The Woman and her Song in Himalayan Garhwal
Anjali Capila, Reader and Head of the Post-graduate Dept. of Community Resource Management and Extension at the Lady Irwin College New Delhi, teaches development communication. She has been a consultant to UNICEF on several projects. Here she presents a paper based on her doctoral thesis ‘Socio-Cultural Images of Women in the Folk Songs of Garhwal Himalayas U.P.’
In Garhwal, the phrase ‘mother nature’ is no mere cliche. Every individual sees nature as his/her mother, friend and inspiration and loves it as such. The trees, the rivers, the mountains are all inextricably bonded to the life of the people; every Garhwali participates in the changes of seasons – celebrating and laughing with the blooming of flowers in the spring, and crying with their withering in autumn. It is for this reason that in Garhwali folk songs one finds abundant references to the forests, rivers, mountains, birds and animals.
Women sing in praise of the natural beauty of Garhwal. The following song, sung by the women of Chamba, reflects an innate sense of pride in their land :
In our heavenly land of Uttarakhand !
Himalayan peaks are like the Brahmi Kamal
A symbol of spiritual and religious sanctity.
The Himalayan mountains laden with dense Deodar forests
The peaks of Badri and Kedar
The rivers Ganga and Jamuna,
And Gaumukh the source of river Ganga
Adorn our beautiful land
Simple people,
The abode of Sadhus
This land has been purified thus.
Pilgrims from various lands
Throng to the Himalayan shrines
The multi coloured flowers in the meadows
The snow on the high peaks
Shimmering like gold
With the sun’s rays
Make this land heavenly !
The fog creeps up the hill side
playing hide and seek with the Deodar trees
The monsoon rain covers the hillside with wild flowers
This Himalayan land is beautiful !
As beautiful as the Brahmi Kamal
The Lotus amongst lotuses.
The visual images created by this song get reaffirmed when one is sitting amongst the Deodar trees, looking at the Himalayan peaks covered with snow. How true each word in the song is; how completely representative of the natural environment of Garhwal :
|
We are Garhwali, This is our Garhwal These mountains are ours This is our land of birth Our home, our family Our lush green fields have abundant grain The sounds of our bangles The sound of the sickle cutting grain creates music, resounding in the hill side. This is Gandhiji’s beloved land He spun yarn on a Charkha, And gave us a Message for our lives. In an another song the woman lucidly describes the environment in which she grows and lives : The water is cool in the mountains, Do not go away to a strange land my lord ! The Gods abide in this land Do not go away to a strange land ! The fields are lush and green The Himalayan peaks high and covered with snow The forest is dense with tall Deodar trees The water is cool and clean My Lord do not go away to a strange land The above song not only describes the natural environment, but also makes a reference to the presence of the sacred and the intense longing of the woman for her husband. The following song describes the natural environment of Garhwal, with the socio-cultural practices prevalent in the society and their influence on the lives of the people, particularly women : My Garhwal has beautiful forests Groves of banana plantations And tall Deodar trees ‘Santelu’ Pradhan makes money In exchange for his daughters And gives ‘daan’ To attain salvation ! The beauty of the land serves as a canvas against which the image of the woman of Garhwal is painted. Nature is a close friend and comforting mother with whom troubles can be shared and the burden and hardships of everyday life alleviated. The folk songs of Garhwal highlight the link between two significant aspects of the woman’s life; relating her socio-cultural environment to the description of the land. In terms of the ecology of the Garhwal Himalayas, the following songs about trees reflect the close linkages between human and natural environment : The Rhododendron trees laden with flowers Decorate the mountains, Like jewels studded in a crown !
The ‘kafal’ fruit is ripe Come dear friend – Let us go to the forest To eat the fruit of the ‘kafal’ bush The leaves of the Oak tree have turned green There is water in the roots of the Oak Come, quench your thirst !
