ch apter-
A
COMPARATIVE
STUDY
v it
OF
THE
AND THE BHOJPURC BALLADS
ASSAMESE
ch apter
-
vrt
A COMP AR AT CVS STUDY OP THE ASSAMESE AND
THE BHOJP J R I
BALLADS
BALLADS
1
11 *
..........
■■■ ■
■
/
Ballad is an important genre of folk literature.
Originally the word 'ballad' derives from the Latin "ballare"
means dane*: .
so a ballad is often defined as a simple spiri-
1
ted poem in short stanzas narrating some popular story •
According to Kittredge it is
a song that tells a
story^ or to take the other point of view- a story told
song.
2
in
so it can be said that a ballad is a poem containing
story elements and it is sung to the accompaniment of musical
instruments and dance.
. Assamese Ballads t A Brief survey »
Ballad is a noteworthy branch of Assamese folk lite­
rature. The term ballad has no prototype in Assam. The
popular and accepted Assamese technical term to suggest
1
P. Goswami
2
Ibi d .,
: Folk Literature of As s a m , p.2l
most
the
263
meaning o f the English word 'ballad' is kahini g i t »
In
lower Assam the term like g it or gid is also used in lieu
o f the term ballad. Of course, the term gtlt or gld, may
suggest most folk songs including ballads.
4
Although late Benudhar Sarma used the word Baratl—
g it
to sign ify the meaning o f ballad,
5
nevertheless the
term could not enjoy popularity among the scholars« In upper
Assam the term Mgllta is used for the long ballad.
Mallta
garland.
The term
probably comes from the Sanskrit word Mala, i . e . ,
It is sung in a systematic way with a story . So
the term Maiita may be used in lie u o f the word ballad.
The Baramjhi, i * e ., twelve monthed which i s popular
in lower Assam also may be included in the category o f ballad.
Juna song found in upper Assam can be included in the ambit
o f Ballad. Paralled
to the Julia o f upper Assam i s Bhiaiura
songs o f lower Assam*they tmay be included In the periphery
o f Assamese ballad
3
4
5
6
P» Goswami : Ballads and Tales o f Assam, p.7
I b id ., p.9
B» Sarma s Dunarl, p.26
p. Goswami : O p-clt., p.9
264
From the above discussion It can be concluded that
certain folksongs known as git in Assam such as Manikowarar
git, Phulkowarar g l t ^etc.
as well as the Mailta, Juna and
Baramghl, which are till current in oral tradition can safely
be included in the category of the Assamese ballad.
Assamese folk literature is rich in ballad tradition.
A number of Assamese folk ballads have been published.
some of them are only fragmentary.
But
The Assamese ballads are
also recited to the accompaniment of musical instruments such
as cymbals, drums, tokacl, i.e., a gourd or wood instrument
with one or three strings which are plucked with the finger,
or d°tara
or two stringed musical instrument* in upper Assam
this genre of oral songs was sung by Barlgl, i.e., ministrel.
But in lower Assam the Ojapali or the drummers group have
still been playing the roles of ballad singer*
The Assamese ballads may be aptly classified into
the following classes, i»e .t
(1) Historical ballads,
(2) Magical ballads,
(3) Realistic ballads,
(4) Satirical ballads.
265
(5) Mythical ballads#
(6) Legendary ballads#
and
(?) Etiological ballads.
(1) Historical Ballads *
The ballads found on the real historical events In
which political events of local or national Importance are
narrated can generally be considered as historical ballad.
Assamese historical ballads are not found in a large
body, only the Barphukanar-git
is the fairly long ballad
and complete form of historical ballads. S.K. Bhuyan collec­
ted and edited the ballad very efficiently# which consists
of 819 lines. Naharar~qlt collected by L» Gogol seems to be
near complete. But the Arrangement of the ballad is defective. Jaymati kuwarlr-git collected by S.K. Bhuyan attd L.Gogol
seems to be incomplete. An Incomplete ballad is collected by
Chinta Ha:ran Kalita from a blind Bhakat on the peasant upri­
sing of RangLya. Dallpuranar git seems to be systematic and
is a complete form of historical ballad which narrates the
peasant uprising at patharughat# Darrang against the British
administration.
266
The period of the origin of the Assamese Historical
ballads cannot be pushed back earlier than late sixteenth
century* Among the historical ballads the oldest specimen
is the Naharar-git, The Jaymatl KUwarlr-git belongs to the
seventeenth century A*D.
The Barphukanar git originated in
the early part of the nineteenth century A*D*» apparently
soon after the devastation of the Assam valley by the Burmese.
Other historical ballads like —
Maniram
Dewanor-git, Bimun-.
.............. ... ....... .....« ... .
— .. ... a...
Puranar-git etc* are also the product of the second half of
the nineteenth century•
Naharar Malita i
From the Naharar malita some relevant stanzas which
have historical significance can be arranged briefly
. as
follows t
" crows cry on the house,
with one and two steps the Swargadew comes out,
saw Nahar through the hold of the wall —
What fish catches mail
Deep digged by Nahar
And constructed roadways —
.
.
267
tn the night Bargohaln is called
to consult as to what to do with Nahar,
After the brief discussion of night both planned
7
to stand Nahar to Nairdang—— — »"
The main idea regarding Nahar is regarded in the
first chronicle of Satsari Asam Buranjl goes thus. Nahar
Kowar, Nahar Rajkowar Chetia was adopted as prince during
the reign of Khora Raja and got the right of succession.
Nahar
constructed roads, digged ponds after his name. The
misdeed of Nahar and his adopted mother emb«rrasse4 the Borgohain, who told the king "The queen and Nahar destroyed the
Kingdom. Nahar built house at the cost of yours" . Sp the King
directed Borgohain to take action against Nahar. The
queen#
having heard the news sent men to save Nahar. But the attempt
ended in smoke and Nahar was already killed at the
instant
!
of Borgahain according to the previous plan, with
reference
to the context, the queen was reproached by Borgohain. in that
situation, she came back to the palace and felt very grief due
to the death
7
8
of Nahar.
3
Tua Kakati * The Assamese Historical Ballads,
(unpublished"M. Phil Dissertation, submitted to
Gauhati University), 1990, p»68
S.K. Bhuyan(ed.): The First Chronicle of Sgtsari Assam
Buran ji , p. 23
268
In this ballad, the King's suspicion as
to
relation of the queen with Nahar is expressed for
the
which
Nahar was killed. The two chronicles record the cause of
the killing of Nahar as his unexpected influence in
the
court affairs. However, both in the chronicles and in
the
ballad mentioned that Nahar constructed roads and ponds etc.
in his name.
In the Satsari Asam Buranjl
it was Borgohaln
who
sternly rebuked the queen, to go back to the Palace, when
she went running to save Nahar. But in the ballad Nahar
advised her to return to the palace leaving him to the lot
of her fate.
From the aforesaid discussion it is clear that Nahar
was a historical figure.
Jaymatl Kuwarir git *
A distinct idea regarding the life of Jaymati Kuwari
and her sorroful death at the hand of the state authority
can be made from the following specimen.
269
The daughter of Lechai Burhagohatn
Is my mother# very beautiful.
Linthepena Borgohain
is my father
Of Maduri v i l l a g e -- Godapani Konwar
brought me to tingkhang
celebrating the chaklong Marriage
Sidheswari Kunwari,
the daughter of the Lahar
is my kind hearted mother-in-law.
My father-in-law is the
Gobar king Swargadew
has no paralled to compare---!
*
*
9
*
'ciu'cried the kitetenderly ,
'caw *cried
the c r o w and
f l o w up
If one considered the tribul,at Lons of Jaymati
felt*like passing in to the unknown country/
in the forest cried/ the Haikalt bird,
looking at the face of trap.
Jaymati kuwari cried in the Jerenga field#
10
looking at the face of the chaudang.
9
Tua Kakati s Op-cit .
10.
Ibid ---------- ...
,
p» 69
PJ0
,
270
Thus Jaymati Kuwari is not only a historical figure
in the ballad but also is an Ldeal wife, responsible mother
and an affectionate daughter-in-law. Such a character is
reversed and respected by the Assamese genious. Hence the
Jaymati Kuwarir-git can represent the real Assamese senti­
ment for the proper understanding of historical situation
of that period can be analysed.
Barphukanar-git
t
Among the historical ballads Barphukanar git is most
noteworthy, involving historical personalities associated
with political events towards the end of the Ahom rule .This
ballad will help to analyse its historical significance and
to understand the aesthetic and literally quality of the non­
elite village poet to deal with a critical chapter of
Assam
i
history in simple and chast Assamese language.
