Kiradu: Another Khajuraho

 

In the ancient times as the legend has it that when King Daksha decided to conduct the great Brihaspati yagna{sacrifice}, he excluded his Shiva and Sati, his son in law and daughter respectively, from the ceremony, as Daksha hated Shiva. But his daughter,Sati, who loved him dearly, could not stay away and journeyed to his father’s place, thinking, “ my father will not be able to turn me away when he sees me.” Poor Sati did not comprehend the extent of hardhearted Dakshs’s anger. When the king saw his child, he spat out a stream of abuses about Shiva. The devoted wife, Sati was unable to tolerate the insult to her husband. An obedient daughter, she was equally unable to cross her own father. So, overpowered by grief, she immolated herself in the yagna fire itself before her father and other gods. Shiva, in his abode on mount Kailash, heard the sad tidings and flew into a mighty rage, swearing to take revenge upon an unrepentant Daksha for his injustice. Coming down to the earth, Shiva and his army of spirits marched to the site of the king’s yagna and decimated Dakshs’s army. Shiva beheaded the monarch and threw his head into the sacrificial fire. Then sorrowfully he picked up Sati’s body and wandered with it across the land for many years, aimless and disconsolate. Lord Vishnu finally took pity on this mighty go and decided to end his mourning. Using his powerful weapon, the Sudarshanchakra{discus}, he cut the corpse into many pieces. As the 51 parts of Sati’s body fell on the ground they turned into stone and sanctified the soil upon which they landed, creating 51 holy and potent Pitha-s or places across India. And thus it came to be, the ancient Vedic texts tell us, that Bharatvarsh{the Indian sub-continent} became a “ sacred land” with the holy mountain in the north and the Nav-kanyakas{nine maidens} or holy rivers like Ganga and Yamuna flowing through it. A land of seven Kshetra-s or regions of active power, the Saptpuri or seven ancient cities of Ayodhya, Mathura, maya(Hardwar), Kashi(Benaras) Knchi, avantika, and Dvaravati(Dwarka), where Moksha(salvation) can be attained. A country which, according to the epic, the Mahabharta, has thousands of tirtha-s (places of pilgrimage) where devotees can ford the river of life and reach the sublime shore beyond.

 

From its northernmost regions to the tip of its southern peninsula in Indian Ocean, India is filled with places of worship. It would be impossible to walk a mile here without coming upon a shrine, a temple of some sort or the other, be it a historic monument or simply a piece of stone symbolizing a village deity. Each is significant in its own way, commemorating the occasion of a god’s visit or deed of valor in the area or explaining its existence due to divine creation or patronage. Everyone wanted to be near god.

 

In the southwest of Rajasthan 220 km from Jodhpur and at about 35 km from Barmer lies one such place Kiradu, a not very much known destination. Kiradu, now a desolate and deserted place was once a prosperous temple township of Chalukya and Parmar dynasties in 10^th to 13^th centuries Ad. Here are five of the finest temples of that era. Parmar rulers as a representative of the Chalukyas ruled Kiradu, which was earlier known as Kiratkoop. Three stone edicts of that period, which are intact at the temple of Someshwar, tell us about these rulers. These contain details of the Parmar kings from Sindhuraj to Someshwar. It seems that Kiradu temples were built over a long period when these Parmar rulers ruled this place. In the Jain scriptures, Sakal Teerrth Srot and Nabhinandan Jinoddhar kiradu is also referred as a Jain center of religious importance. From available sources of history and scriptures it appears that Kiradu was a place where along with Shaiv, vaishnav the Jain religion also co-existed.

 

Though at present there are only five temples, it is said that at the beginning of this century there were about two dozen Hindu and Jain temples. This seems plausible from the ruins of other structures and a lot of raised sand Teelas with the structure of the base of the other temples.