Pluck the Rhododendron flowers But do not break its branches Cut the dry branches of the Oak But do not cut it from roots ! Cut grass, but not the branches of the Deodar trees. Women have an inherent knowledge about the ecology of their region. Their lives are deeply linked with the forest. According to Dr. Veer Singh (Associate Professor in the Hill campus at Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal) “every woman in Garhwal is an eco-philosopher. She has implicit knowledge about the flora, cropping pattern and the vegetation of her region. For example, the Oak tree is known to contain water in the roots. In Manjyar village in Chamba block, the Oak forest had been protected by the combined efforts of women of three villages on the hillside. The rain water harvest tanks located here were filled with water, and women did not have to walk long distances to get water. Here one can see the relationship of the song and the actual life experiences of the women. The songs about trees reflect the women’s concern about their environment, new context is added to them all the time related to issues concerning their lives.” The following song speaks about the importance of growing more trees and caring for them : Dense forests look beautiful ! Grow more trees in the front yard and Backyard of your house and your fields The yield from crops will increase Grow garlic, onion, and cumin seeds
Our land Garhwal, is the land of Gods and Goddesses, Keep your land beautiful Grow more trees !
Trees give you fruit The sound of swaying branches Will fill you with joy ! Keep vigil around your trees
Garhwal, our land is Parvati’s birthplace From Lord Shiva’s hair roots Emerges the mighty Ganga ! Keep this sacred land beautiful Grow more trees. The last four lines reinforce the notion of the sacred, which permeates the very fabric of the life of the people of Garhwal. The message of growing more trees is beautifully linked to the sacred and to the natural environment. Since women go to the forest for fuel and fodder twice a day, these songs are created by them, for them : Dear sisters, do not cut trees If you cut trees, the soil, mud, earth will disappear No fields, nor houses will remain on the hillside.
Trees give us fodder for animals Keep our environment clean; the air pure Nurture and care for the trees Like your own children Look after them, raise them with care. There is a great sense of ecological preservation in the women. They understand the value of the forest and its relationship to their lives. These songs are sung by women when they are in the forest, or when they get together in groups at their Mahila Mandal meetings. Ecological awareness and preservation of the forest is not only a concern of the power elite who give a voice to these issues at seminars and conferences. It is very much a day to day concern of the women of Garhwal. They create songs to express these issues, and this simple form of communication has tremendous impact on the community : Do not cut trees Protect them ! Trees keep the mud intact on the hillside The mountains look beautiful with dense forests Even the seasons are dependent on trees The rivers Ganga and Yamuna are dependent, On the trees of the Himalayas. The life of animals is linked to trees Do not cut trees Protect them ! |
|
|
|
|
|
The following song describes the beauty of the wild berries growing in the forest. When women go to collect fodder and fuel-wood, they eat these berries and quench their thirst :
Your black skirt And your beautiful golden yellow blouse makes you look so beautiful dear ‘Hissar’ (berry) I cannot find words to describe your beauty. You quench the thirst of people by the juice of your fruit Other fruits and berries in the forest cannot match your beauty !
You beckon people to come near you, From far and near Dear Hissar you are indeed special I cannot find words to describe your beauty.
The relationship of the women of Garhwal with each and every bush in the forest is special. About four to five hours in a day are spent in the forest with friends. These songs are composed and sung by the women to express this relationship and a sense of oneness. A number of the songs cited above were recorded in the forest where women give voice to their concern. They asked me to accompany them to the forests of Buda Kedar. It was here that one experienced the silence, the ‘hum’ behind the words, the total communion of the woman with nature. The forest – trees, birds, flowers and animals are very much an integral part of her life. Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani whom I met at a meeting of NGOs in Chamba, remarked that women are the back-bone of Garhwal. Each folk song composed and sung by them reflects their knowledge, concern and relationship with the entire eco-system. He sang the following song which his mother had composed on the deep and intense relationship of the people of Garhwal with the trees and the forest :
Trees are my parents, trees are my God, Trees are my friends, trees are my children Trees are my body, Trees are my soul, Trees are the wealth of Garhwal !
Grow more trees and make this earth beautiful ! From the dust of my being/body, may trees grow Let humanity learn a lesson from trees They give food to the hungry Water to the thirsty Shelter to the tired and homeless Let us learn to be selfless, grow more trees And make the world a beautiful place.
|
|
[ Newsletter | List of Newsletter ]