The ballad begins with an invocation to the Goddess
Saraswati and Parvati with the apologia of the ministrel
then the story begins *
271
Badan Barphukan, the Governor of GUwahati,
daring
that period, had a great enmity with Purnananda Burhagohain,
the Prime Minister of Ahom dynasty.
"The Burhagohain looked all about him and found that
there was no enemy except the Barphukan in the west.11
So the Prime minister made an attempt to capture
Badan in order to punish him. Knowing about this conspiracy
Badan made off and brought the Burmese to take revenge upon
Burhagohain. The Prime minister killed himself by swallowing
a diamond to get rid
of that evil circumstances.
Then the Burmese invaders began to torture upon the
Assamese people. The royal mother caused the death of Badan.
The whole story is narrated in the ballad. Though we found
different versions with slight variations here and
there,
but the basic history is found almost same in all of them.
Badan Barphukan is criticised for his invitation
i
Burmese, which is an act like setting fire in one's
own
house. The Queen's mother is rebuked as notorious; Burhago­
hain is also criticised as devilish though praised in the
start of the ballad as an incarnation to establish
in the country.
11
p.Goswami s pp-cit °, p.20
order
272
Manlram pewanar qlt »
The ballad so far collected on Manlram Dewan only
the fragments^ From these fragments It can be assumed that
this was a complete form of ballad, which used to sing occa­
sionally In fragments like Blhu-songs etc.
The following fragment which can provide some impor­
tant information regarding this historic personality ' are
given below »
"How could they catch you Manlram,
How could they catch you ?
Jorhat on this side, Golaghat on that.
Through a letter dLd they catch you,
Secretly did they take you
Halroyd
sahib on the Tokallsl bank
Had you secretly hanged«"12
The fragment cited above are the spontaneous national out
brust of sorroful lamentation and heart
rendering national
mourning at the unjust!fication killing of a national leader.
A careful analysis of this fragment gives some useful infor­
mation regarding Manlram Dewan and fight against the British.
12 P- Corawninl.
I
O n l l n<l
m id
t.n l n
of
A ^n n in i
p -2 8
273
Therefore In the light of some established historical
works# the historical significance .fragment can be justified.
Manirram Baruah/ the son of Ramdutta was born in 1806
C
in the Duara Kakati family. He was an intellgent and
well
educated individual. Benudhar sarma wrote "Maniram was revolutionary sagacious and a master-minded politician•“
13
Ballads of recent origin :
There are some specimens of ballads of recent origin/
which sprang up in the national movement inspired by Mahatma
Gandhi in the first quarter of present century. In Assam/ the
movement was guided by Late Tarun Ram Phukan and Late
Chandra Bordoloi.
Nabin
Among this genre of ballads of historical
nature the Gandhir-git/
Lalbahadur Sastrlr-glt
worthy. In the Gandhir-glt
are note­
there are evidences of the histo­
rical elements regarding non-violence movement of the Indian
independence initiated by Gandhi, e.g .i
"In the garden of Tarun there is the Baru,n tree
with leaves of small stripe.
13
Sarma(ed) i Bonudhar Sarma RachanavalL/ Vol . t L‘
'
p.
204
,
274
tf you all want swaraj# O raij#
spin thread In wheel.
tn the garden Nabtn there Is Samidha tree
Having fence all around*
To get swaraj with heart and soul
give up contempt and violence ."*4
The bonfire of foreign cloth In the
yard
of Tarun
Ram Phukan inspired a song like this J
"Pit and muga and such foreign clothes
do not keep them in your boxes
hand them on to phookan# Wand them on to Nabln#
15
They're burning them in their yards."
(2)
Magical Ballads »
Ballads which are replite with magical or superna­
tural elements may be called magical or supernatural ballads.
There are a few ballads of this class# such as Manikowarargit# Phul-kowarar-glt# Jana-g'abharur-git# chikan-sariyaharglt and so on.
14
p. Goswami l Op-clt.# p. 31
15
Ibid.,
P, 3 i
275
The first two ballads Manikowar and Phulkowarar— .y — .....—
.
gits originally printed by Bhadra-sen Bora of Dibrugarh in
1903.
(1) Manikowarar-git and Phulkowarar-glt »
+
Among the popular ballads the most well known are
Manikowar-and Phulkowarar-gits° Both are closely related
and they appear to be two parts of the same story of
father and a son.
a
So it should be better to discuss both
the ballads together rather than separately*
i
The first ballad contains the story of the king,
Sankhadeva and his son Monikowar; the marriage between
Monikowar and Kachan Kumari and the vanishment of prince
at the hand of Water goddess.
The second ballad contains the curiosity of
the
prince Phulkowar regarding the acquaintance of his father ,
the travelling riding on the wooden-flying horse in the sky
and the marriage of the Phulkowar with DhanpastulaCPrincess)
tn the beginning of the ballad ManLkowar we have
*
seen that the king sankhadeva had no child. One day the
queen Mainavatl dreamt a dream that they could have a child
276
if they propitiated the water god.
The queen did accor­
dingly and she gave birth to a son named Manlkowar. Then
an astrologer was called in and he made a prophecy
t
"The shooting star flies in to the sky#
The ten directions are lighted up,
He has come for twelve years,
But would stay sixteen years,
Then the water-goddess would carry him off."
16
Manlkowar grew up and married Kachan Kumarl« After
the marriage, when he was sixteen years old, Jalkuwarl took
him away* The old king requisioned the expart fisherman
to
find out the prince. The fisherman found him sitting on
a
sofa. He sent some presents but he did not comeback.
ihe
>
ballad contains some beliefs, customs and magical incidents
which are difficult to prove scientifically.
Phulkowar, the hero in the second is Manikowar's
son. when he grew up he wanted to know about his
father.
This curiosity of his child threw the mother into a bitter
state of mind. Kachan Kumari expressed her reaction in the
following ways *
16
P. Goswami
i
opucit., pp.32-33
277
"The Devil the cursed, he left me here,
Ah orphan he made you,
At the embryo stage were you orphaned, phulkowar,
On what shall t bring you
I laid out the full market, only could,
17
not sell anything there."
Prince Phulkowar had a desire to go to the west. But
his mother, did no allow him to go. At last a flying hoKse was
constructed by the carpenter and he rode that horse and roamed
In the sky for many days. But as soon as he looked behind, the
flying horse came down to a Maiini‘a (Wreath maker) garden.Ihe
garden which had been dry for twelve years became alive and
dazzling with multi colours of flowers. The Maiini treated
him with kindness, fed him with care and started making some
wreaths for the princess, named Dhanpachtull# But one day an
wreath, which was sent by the prince through MaiIni made her
surprised as there were discovered some significant
engraved on the petals of the flowers »
"Why did you bloom, o lovely m adar
Why did your put out buds 1
17
Ibid., p. 35
letters
278
being neither for the guru nor for the Initiated
18
you but cover the ground belowThus the princess felt in love with Phulkowar and
she directed Dljai (Malinl) to send up the young prince.
Dijai found herself In a difficult situation. Because the
entire town was under the watch of Hajari Barua and that
not even birds could get into it- At last Phulkowar solved
the situation and met the princess by turning himself into
a bumble-bee. After few days he came to noticed to the king
and was caught and a decree passed for his execution. But
due to princess it could not be released and the
union
lovers
was regularized at a public ceremonyFrom the above statement It can be assumed that the
ballad contains magical and nysterious significance.
(ii) Jan&rSbharur-qit *
The ballad of Janagabharu is fairly a long ballad
containing 335 quatrains. It is primerily a guest tale where
an young hero goes out In guest of fortune and who after
18
P- Goswaml |ed.)» Ba'ra-Mahar-Tera-qit, p. 8 f
279
performing certain tasks secures a princess*
The summary of the ballad neither contains any reli­
gious fact nor any historical bias. It contains only some
beliefs# motifs, customs, myths etc. which are difficult
to prove scientifically. Besides there are some controveray
included in some particular events. Narrating the physical
beauty as well as the mental power of Jona, Kalidhan says
before his friend Goplchan*
"in the city of Garubang lives Jona,
None else is as handsome as she is
She has clapped nine hundred princes&in prison
Though a woman she enjoys a throne
What have you been doing a prince like you 7
19
But Gopichan's mother contradicted her son's opinion regar­
ding to Jona and says *
jona's hair is pointed like the tall of a house . -i
lizard# it is a sign of Sakhini ( an auspicious
type
of
woman), a s she walked she waggles her breasts; she is extremely ,
in auspicious, her feei> are shaped like the wooden sandal ,
19
P » Goswami ; Op-cit.,
P.
MQ
280
she Is elephant headed, she looks behind as she walk, she
takes one Pura of rice, these statements of Gopichan•s
mother signify the evil nature of a woman and a bad indi­
cation for future life according to Dak Puru^a.