 

The five dilapidated Hindu temples at Kiradu are representative of the western Indian style during the late Pratihara period. This style loosely termed as Nagara or metropolitan style refers to a large wide range of temples built over a large expanse of time and space across the trunk of the Indian sub-continent. In the history of northern Hindu architecture, the regions that stand out as excellent examples of Nagara style, are Rajasthan-Gujrat, Orissa and central India. The typical Kiradu temple has a squire sanctuary adjoining a small porch or columned mandapa, also known as “rang mandap” as it was used for religious and dance performances. The sanctuary walls raised high on a moulded basement are covered with niches for sculpture. Above rise the clustered elements of the curved tower or the Shikhara of the temple, which are covered with arch like motifs. Doorways and columns are generally richly carved; ceilings are fashioned as corbelled domes. Many of these features anticipate the Solanki style, which became prevalent in the region by the 12^th century; some of the temples even belong to this later phase.

 

The best-preserved temple of the cluster is the Someshwar temple. The basement reliefs of the sanctuary are of interest, especially the elephants, horses, courtly episodes and epic scenes; most of the wall panels are intact. Above rises a cluster of turrets that once formed the base of the central tower, now fallen. The mandap is an impressive structure with an octagonal arrangement of the central columns; only the beams and lowest courses of the corbelled dome are intact. The elaborately decorated columns, covered with miniature figures and ornamental motifs, resemble those of the better-preserved monuments of this style at Modhera and Khjuraho. The epic motifs carved on the walls are from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Also carved are the episodes of the life of the lord Krishna as Pootnabudh, Gberndhan Dharan etc. on a panel there is Punch Ganesh, five Ganeshas playing different musical instruments, also carved on a panel is the episode of Samudramanthan, the figures and bodyline of the characters are a fine example of the accuracy of humanform. The upper niches of the temple contain some of the finest female figures carved in various poses.

 

The four other temples of the Kiradu complex are of smaller size. These temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahmma are also decorated with carvings but the carvings are not as fine as the Someshwar temple.

 

The site definitely is in the need of conservation. The vagaries of weather and local neglect are fast taking over the health of this matchless heritage. Though the site is a protected monument yet a lot more is needed to be done. 

 

 

 

Anil Biswas The Magician of folk in Hindi Film Songs

 

बाबा अँगनवा खिलावे ललनवा
मैय्या बरोठे झुलावे पलनवा
ललना की मोरे बलाएँ दूर ,
तेरी गली में बरसे नूर अल्लाह तेरी गली में बरसे नूर .......

“भारतीय संगीत में शास्त्रीय संगीत की महान परम्परा को हमारे संगीत में मौजूद समृद्ध लोकसंगीत की परम्परा से ही महानता प्राप्त हुई है. लोकसंगीत की परम्परा से ही शास्त्रीय संगीत की परम्परा का जन्म हुआ है. और वह उस की बदौलत बनी रह पाई है. संगीत में शास्त्रीय परम्परा के प्रति निष्ठा में मैं किसी से पीछे नहीं हूँ, लेकिन भारतीय लोकसंगीत प्रेमियों के बीच मैं इस संगीत के प्रति अपनी निष्ठा में किसी से हरगिज़ पीछे नहीं रहना चाहूँगा. “
                                                                                                                                                (अनिल बिस्वास)
This is a portion of the paper on ‘भारतीय शास्त्रीय संगीत तथा लोकसंगीत की संपदा और फिल्मों में उसका उपयोग’ which Anil Biswas presented in the seminar organized by Sangeet Natak Academy in 1957. He read the paper in English which was translated in Hindi By Shamsher singh  and the above quoted portion is from this Hindi Translation.

In the same paper Anil Biswas  latter says that that India is a country of Temples and Fields . The music of Temples has its roots in classical while the music of fields which are more connected to the common man ( Janasaadhaaran ) always has the love for Loksangeet which has local idiom and flavor both.  And because in Indian films both Temples and fields, Cities and villages, are  part of the depiction and story line so the nature of our film music is such that these two streams of music classical and folk are there in plenty. Also we should understand this fact that the kind of films we made,  require both these genres of music.

