rangmon in Assamese and

Haradhon in Bengali :

Eneno dukh lage bandhoi, enenu dukh lage

Emon dukho lagere bondhu, emon dukho lage

Otit diner milon smriti, jokhon mone jage

Tumi chorale beez bondhu, ami katlam ali

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Ekei songe ghore anlam sonali rupsali

(It pains me so my friend, it pains me so (Rangmon)

It pains me so my friend, it pains me so (Haradhon)

When memories of yester years raise in my mind

You sowed the seeds I made the embankments

We brought home the golden treasure together

You dance to the tune of Bihu I keep the beat

bihu will merge in bhatiali in synchrony

We’ll rebuild our nation with heartful of love-rendition)

So, the tune of bihu mingles into bhatiali and vice-versa. Thus, the rift

between the two is bridged. This piece is a milestone of conscious use of

folk tune depicting a reality. It is a powerful blending of two folk tunes.

The merging of bihu and bhatiali towards the end is symbolic of

unity and togetherness of two peasants which itself forms a class.

Again his use of metaphor of the rivers the Ganges, the Padda (Padma) and

the Luit (Brahmaputra) tells the history of migration and socio-cultural

assimilation to form the Assamese composite culture. He asserts this unity

against all kinds of sectarian politics. The song tried to give a message-

united they will endure sufferings together and even fight it back with all

their might; but if divided, they will disintegrate and they must strive to

live together. Because, both Haradhan and Rangmon were representatives

of the same class i.e. the toiler class, irrespective of differences in language

or caste.