Besides Gopichan's magical power, the transforma­
tion of obhiman's body, his succession on task and his task
to JonS to test her chastity speaking as follows »
<
If you are a woman of chastity
That test
give me
Cook on your knees and feed us with that rice.
Which does not grow on.any plant
Which is not husked under any dhenki
f 9 ,0
and which is not touched by the hand.
There are all some instances of folk beliefs, folk
motifs and some significances with supernatural incidents
and magical achievements from which it is more appropriate
to consider it as a ballad of magic.
(3) Realistic Ballad t
Ballads which reflect realistic attitude in regard
to human life and many other activities, even love occasio­
nally are called realistic ballads. These ballads are found
20
Ibid., p p .42-43
281
P a rticu la rly In lower Assam. Of the r e a l i s t i c b a lla d s Dubular S a n tlr -q lt and Saudar-git are noteworthy*.
DubUl a r -s a h t lr -g lt J
I
This ballad i s not com plete. The cen tral theme o f
the b a lla d Is In fa tu ation o f a young merchant fo r a v i r t t ous lady# named Dubaia «
Dubala I s a married woman. A young merchant f a l l s
In lo v e with her and he wants to marry h e r. The
merchant
sends a wreath-maker as a messenger to the la d y . But
the
chaste lady raises up the follow in g d i f f i c u l t demands only
to avoid !h im .
"Ftor her dog a cup o f rice # for her elephant
i
a banana! tree# fo r her two sons g o ld cymbals# fo r her fa th eri
in -law a g o ld stick# fo r her m other-in-law a sa ri o f 'f i r e *
silk # fo r her husband a garment o f white s ilk and fo r h ers e l f a g old n eck lace."
2l
The wreath maker goes back w ith her massage and thus
the b a lla d ends h ere.
21
P» Goswami s op u -cit. # p . 49
282
( 4)
Satirical Ballads s
Folk songs of the ballad type composed by the village
buffon known in Kamrup as bhaura or impersonator may be inclu­
ded as satirical type of ballads. These are generally sung by
the Bhawarlas a semi professional entertainers. Theysing some
songs such as BhulkaPar-qlt# Maluwar-qlt, Kalikalar-qlt
and
so on.
Bhulkapar-qlt t
Ningna Bhawar 11 a village buffon Nalbari# describes
certain incidents in the earthquake of 1897# which caused
heavy damages to the district of undivided Kamrup# Goalpara
and the Khisi and Jayantlya hills. Chanddubhl-bll# a natural
lake# originally was hilly place# caused the terrible earth­
quake of June 1897.
The ballad draws
a satirical picture of the confu­
sion created by the earthquake. The earth opens up in
cracks and water and sand come out. Paddy in the field
the
are
totally destroyed. Even the cooking pans start floating .
Things like spinning wheel and the gin are sallowed by the
earth
283
Maluwar-qjt *
Hie ballad of Maluwa or Maluwar-qit a popular song
In Kamrup. Maluwa ts common name for a monkey. The central
theme of the ballad ts a kind of expression of grief of a
monkey. The song does not have any story element. It is “
recited by the drummers
when they make a puppet monkey _ .
dance. According to S.C. Das '*lhe monkey is made to weep
remembering items of a Woman’s spinning and weaving esta*».
blishment, such as the spinning# wheel, the gin, the cotton
etc.
Parallel to Bhawra*soncjts there are some songs known
as Juna in upper Assam^ which are sung during the spring
season in Bihu festival by the Huchari singers. When they
go house to house for collection. Of the Junj songs Nahafar
Juna, and Jatarar juna are most popular in upper Assam.
Naharar-Juna *
The ballad of Naharar-Juna is comparatively short
and its tale is very simple. Young and inept Nahar
finds
nothing to eat at home and sets dut for trading with a load
of six score fowl. But when he comes back every body surprises
284
to see him that instead of a load of salt Nahar brings back
a load of clay* That would atleast enable one to leep
the
floor *
No doubt Nahar is a numskull. The ballad full
of
;sA.tirlaal elements*
Jatarar-git J
The ballad entitled Jatarar-git has a close relations
with such ballads as Kapahar-Juna and Pa ruwar -J una *The ballad
describes the attempts of an unexpart woman to spin aid weave.
The young woman purchases some cotton and after ginning
and
bleaching it she starts spinning. But due to her careless and
unactive manner all the things collected by her get
dammage.
Even a Mikir who comes for the woven cloth is scared away by
a glance at it. ihen the cloth is kept in a bamboo shelf from
where it is stolen by a rat.
(5)
Mythical Ballads
:
The ballad which is based on a myth may rightly be
called a mythical ballad.
It generally narrates the creation
of universe, gods, goddesses and no on. Aunamer.e ballads a «
285
not very significant in mythical ballads. Of the mythical
ballads the sna^e goddess Manasa-qTt or the ballad of Bl$a9
hacT> which is current among the non-elite folk of
lower
Assam is noteworthy. Similarly song associated with •
the-
origin of small pox-deity sitala may be regarded as mythical
ballad. Besides Haldahq-qlt current in the society of-
thfe
Sonowal Kacharies and the Srlsti-patanlr-qit, found preva­
lence among the Pati-Rabhas are worth mentioning.
Manasa-glt or the Ballad of Bigahari s
The central theme of the ballad glorifies the devine
power of snake goddess Manasl or Bi&ahari. Et is said
“
"”l—
'
that
<*
she was Siva's fanicifue daughter and was born out on
lotus in a tank, she was blessed by Lord Vishnu that
would be worshipped by gods, demons and men of the
a
she
three
worlds. A legendary merchant named Chando (chandradhar) of
Champak Nagar who was very afflucent and adament as well as
antagonistic to Manasa-puja
had to submit to the feet
of
Manasa» So ManasS compelled him to bow down before her
by
giving punishment in several ways.
286
Haldanq-qlt
t
Haldanq qTt; i.e., song o f the creation
universe found among the Sonowal Kacharies, may
be regarded as a mythical ballad.
It
' o f the
rightly
is sung in a ritua­
listic association with a view to compelling rain.
The
ballad is found in an Assamese patois and its logic appears
22
to the cdrious»
(6)
Legendary ballads
t
Legendary ballads generally moved around a legend.
A legend explains or extra ordinary phenomenon or remarkable
event, it may communicate traditional learning and knowledge
to the young generation. A legend may advice people how
act in critical situation and may warn them against
to
doing
the wrong things.
in the Assamese context Beula-Lakhlndarar-git,(i.e
ballad of Beuli-Lakhindar ). Radhika-Sintir-qit (1.e.,ballad
of RadhikS-santi). and Kamala -Kuwarlr-gi t (l.e., ballad
Kamala-Kuwari ) may be included into the ambit
dary ballads.
22
P. Goswami t Op-clt « ,
p.35
of
of
legeh-
287
Beula-Lakhlndarar-qlt *
t
(
The ballad of Beula-Lakhindar is most popular among
the legendary ballads of the Assamese folk literature. The
main thence of the ballad test Beula's Chastety and sanctity
as a 3at^
who by dint of her unstained pity and devotion
was able £° bring back a new lease of ILfe to her once dead
husband apd his six brothers.
Recording to the Assamese versdn.,
Lakhindar was
the youngest son of Chando, a very affluent and adament
merchant of Champak Nagar (Chhaygaon in Kamrup
district.)
who was a true 'Saiva' and antagonistic to* Manasa-ppuja» So
the Manasa felt offended and gave him punishment
times in yarious manners,
several
chando lost his six sons
and
all the merchandises
Ljgkhtndar married Beula, the only daughter
saheraja p f Ujani; i.e., upper land,
.
of
chando built 'Merghar'
very beautiful and protective house for the sake, of Lakhind a r . But according to the previous plan, Manasa tried
best to take revenge on chando and killed Lakhindar
Her
by
sending KSlihag into Merqhar on the first night of their
marriage Jlfe.
288
Beula sailed to pavaloka
along with the erope
of
Lakhindar by a raft made of banana plantains® By dint
of
her ohastety and sanctity
him
she could manage to bring
to life along with six brothers® The ballad is recited
in
the context of Mare-piija, which is current particularly in
lower Assam and also on any day round the year. The purpose
of observing the Mare-puja is to propitiate the snake Devi
M
a n a s a
®
Kamala Kuwarlr-glt t
Of the well known ballads, Kamala Kuwarlr-glt is
most popular. The ballad based on the motif of sacrificing
a queen to the water deity.
Kai'iala Kuwarl, the second wife of king Harichandra
was a beautiful lady. They had a son named chandradhar .