And those who know and have listened and enjoyed Anil Da’s songs can very well see how true and faithful Anil Da remained to this belief and commitment   to the classical and folk traditions of Indian Music in his compositions.

Though he had a great flavor for  both classical and folk music in his songs but  his knowledge , command and approach to the folk music traditions of India is something unrivalled in HFM.

Here I would also like to mention another aspect of Indian Music which is constant interaction between folk and classical music from centuries. A folk bandish or a folk song when sung by the hardcore classical exponents can easily become a milestone in classical rendition. Also there is a whole genre of semi-classical songs which are replete with folk traditions and folk songs.

But despite that interaction Indian Folk Music and traditions and songs has their own personality when it comes to pure or as they say in folk language ( Khantee) folk with some distinct and easily identifiable features.  The rustic flavor, lyrics depicting the concerns, joys and sorrows of common man and woman of the land , the powerful  throw of singers voice , the rural and rustic imagery and the kind of limited number instruments used ,a Dholak or Dhol or Duf here and a set of Manjeera, khanjadee, khadtaal  there with Harmonium and Ravan Hattha thrown in many a times.  In folk songs one may also notice how certain word or a phrase will keep on recurring in form of a call or a (teep) in a buland voice from the group of singers piercing through the listeners and giving the song a distinct rustic and earthy  touch and feel .  Also various regions of India are replete with their own genres of folk traditions , be it Kirtan from Bengal , Hori,  Sohar, Jhoola Nautanki  from UP , Alha Udal from Bundelkhand , the list can go on and on and on...

What surprises me most about Anil Da’s folk songs is the kind of range he has in folk traditions of India. At one place He could easily use folk music of Punjab, U P , South, Bihar , Bengal in a single song seamlessly creating a classy folk melody (kachhi hai uamariya ….)   at the second place he could easily convert a folk genre song in to semi classical rendition by introducing the classical notes bereft of the rusticity and earthiness of the folk ( Ka sang khelun faag ree…..) and at the same time keeping the folk intentions of the lyrics intact not an ordinary task ! And for a man from Bengal to know and understanding about the ‘Paipatta ‘ singing which is practiced in a very limited part of UP and Rajasthan in Holi singing is nothing short of a wonder . Anil da introduced this ‘Paipatta’ singing in a sophisticated veiled way ,as in the original form it at times crosses the boundaries of decency, in his Holi song in Raahi , the composition of which can be a case study in folk music !

But Then if I go on discussing individual songs this post is going to become somewhat unmanageable so let me mention some of Anil Da’s songs with distinct features of folk and which are very dear to me as keep on listening these off and on …

As I have written here some time back that Anil Da composed one of the most authentic Sohar songs ,which is a distinct folk genre of UP BiharMP and Rajasthan , in HFM in Aurat 1940 ‘ Ghoonghar wale hain baal mere lala ke…’  celebrating the ’ Chhatee’ after the child birth. In the Muslim community of these areas also Sohar Songs were sung but the ‘Chhatee ‘ was not celebrated as in the case of Hindu Families.  In 1954 film Mhatma Kbeer AnilDa adopted a tradition tune from these areas used in Sohar, and Banna and Banni songs (sung in marriages ) and composed this beautiful Sohar song of Muslim Families  listen it enjoy the flair which Anil da has for the folk tradition of India as the lead song of this post.

In Aarzoo 1950 Anil Da not only composed but also sung a Nutanki  style song  ‘ Hamen maar chala ye khyaal ye gham na idhar ke rahe na udhar ke rahe….’ , not the instrumentation and the style in which the he sings the antara and visualize a Nautanki performance taking place before your eyes !

And then there is the Abhiman 1957 song  ‘ Palla dori palla…..’  set in Lavanee mode  and a mix of Nautanki style is kind of a fun song which has all those elements of a folk song , note the use and adayagee of the words ‘ ae samhaal’ and ‘ phirrr’ by Anil Da himself and you know how deeply he knew the finer and rustic nuances of folk music and how well he could put these in the use to give the somg an authentic folk personality !