Ihe legends says that the people of king Harichandra's
kingdom had to suffer due to the dearth of water,
the
king dug a tank but it was surprise to him that \ there
was not a drop of water found in the pond.
He made many
animals sacrifice also. But all were gone invain®
One
night he dreamt a dream, in that dream the water deity
289
directed him to sacrifice his wife Kamala Kuwari. Finding
no other alternative the king had to obey the command
the water deity.
of
As she stepped into the tank,water began
to ooze. Then Kamala Kuwari cried out *
eK khargathl pant hal prabhu
tqlinia qhataloi jaQ
i,e., to lord of my heart, king
to my ankle is the water.
i.e.,
0 my lord; please lift up from the tank.
The king Replied
t
Kamala KuwarT more praneswari
uthl aha gharaloi jao
1.e ,0 lady of my heart Kamala-/
23
Let us go home.
Please come out from the tank.
Tims the ballad ends in the style of questions and
answers. The king puts questions and the queen gives the
answers till she is totally submerged by the rising
of water.
23
P « Goswami s
Op-ci t . ,p.24l
surge
290
(7 ) Etiological Ballads »
The ballads which narrats about the creation of
musical instruments such as tal, drum, rope (jute)
etc.,
and other objects which are necessary in the context of
different pujas are called etiological ballads.
( B)
Bhojpuri Ballads » a short Discussion »
Ballads are occupying an important place In the
domain of the Bhojpuri
folk literature- The term Oat ha or
Glt-katha is used in lieu of the word ballad in the entire
Bhojpur region. In Bhojpuri language the word Gatha
means
Katha that means a tale which is told in the verse form.
The word Gatha- which means a song or ballad, is of
pre-vedic origin. According to K.D. Jpadhyaya, the figveda
is considered to be the oldest book of the world, in which
we find the specimens of the earliest folk songs or ballad.
24
Further he adds "the Gathas which are mentioned in
the Vedlc literature may be regarded as the oldest representives of folk ballads- The word Gafchaln' meaning a singer is
24
K.D. Upadhyaya
'•
Studied in Indian Folklore, p.l
291
found In many hymns o f th e R qbed a.
25
A c c o r d in g to h i m tho G a t h a s
w hereas jjtqs
were d e v l n a .
w ere r e g a r d e d as h y m n
The man p la y e d an Im p orta n t r o l e
tn t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e G a t h is and t h e y were n e v e r
a s M a n t r a s . The l a u d a t o r y hymns sang i n th e p r a i s e o f
used
a
p a r t i c u l a r k in g o r h e r o i n a n c i e n t t i m e s were known as
G athas.
The Bhojpurl
folk l i t e r a t u r e
b a l l a d s w hich may be c l a s s i f i e d
Is rich In n a r r a t i v e
In to the
fo llo w in g g en res
1) H isto rica l b a lla d s ,
2 ) M agical b a l l a d s ,
3) R e a listic b a lla d s,
4) S a t ir ic a l b a lla d s ,
5 ) M y th ica l b a l l a d s ,
and
6 ) Legendary b a l l a d s *
(1 ) H is t o r ic a l b a lla d s
J
Hie b a l l a d w h ic h i s b a s ed on a h i s t o r i c a l
may be r e g a r d e d as h i s t o r i c a l b a l l a d ,
in cid e n t
in th e . h i s t o r i c a l
25
L •P « V l d y a r t h l ( e d . ) i E ssays In I n d ia n F o l k l o r e ;
In d ia n p u b l i c a t i o n F o l k l o r e s e r i e s , p.i5l
26
Ibid*,
p . 153
i
292
b a l l a d s o f B h o jp u r , th e h lr o t s m , m a n lin e s s c o u r a g e , d e t e r ­
m i n a t i o n and c h i v a l r y o f t h e h e r o a r e g l o r y f i e d . Some t i m e s
th e
h e r o I s found a s a r e s c u e r and s a v i o u r s o f a woman in
g r a v e d a n g e r . Some t i m e s t h e h e r o i s
w ag in g i n a war a g a i n s t
seen fig h tin g
and
i n j u s t i c e and e x p l o i t a t i o n s i n t h e
s o c i e t y o o f the h i s t o r i c a l b a l l a d s o f B h o jp u r i l i t e r a t u r e
AHha^-Kl- G a t h a and Vi j ay m al o r Kuwar v l 1 ay a r e m o s t s i g n i f i ­
cant •
A l l h a - k l- g a t t i a
i
One sp e cim e n o f t h e b a l l a d i s g i v e n b e lo w f o r
c ritic a l
b a lla d
a n a ly s is o f th e h is t o r i c a l
A llh a-k l-g ath a
sig n ific a n c e o f
J
k h at-k h a t- k h a t- k h a t te g a b a j a i
b a j a i c h h a p a k i c h h a p a k l t a l a w ar
g h ar-q h ar-q h ar-g h q r g o la ch h u tal
dh uw a-dfturi e k h a l a j
j h u k e s l p a h i mahuwa w ale
r a n me k a t h l n k a r e t a l a w i r .
bhage s ip a h i n a in a g a rh ke
a p a n e d a r l - d a r j h a t h l y ' a r . 27
27
K .D . Upadhyaya * Lok S a h l t y a K1 B h u m lk a , p «2 1 1
a
th e
293
The bid or batlle-axa mid thn tswordn made Khgt-khat
sound. Kaiinons went on roaring and the smoke and dust became
one together. The sound of Mahuwa almost bent for the sword
could nothing in the battle. The soldiers of Nairiagarh ran
away holding their weapons.
TP the battle of Nairiagarh, how the two brothers named
ALlha and Udal fought heroically against the most ; powerful
king of cjiauhan dynasty/ Prithviraj / for the sake of thel’r
mother land, it is evident in the quatrain cited above.
Vljaymal or Kuwar VIlav *
Of the historical ballads of Bhojpuri literature
Vijaymal or Kuwar Vi jay
is noteworthy. This is fairly a
long ballad, involving historical personalities associated
with the political movement of 1857. Like the Popularisation of
Ramavana in Northern CndLa, in Bhojpur region the ballad
Kuwar-vlJay is very very popular.
Chhap chhap qawaran ke kjti chalala#
ran bhumj rakata se patl chalala*
Jp jahe mil 11 a, to talic muwale;
gasan ke sari uparl chala
asahan Sena balidani le,
T - — "- ...........................* ...... *...................................................................
■
■
mad me mjtal tufanl le,
294
alia Kan mo gupu k3 age
jab kuwar stngh senant le
Kt>as~khas khanjar tasuwart chalala,
chanqin krlpan, katarl chalala.
Barchha, barchhl ka barkha me
_
bahi lal lahu ke dhar chalala0
2a
The soldiers were being cut and the battle field was
full of blood, one who mate at a place got kill there, leaving
the rest they dead and went to heaven.
The Invincible Boldiecs giving sacrifice of orders
move like a storm as
it
mad. when kuwar
Vi jay Singh
came with
the army the soldiers came infront of the enemy; khanjar,sword,
rapiers
all were used,spears^ small spears caused almost rain­
fall of red blood almost like a river.
From the quatrain cited above we can analyse the his­
torical significance of th© ballad Kuwar-VIjay Singh
as well
as the heroism and manliness character of the rebellious leader
of 1857, Kuwar-Vijay Singh.
28
ibid., p. 211
295
G g r i d I ij. r r Q I , i
Cn thLs context it may be mentioned that there are
some specimens of ballads, which sprang up in the
national
movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1st quater of the
present century. Most of the important national movements are
mentioned in the Bhojpuri folk songs. In the non..g o - p a ration
movement of 1920 Gandhi emphasised on the wearing the cloth#
is Product of own country instead of the foreign cloth
he advised the Indian people to spin by own spread in
and
all
over India the inhabitants of Bhojpur were inspired to follow
the instruction of Gandhi.
The most of women of Bhojpur thought
that the practice of spinning wheel is one of the weapon
by
which the country can be made free from the British rule* The
following lines reveal this fact.
ab ham k'atabl charkhg Plya matl jahu bidesawa
bam katabl charkha# charkha tuhu kat;
m m ,hi. ehal so surnjaw.n
Plya matl jahu bidesawa.
hoi haL suraj tobe sukh inilihai
katl jaih'ai sabke kalekhawa
desawa ke laj rohe charkha se
296
Q3ndh)
Kq m<jno Sanosawa
ka h t a ra h e Gandh Lj L _kl__aharkha Cjhutabhu^
0 I1 L se ha t l b o k a l o khawa»
----- O rny h u sb an d,
29
I s h a l l now s p i n the s p i n n i n g
whe ®l, so d o not go f o r e i g n c o u n t r y w h i l e
l shall
t o o so d o t h e same. T h i s way we s h a l l
independence.
When t h e r e w i l l
n e s s and s u f f e r i n g s o f
massage o f
get
spin,you
be In de p en d en ce we s h a l l g e t hlappi^people w il l
be a l l
over.
Th is
I s th e
;andhl t h a t t h e sp in n i n g wheel w i l l w r i t t e n
the
p r e s t i g e o f t h e c o u n t r y . GandhL s a i d t o use the s p i n n i n g
wheel w h ic h might remove th e s u f f e r i n g s o f th e p e o p l e
In
g e n e r a l • in t h e above song i t has b e e n s a i d t h a t t h e n e c e ­
s s i t y o f t h e s p i n n i n g wh ee l was v e r y I m p o r t a n t tn t h e c o n t e x t
o f fr e e d o m s t r u g g l e o f
was more I n f l u e n t i a l
d u r in g
that
I n d i a « The u t i l i t y
o f t h i s s o r t o f song
than t h a t o f s p e e c h o f the g r e a t
leader
period.
During the n a t i o n a l movement a f e e l i n g o f h a t e r e d
a r t s e d among the I n di an
people regarding
and I f any one put on t h e
to foreign c lo t h
f o r e i g n d r e s s e d he was condemned
f o r t h a t . Even t h i s p r i n c i p l e was a p p l i e d
In c a s e o f m a r r ia g e
and a g r e e m e n t o f wedding depend ed upon t h e wearing o f t h e hand
29
Ib id .,
p.
219
297
made dress by the bride,
desawa ke
alson kahawa qhar mllalat sudesiyj ho
30
dhani-dhanl dhly'a kar bhaqi h o .
--
All the persons of the wedding party dressed in
khadi, were never seen before* They have in their hands
the iflags of freedom movement and they raised slogans of
freedom for the country. Et ts a great fortune . ..of .the
daughter to get such a purely Endian family.
(2) Magical ballads *
Ballads whLeh are replate with mag Leal or superna­
tural elements may be called magical or super natural ballads.
Of the supernatural ballads of ahojpurl Sorthi~kl-q11 #
Bhar-
tharl-charit and the ballad of Goplchan are important.
Sorthi s
The summary of the ballad as follows, sorthi was the
only daughter of the king Dakha singh. But the astrologer was
able to know that sorthi was the possesor of some spiritual
30 Ibid., p- 215
298
q u a l i t i e s . He was a f r a i d o f th a t, h is power o f p r o f e s s io n
as an a s t r o l o g e r would be l e s s among th e p e o p le I f
S orth l
w i l l a l i v e in fu t u r e . He made a bad remark th a t th e g i r l
( S o r t h i ) was born in e v i l tim e w hich i s n o t good f o r
kin g and he d i r e c t e d tt> ta k e the g i r l
■
th e
t o th e Ganga and throw
her away *
S o r t h i was f l o a t e d i n t o the Ganga in a wooden b o x .
Ihe wooden box in th e p r o c e s s o f f l o a t i n g turned i n t o
g o ld e n box whLch a t t r a c t e d the a t t e n t io n o f Dhobi
m an). But he f a i l e d t o b a t c h
a
(W asher
the box and in form ed th e k a h a r ,
an In n o ce n t man who r e s u lt e d sorthL from the b o x , lo o k e d
a f t e r h er so on and s o fo r t h * W ithin a nLght a golden'i tem ple
was b u i l t by Biswakarma f o r s o r t h i on th e prayer o f I n d r a .
From the b e g in n in g t o the e n d , we fin d th a t th e
whole b a l l a d i s r e p le t e w ith so many su p e rn a tu ra l
in c id e n ts .
A specim en o f the b a lla d i s g iv e n b elow f o r ' t h e '
c r itic a l -
a n a ly s is o f th e s u p e rn a tu ra l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f th e b a l l a d .
S o rth i J
fc h o ll ke sondukhlya b h o l l i ch a k ila w a h o ,
Dui masa ke l a r k i ek s u t a li re k i
299
larki sutarlya rama kLrana ke jotta h o ,
kaka kahara godta lal lihaie re kl
sone ke bakasa kahara dhobia ke dlhala ho,
apane larkia like chalala re ki
sone ke bakasowa dhobi'a ghar lei qalle ho
31
aon^i kt«? bakaaowa kafchawa bhall'a co k l .
KakU Kahar after opening the sealed box (chest) was
surprised to find a fantastically beautiful two-month
old
girl in it* The girl was shining like sun with beauty
and
charm. He embraced the girl-child and took in his hand and
than gave away the box to the washerman* The washerman after
taking home the box found that it had turned into an wooden
box.
Bharthari Charit J
Love and sacrifice are main themes of the ballad
BhartharT-charlt. Besides a saintliness, worldly detachment
spiritual morality find expression through the character of
king Bharthari* The whole ballad is replete with so m any
supernatural and magical incidents from beginning to
31
M*D. shinghn Sorthl-Brljabhar, p*26
end.
300
The following quatrains are given below to show the super­
natural Incidents of the ballad Bhartharl-charlt
*
Muh kholl qarakha Nath djkhloya tin lok
marna jina laqa hal koyina metan har
M
— M l — I I M I — d K M M M — ■— M H M — I—
r —
I M P w W W M —S M — M m lM W M — M a H in M —f
tab to bole baba gprokha nafch
Bhartharl sun mert bat
jara to ankh ko band kar dona# toko du pahuchal »
debe panhuchal garh junua k o ,
arikh mude hal Bhartharl
Junuwa garh ko aye
tab sarthl wah kahne llqa, sun yogi rnerlbat,
arikh khol yogi dekhte hal junuwa" chahar to aj ,
qaur kia raja .Bhartharl manme kly'a bfcchar.
manko socha wah sarathl, inim.
32
qajo mnrd gnyab ho g.
-iyg, , jlnko do tnaitu //
-—
Than Sarathl and yogi Bharabharl moved towards
garh.Sarathl told him to listen to his
words ‘close
Junuwa
eyes a
blt't t shall bring you to your place. This way Bhartharl
closed his eyes and reached his place o He came to castle of
Junuwa® Then sarathl
'open
32
began to tell Yogi to listen his
words
your eyes BhartharT we have reached JunuwS garh'.When
Ibid., p.60
301
Bharthari open his eyes and found himself in that city of
Junuwa. Bharthari looked attentively and thought to award
Sarathi. But Sarathi who was to received the prize
dis­
appeared •
(3) Realistic Ballads »
This genre of ballads reflect realistic attitude in
regards to the human life and may other activities even love
occasionally* There
are few ballads of this type in Bhojpurt
literature. Such as Kusuma Devi/ Bhaqawatl Devi, Champa
and
ChamilL ki-gi t , Maina -ki-1atsari , Pyarl- sundarl* ka-biya
and
so on.
Kuamna Devi i
The ballad of Kusuma Devi Is a pure and chastened
ballad of realistic in Bhojpurt folk literature- in
this
ballad the chastity and nobility of character of Kusuma Devi
Is significantly and prominently found expression.
The chaste lady Kusuma tnsptte of tortures and
exploitations of Mirza sahab during the reign of
Mughals
302
in India# could save chastity# dignity an sanctity of charac­
ter and womanly \ virtues#
She disguises to meet Mirza and demands to return
her father's kingdom and so on* After fulfilment all
her
demands she sinks down in tank pretending to drink water •
Ihe following lines of the ballad stand as proof of
the
nobleness of character of Kusuma Devi »
Tanik dolia thamao Mtrlawa
Baba ke sag a raw a muhawa dhoyil'a ho n a .
Baba ke sagarawa sundar barhall Panlya
hamare sagarawa paniya" piyo ho nj
tohafa sagarawa Miraj a nlta uthi holhal#
Baba ke sagarawa- durlabha holhaL ho nj#
ek ghunt piyali# dosara ghunt piyali#
tlsre me aavl hal taral ho n a *
Royl royl Jalawa dalawal raja Mi raj a
more muh karikha lagabalu ho n a «
Sir pal pagarlya bandhi hansal Baba; Bhalya#
33
duro kol rakhew bahanl kusuma ho n a *//
O
Mirxa i
stop the Dola (carriage) for sometime «
So that I can wash my mouth in my father's tank. The water
33
D.p. Shingh
t
Bhojpuri Lok-Glt Me Karun Ras; p*543
303(a)
of the pond of my father is very fine and I would like to
drink. I shall drink water from your lake every day# no doubt.
But I would not get chance here after to drink water from the
tank of my father.
She took one drop and then second and in the third
her thirst was satisfied and sank down there. King . Mirza
threw his net to recover her corpse but he got only snails
and hyacinths.