And the epitome of Anil Da’s  command on the folk genre can be seen in the two Holi songs , one which he composed in Mahatma Kabeer  ‘ Holi hai be , siyavar Ramchandra ki jai …..’  I am yet to come across a Holi song in Toli style in rural India where the Toli of Holi Hulladbaazi and the delicate singing of holi by womenfolk of the villages is composed in better way than in this song. 

   होली है बे... :)

हे कद्दू काट मृदंग निम्बू काट मंजीरा
चहार ( चार) सुरैय्या मंगल गावे नाचे बालम मेरा :) :)
भर भर मारे पिचकारी मोहे बालमा होली  आयी रे ......

Holi is a festival which not only celebrated with color and love but also sung equally colorfully.  And various shades and colors of Holi or Faag singing outnumber the numbers of colors used in celebrating Holi.

The Radha -Krishna lore is a central motife of Holi and Faag singing and Hfm and Non Film arena  specially the non film , classical and light singing arena of Hloi singing is a separate universe altogether where Holi singing encompasses the realm of Romance and Spirituality with great musical beauty.

But Holi and Faag singing has a 'Hudadangi' motif also and this Hudadangi motif runs equally deep in Indian Holi singing.

In HFM though many or if I may say almost every MD has explored these genres of Holi singing and many of the songs are already here to enjoy. But the way Anil Biswas explored the Holi and Faag genre in HFM has its own special place. Though I wanted to share and explore some beauties from non film arena today but then decided to share and explore one of Anil Da's masterpiece compositions of Holi singing from Mahatma Kabeer a 1954 film. And it is not without reason that I chose this song from his many compositions on Holi songs.

This song is kind of a case study in Holi or Faag singing on the occasion of Hloi in small towns and kasba-s of India. This is typical Holi song where the Hudangi Toli of man's way of Holi singing and the gentle and romantic Holi singing and celebration by Women folk not only come together in a single song but in a seamless and most realistic manner too.

Listen the song and see the picture taking shape in your mind through music and lyrics where at the start of the song the listener can not only feel but can become the part of a Hudadangi Toli of Holi Rasiyas who are having fnu and teasing whosoever comes across, Not the collective call of 'Siyavar Ramchandra Ki Jay ...' this motif is used to silence the opposition and the kind of angry response by the teased person. And Just after this call a Holi Hudadangi saying to the teased person ' Hloi hai Be....' i.e why mind freind it is Holi and thereby making the teased person also a part of the Gang so the next moment this teased soul becomes the teaser for other victims.


And Then after having this Hudadangi Fun in the streets of the village this Toli reaches the residential Mohallla where the womenfolk of the village are singing on the Thaap of Dholak and dancing by taking gentle circles with the Rang And Gullal saying ' Bhar Bhar Maare Pichkaarii mora Baalmaa Holi Aayee Re..' and the gentle and romantic Play of Combined Holi is on with rang and Gulaal and Pichkaariis. And the intensity of the Rang from the pichkaari is so that one feels as if Saawan has come in the Faagun and it is raining the rang.

And the way Anil Da himselfe renders the funny and teasing part of the song is the proof oh his great command and knowledge of Indian Folk Music !

There are very few songs in HFM which so completely gives such a vivid picture of the celebration of the festival of Holi in its fine gentle romantic flavor  and at the same time in its truly rustic manner. It is one of finest combination of Romance and Rusticity of the Holi singing ...  !!


And finally the Holi song which Anil Da  composed in Jwaarbhaata 1944 ‘ sarara arara gao kabeer…..’ is kind of a song which only a maestro like Anil Da could have composed , the way he brings the ‘Alah Udal ‘ style of singing in the antara and then with the Harmonium and by repeating the words Chali ae cahli aji chali … returns to a Khantee UP and Bihari Holi is the kind of stuff of which melodious dreams are made of …. !!