Covering his mouth King Mlrza wept
that his mouth was blacken.
But Kusuma's father
brother with their turban of head laughed saying
maintains the prestige of both the families.
saying
and
her
that she
:
-
-
4. Satirical Balad *
There are some ballad type compofeition which
created by the village bu£-£ons.
This genre-songs may be con­
sidered as satirical ballads, ihe social evils and
sins
are
personal
are laughed at and derided persistently with profusion.
Sasoatahu ka Jhaqra# Kulata-ki-kala# Jharelawa-Jharaliya, fttc.
larel most? significant of this type of ballads in Bhojpur.
Sas-Patahu ka Jhaqra
t
Of the satirical ballads# SaS’Patahu ka Jhaqra is
most attractive in Bhojpuri literature.
bickerings between mother-in-law
and
The quarrels
and
daughter-ln- law #
daughter-in-law arid niece# between husband and wife# between
the two wives of one husband ere traditional happening
in
303(b)
Bhojpuri societye In this ballad the bickerings between
.mother-in-law and their
arguments have been very nicely
narrated.
Soon after the marriage when the daughter-in-law
exerts her full right and claim on the husband,naturally
the mother-in-law feels isolated and divested of the love
and affection of her dear son whom she has nurtured
and
for whose interest and welfare she has sacrificed her
blood*
The mother-in-law hold the daughter-irw-aw respon­
sible for the barrier created between her and the son.The
anger* sorrows* agonies of the motherly hearted of
the
mother-in-law, find expression through the following lines
of the ballad Sas-Patahu ka Jhagra :
gharawa ke sab ke tu changa par charihaL delu,
hamaro jamal apanbatu bapkatani
angl lagu jahu rama naiharawa me,
katana le jar ab sahi baEkatani/34
The mother-in-law tells daughter-in-law calling
her the killer of her father that she made all the members
of the house inimical«
Even her born son was made so* she
curses that her father house should be burnt to ashes* she
should have no rest.
As a protest and counter the following lines express
the daughter-in-iaw's n&ighty arrogant and violent reactions;
ham ara se balabu to thik riahi hot ab*
gharl jhonla ham nihuraibo belauwa
swamiji se layi jori ghar se nikall debt*
chirkixt lugari penhai re belau e a / < 2 4 ^
i
I' ' '
'
■i
' 11
........... ~ ~~l
'
'
' " ' ""
"
~
304
The d a u g h te r -in -la w says t h a t i f m o th e r -in -la w
spoke i n t h a t way i t w ou ld n o t good f o r h e r . She
drag
h e r by h o ld in g h e r h a i r .
w ou ld
By t e l l i n g my husband I
s h a ll g e t you turned o u t o f th e house
by f o r c e making
you pu t on r a g e s .
5)
Mythical Ballads '•
S it a la Mata K i - g i t *
Of th e m y th ica l b a lla d s S i t a l a mata
i s m ost p o p u la r
/
in B hojpur r e g io n . L ik e th e Assamese b a l l a d s AL o r S i t a la
the B h o jp u ri b a lla d s i t a l a mata
#
a l s o e x h i b i t s some t r a i t s
o f myth and i t d is p la y s b e l i e f s o f s i t a l a # i . e . # th e sm a ll
p o x . Perhaps no d is e a s e i s w orsh ip ped a s God o r G oddess e x a e p t
S i t a l a . When a c h i l d s u f f e r s
from sm all pox and s h r ie k s w ith
t e r r o r and p a in the m other in o r d e r t o r e l i e v e the son
/
pain# p r a y e r s t o th e s i t a l j - m a t a f p r c u r in g the d i s e a s e .
from
Ih e
B h ojp u ri g e n e r a lly do n o t use any m e d ic in e . I t i s common# when
the s i t a l a mata i s s a t i s f i e d and p le a s e d she au res th e p a t ie n t
o f the d i s e a s e , fb r t h i s th e m other o f th e c h i l d th in k s
t o be g u i l t y and s i n f u l .
Then she o f f e r s h e r p r a y e r s t o
Si ta la -m a t a t o fr e e h e r son o f p a in as f o l l o w s *
h e r s e lf
th e
305
nimjya kl dall malya laweli hilorowa ki jhull jhull,
malya g aw all git. kl jhull jhull,
jhulata jhulata malya ka lageli plyastya kl chall
bhai.Il
malahorLya abasa Re jagall e rojlinl
uthl ke mohl ke panlya plaw.
pan! plkar prasanna hul rriata aslrbad dell hai
dhlyawa jurasu trialIn apan sasurawa
M M M S M H B H lw H a M M I M I II M n n ia M M a M k a M ia M M ta M M a ia M M M M
Palohlya tor jurasu naiharawa#//
35
/
Goddess Sitala Is singing swinging on the wings hang­
ing on the branch of the Neem tree. While swinging she
song also# In course of singing she felt thirsty and
to the house of the Maiin. (Gardenerwife)«
sang
went
After going there
she asked the wife of the gardener If she was lying a
sleep
or awake. She should awake up and give her water to satisfy
her thirst.
When she becomes satisfied after taking
water
she blessed her "your daughter should satisfied and please
her father-in-law and the daughter-in-law should satisfy."
In Bhojpuri area specially the Maiin (Wreath maker)
are the great devotees of this Goddess and they are
35
K«D. Upadhyaya * Op-cit., p.201
invited
306
to the patient's house In order to chant the Goddess's name.
So that the
Goddess can be satisfied with a view to
curing
of the patient. Sltala iriata is very kind hearted to her devo­
tees. It is believed that a barren woman will be blessed with
a child, if she worships Sltala mata.
Following specimen
/
gives an insight into the mythical significance of the Sltala
mat a *
paniya bharata e maiya, chaniya mor khiy'ayll ho
are debeqhar 11pata e maiya, hathawa khlyayll ho
are tabahu na chhutela e maiya
—
36
banjhinlya kerl nayla h o ./
The lady earnestly states to the Goddess
Sltala
that her head has lost its hair, by carrying water for her
worship and her palms have got withered by constant visit
and darshans to the temple. Even then she is not blessedwlth a child and that blot of being a barren woman has not
been washed away.
36
K «D« Upadhyaya ’• Op-cit., p 2.01
307
(6)
Legendary Ballads J
Saranqa~-kl~qlt *
Of the legendary ballads Saranga- ki-qit Is most well
known in Bhojpuri literature. The central theme of the ballad
based on love. It is a legend that saranga originally
was
Rambha* the most beautiful fairy of the Kingdom of God Indra*
once she came alone to earth for a walk and felt in love with
Surjavan* the handsome son of King Lakhminarayan. By virtue
of her magical power she took him into heaven and secretly
made love with him. But one day acciddntly she was caught red
handed by indra and he became offend.
Indra cursed and doomed
them to Earth for taking birth seven times in different human
sexs = Also Indra cursed them that despite thetr seven births*
they would be able to satisfy and fulfil their sexual desires.
But after their seven birth* being purified and sinless they
would find place in heaven. The curse affected them and they
had to suffer for'‘seven bitths.
But there after both of them
get rebirth at the village Jagadishpur as saranga and sadabrikhya» After fulfilment of their worldly lust and desire
they returned to heaven.
308
The following lines describe how Sadabrikhya rouses
his beloved from sleep and joyfully tells her that their sin
and curse has been washed away and annihilated*
Jago nlnd se ho pyarj,
Pap sab gayala nassal bhi.
indra hi lokawa ho pyare,
Mrityu loka me kahe bharmgr j 1 .
Indrasan bas karahu
—
—
37
khopri garahlya ho pyare milahu nil pranji./
He tells the beloved to awake up from sleep for all
the sins are over. They are now fit for the indra loka. They
should not move about in this Mrtyu l o k a *
They should live
in Indra-loka leaving aside huts and humlets.
37
M.P. Shingh * Saranqa Ki-Git * p.lOS
( C } SIMILARITIES
THE
ASSAMESE
AMD
AND
D ISSIMILARITIES BETWEEN
THE
SHOJPURI
BALLADS
1) SIMILARITIES »
Since the ancient period of history there has been
a close relation between Assam and Bhojpur. The relation is
not only historical or political but also there is intimate
relation in folk culture and folk tradition particularly
the ballads of both the regions have important role which
bear similarities to some extent in the field of folk eul.
ture
and oral tradition*
1. Historical Ballads *
The historical ballads of Assam and Bhojpur gene­
rally Involved with the historical and political events of
the country. Among the Assamese historical ballads
Manifim
.vm
- i.
.^ i
iw r iii
•
Dewanar—git which is the most popular# bears a great simila­
rity to the Bhojpur! ballad Kuwar- VIjay Shlnqh*
Both
the
ballads are directly connected with the political events of
' 1857.
In the September of 1857 an uneasy feeling
was
marked in the first Assam light infantry stationed
at
310
Dtbrugarh. Some of the sepoy's of this battalion Joined in
a movement with the king o f Charing to send British d o m i ­
nation in Assam. The king was young and under the
control
of his officer Maniram Dewan, to the Assam tea company at
Jorhato Maniram DQwan was also influenced greatly by freedom
struggle of
Cndia» When the house of the king of Charing was
investigated, some treasonable letters from Maniram were
discovered,
as
a result,
Maniram was arrested at Calcutta
by the British police and he was convicted by the
De p u t y
Commissioner of the S i basagar district and executed on the
bank of the Tokolai, near Jorhat. The folk mind created
a
few songs depending on the tragic death o f Maniram Dewan*
The
following specimen is the spontaneous national
out burst of sorrowful, lamentation and ’ heart
rending
national mourning o f the unjustified killing of a national
leader«
You smoke a qolden hookah, 0 Maniram
You amoke on a silver hookah.
What treason d i d y o u commit to Royality,
That you got a rope around you r neck,
311
How could they catch you, 0 Maniram
Jorhat on this side, Golaghat on that
through a latter did they catch you
secretly did they arrest you, 0 Maniram.
Secretly did the catch you
Halroyd Sahib on the Ibkolal bank
had you secretly hanged.
30
Similarly, the ballad Kuwar-Vijay Shlnqh
Is a heroic
ballad of Bhojpuri, dealing with sepoy mutiny. The historical
incident of 1857 Kuwar Vijay shared as a leader
of
patriotic movement and fought bravely against the
this
British
administration. How powerfully, heroically and boldlY he fought,
the following specimens is given below from the ballad
VIJay Singh
as
Kuwar-
proof of his heroism, manliness and coura-
gious character of the .rebellious leader of 1857, Kuwar VjJjay
Singh•
Llkhl llkhl patlya ke bhejalan kuwar shlnqh
aw sun amarshinqh bhai ho ram
Chapara ke torowa dant se ho kite kl
Chhatari ke dharama nasal ho ram
babu kuwar shlng bhiai Amarshtnq
dono apane hal bhji ho ram.
38 Ibid., p. 28
312
Battya ke karan se babii kuwarshlnq
Flranql se rerh barh'ai ho ram.
Danapur se jab sajaloe ho kampu
Kohalabar me rahe chhal ho ram
lakh qola tuhu kal qoni ke ho marihaw
—
39
chhor barharawa ke raj ho ram./
Kuwar shlngh wrote a letter to his brother Apiar
Shlngh directing him to listen* Both Kuwar Shlngh and Amar
Shing are brothers* Because of words Babu Kuwar shlngh had
to quarrel with the El rang1 # When he arranged camp
Danlpur# he got dominence at Kahalbar o
from
Then he threatened
to use lakh of canets If the Raj of Barharawa was not left*
The women have . to suffer a lot of troubles in case
of safety of their chastety* Inspite of facing some evil
circumstances they never give up the ideal path and
the
devotion for their husbands. Even now and then# some women
donot hesitate to embrace the lamentable death#jumping into
the burning fire or
dowfaingt into water to get rid of
the
defame of their generation* we find such example in Bhojpurl
ballads in regard to ideal woman like Bhagawatr Devi# Kusuma
39
K.D. Upadhyaya » Lok Sahitya Ki Bhumtklf# p*210
313
Devi. The following specimen of the ballad Bhagawati Devi is
given below as proof of the sorrowful death of Bhagawati Devi.
Tanl ek darl'a chhapaw bhalya kahara
dekhl lal baba ke sagarawa ho na
dekhl lal bhalya ke phulbarla ho na
chalu-chalu Bhagawati hamjral desawa
nlta uthl sagara nahal ho n'a*
nita phulbarla dekhya ho na
tohore sagarawa nlta uthi nahawal
chhutala bate baba ke sagarawa ho ha
tohirl phulbariya ta nlta uthl dekhoba
phutala bate bhalya ke phulbjriya ho na
muhawi patuk deikg rowal mlrjawa
_
more budhl chhalai Bhagawati ho na ./
4o
O brother kah'ar, stop the carriage for sometime,
that I can see the sagar. the tank of my father, I can
so
see
then the flower garden of my brother also. 0 Goddess Bhagawati
come to my Palace where we shall have bath every day in the
tank. There we can see the flower garden every day*
40
H. Tiwari J Ganga Ghati Kl git, p»360
314
I shall take bath every day in your tank after
walking up. I have lost the tank of my father. I can
see
your flower garden every day but 1 can not see the garden
of my brother. She took one dip then the second, in
third one she went down the ground of the tank.
the
Mirza
seeing her mlshing started weeping, "It is beacuse of my
fault Bhagawati was gone*"
Of the historical ballads in Assamese the ballad
Jaymatl-Kuwartr*-qlt bears a similarity with the Bhojpuri
ballad Bhagawati Devi. Jaymatl, a noble and ideal woman
who was tied to a thorny tree in an open field, inhumanly
tortured for her refusal to divulge the where abouts
of
her husband, prince Godapini . Her chastety, nobility
and
i
sacrifice are comparable to the ideal character of Bhagawati
Devio Jaymatl and Bhagawati Devi are not only historical
figures, but they are revered and respected by the Assamese
and the Bhojpuri respectively.
(2) Magical Ballads *
Of the magical ballads in Assam Manlkuwar and
Phulkuwar are worthmentioning. Of course both these two
315
ballads may be called one ballad since both are structurally
and thfsmntlaally Xnterrolatod like tho ballad entitled Sorthl
which is current in Bhojpur region. Prom the very beginning
to the ending the ballad contains so many magical and super­
natural incidents which have similarities with that of Assamese.
in the ballad Manikuwarar-qlt
we
find
that king
Sankhadew had no child. One day the queen Mainamati dreamt a
dream that they could have child if they propitiate
JalkuwqrT, the water nympth.
The queen did accordingly and
she gave birth to a son named Phulkuwor*
was only sixteen years.
the
But prince’s life
According to astrologers *
He has come for twelve years
but would have sixteen years
then the water goddess would carry him off./
Similarly we find in the ballad of Sorthl
41
that the
king Dakha Singh had no child, by dint of meditation and wor­
shipping the god, the king became
*the father of a beautiful
girl, named sorthi» But the astrologer was able to know that
Sorthl was the possesor of some spiritual qualities* He was
41
P* Goswami
t
Op-clt*, p. 33
316
afraid that his popularity as an astrologer would lower
down among the people if Sorthi will be alive in
future»
He made a bad remark on her that the girl(Sorthi ) ,is born
in evil time which is not good for the king and advised to
float her into the river as follows
t
Lakhan dekhi raj pandit kahe hallya ho
larkl ke abagun batawale re k l ,
larki ke lalkar ganqa dahawala h o ,
tab tohar hoi kalyan nur K i ,
Byas
muni djhale upadesh nur k l ./ 42
Seeing all the symptoms the Raj-Pandit began to
describe the demerits of the girl. He directed to
take
the girl to the Gahga and throw her into it. Then
only
the king can have good fortune.
The parents floated her in the Ganga in a
wooden
box. The wooden box in the process of floating, turned into
a golden box, which attracted the attention of a Dhobi(Washer
man). But he failed to catch the box and informed the kahar,
who was able to rescue sorthi, Kahar made up his mind to bring
up her. As soon as Sorthi came Kahar's house all the utensils
42
M . P . Shingh * Sorthi Brlzabhjr, p.39
317
of kah which were kept for sale turned into gold. Even a
/
golden temple was built by Biswakarma within a night*
Similarly some miraculous incidents took place
at the last part of the Assamese ballad Phulkuwarar-git#
when the prince Phulkuwar rode on the flying horse and
roamed in the sky. But as soon as he looked behind
the
flying horse came down to a Mallni *s (Wreath-maker) garden.
Ihe garden which had been dry for twelve years gained a
new life and began to dazzling with multi coloured flowers.
From the above comparision we may say that the motifs
of
both the ballads more or less are similar.
(3) Realistic Ballads s
Of the realistic ballads in Assamese the ballad
__
Dublala santlr^qlt
Chamili Kl-qit
_
bears similarity with the ballad Champa-
and the ballad Lochiya»
Which are current
in Bhojpur region. The central themes of the Assamese
as
well as the Bhojpuri ballads are related to love affairs.
The motifs of the ballad pubala^s5ntir-git are given below-
318
Dubala is a marrie d woman but she is beautiful and
noble. A young merchant
falls in love w i t h her. The merchant
sends a wreath maker as emissary to the lady, but the ahaste
lady raises u p some d i f ficult demands that the merchant could
not face her again.
The motifs of the ballad champa-chamlli kl»glt
given b e l o w
are
*
Champalal a y oung boy o f a very rich family
ChamI 1 i , a beautiful and noble girl o f his neighbour.
day Champalal gives an ugly proposal to her. But she
loves
One
does
not agree to his proposal at all. in that situation Chamili
gives such a strong reply,
leave that place
for which proud
with a shameful
face,
a
Champalal has to
specimen o f
ballad Champa-chaml11 kl~g it is given b e l o w as proof
c^astety and nobility
t
Barha, bake tu j a w 5 n Rale* bhut ke saroan
bey Hicuat fir Jalka, yathlya ma
walse karab jo bat, khalbo juti aur lat
jai munh dekh Span, tani pania me
dekhl surat hamjr, kahe hola tohra jar
ma n batlya h a m a ^ , jah qhariya me_
the
of her
319
lebl H iat utar# kar man me btchar
ham nahl bhulbi, tohare jabaniya m e ./
l.e. -
43
You called yourself a very brave young man but you
are realy like a black-ghost. Be quick to return to your
castle# if you talk in this obscene and lustful manner you
will be treated with shoes and bitten with legs. Go# and see
your face in placed water# how handsome and attractive your
countenance is * Glancing at my physical charm# you
ravished and caught in a fit of fever of love.
my words# and go back at once from here#
were
Listen
Otherwise
prestige will be at stake. You must be certain that I
to
your
shall
never attracted towards your l,ustful youth.
Similarly we find in the ballad Lochiya that a prince
falls in love with Lochiya and he allures her with money
to
fulfil his sextual desires. But Lochiya refused to respond
to his temptation. Lochiya expresses unbounded love and devo­
tion to her husband and commends his virtues and reproaches
the prince for his vileful intentions* The following
of the ballad stand testimony to this truth.
43
K.D. Upadhyaya * Sahltya ka Adhyayan# p.106
lines
320
jo ham chall raja tohare golnawa re na
raja bore le sundar mor blahawa re n a <
jie ke marar-marar kare jutawa re n a >
je Ice eriya baran darapanawa re na»/ 44
She says to the prince that she will not accompany
him because her husband is far more handsome and attractive
thafi him. The sound of his foot-steps sweeter and the heel
of his feet is as smooth and clear as a mirror*
At this refusal and reproach, the prince get enraged,
infuriated and revengeful. To avenge upon Lochiya he sent a
Kutahi’ (cunning and notorious woman), and the said
woman
in the pretext of taking bat;h in the tank, brought Lochiya
to the spot. The prince forcibly abducted Lochiya forthwith
from near the tank and in the way the chastened! Lochiya on
the plea; of drinking water from the tank dug by her
father,
alighted from the palanquin and jumped into tank to save her
chasfcety and the dignity of the family.
.The extract brings home the fact that the heartfelt
and endearing love of noble Lochiya cannot be attained by
the power of wealth and position of a prince.
44
Ibid., p* 216
321
S a t i r i c a l B a lla d s J
S p e c ia ll y In lo w e r Assam some b a lla d typ e humourous
songs a r e composed in d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s by the a r t
l i k e O ja p a ir
and p h u liy a
by them in v a r io u s s o c i a l
and a r e fo r m a lly
form s
r e c ite d
fu n c t io n s o r some r e l i g i o u s
fe s ti­
v a ls . These ty p e o f so n g s may be I n c lu d e d i n th e am bit o f
s a t i r i c a l b a l l a d . These s o n g 's aim t o c r i t i c i s e manners and
c h a r a c t e r s o f the young b o y s o f th e modern s o c i e t y . O f t h e s e
b a lla d s # a b a lla d e n t i t l e d A ji - K a l l r -peka i s g iv e n b e lo w as
a specim en J
Sove b o le b h a i hat
k a th a bisam h a l
jParhat sung k a r i , l a r a ra sa t a l e q e l #
g y a n l-g u r u b a y o -b r ld h y a ekow ai nijmane#
aian # kanun g y iy in # b l g y ly jn n l j e
saba ja n e
l a j man p u rl k h a le # cinema# T .V . c h a l #
bapek-makar k a th a muthel nusune k a l e j l y a hawapal
h j t a t plndhe hat qh u rl# b h a r lt ma're ju t a
chakut l a g a l chachma# g a la t l o g a i p h lta ( t i e )
rang b l r a ngar kapur plndhi bapur u c h a l-p jc -hfi1 man.
k ar i b o no k a l o i bhay# b a p a r g a t h l r dhaQ.
322
kerep-kerep sabda kari# chigaret hupi jjl
qhjte bate subldha pale chhowall jokat
motar cycle scutarere bhan-bhanal ghure
- 45
chaharar charlalit tahal dlphure./
All said that the present society appears
to • be
problematic. The boys after study have gone to dog. They do
not respect the learned teachers and elderly persons. They
know all rules, regulations and traditions. But they have
no feeling of shame. They enjoy cinema# T.V. # Taxi and do
not obey their parents at all# because they are tauched by
the air of college. They put on some wrist watches and shoes#
spactacles and neck-ties. They put on clothes of different
colours and they are always in doubt. They have no
spend money of their fathers. They move making sound
fear to
with
shoes# smoking cigaratte They always tease girls whenever
i
they get a chance and always keep moving on cars# bi-cycles
and scooters and walk at cross road of the town.
The ballad entitled ~Ajl- Kallr- Deka
bears similarity
with the Bhojpuri ballad entitled Jharelawa-Jhareliya-Bahar.
45
Informant * N. Kalita (M.^60)# Village- Dhobargaon#
P.S. Chhavaaon# Kamrup# data collected on
15th August#1997# ,
323
In this ballad the fashionable youths have been termed as
Jharelawa and the young stylistic girls roaming about on
the pretext of taking college education have been designated
Jharellya♦
The following extract highlights how the so-called
urban youths of present age under the garb and facade
of
Western fashion ramble and wander.
sengupta dhoti# Kuruta, chillk ke chilal Ilya
enqllsh cat juta penhl lalla re jharelawa
lllara me tlka layl roukhowa me pin khayl
nart lekha mang karl lfeila re jharelawa.
telw'a phutel lawe bel'a wo ehamlltyi kl
hathawa qhari bandhi lela re Jharelawa
chalti darlya me angawa al thala chafe,
jaha taha rah puchhi lela re Jharelawa./
i.e.,
A
The fashinable college student called Jharelawa has
put on sen-gupta dhoti, silken kurta and English model shoes.
There after he Is seen putting an mark on the forehead, betel
in the mouth and partinq the hair like a lady. There is
the
scented oil of jeshmin in the hair and a wrist watch in hand*
46
Ibid., p.102
3 2 4
He Is seen moving on the road shaking his limbs asking the
way here and there =
(5 ) Laqendary B allads »
Bhojpurr ballads are not very significant in respect
of legendary ballads. Only the ballad which moves round the
theme of Bihula (Beula in Assamese) may be compared with the
ballad of Beuli-Lakhlndar, current in the Assamese language.
According to the Assamese verson of Beula-Lakhindar ballad#
_
Lakhindar was the youngest son of legendary merchant Chando#
/
who was a true saiva and antagonistic to the Goddess Manasa
or Bisahari. chando lost his six sons and all the merchandise.
f
Lakhindar married Beul'a# the daughter of Sahe_raja" or
Ujani#
i.e«# upper land. Manasa’ tried her best to take revenge
on
Chando and killed Lakhindar on the first night of their
marriage life. Beula sailed to Devaloka along with
the
corpse of l-akhindar -by a raft made of banana plantains.
Beula revived her husband by propitiating the God Siva and
later chando bent so far as to pay due respect to the snake
Goddess# Bisahari".
................. " W ......................“
..............
The motifs of the ballad given above are more
or
less similar to the motifs of Behula-Bisahari, which
is
current in Bhojpuri region.
Chandradhar (Chando), a well known merchant was a
true devotee of Siva-Mahadeo, but he was antagonistic to
the Bisahari
worship.
It was on account of this#
that
Chandradhar suffered throughout his life. All his sons were
killed by serpent bites. The youngest son, named Bala Lakhandar married Bihula, but Bisahari managed to send ^esnag to
bite Lakhandar on the fourth night of their marriage.Lakhandar was bitten by serpent. Bihula made successful
efforts
to make her husband alive again.
From the structural analysis of the motifs of both
the ballads, it would not be irrelevent to say that
the
I
ballad Beula-Lakhlndar, current particularly in the lower
Assam might have migrated from the North-Eastern part
India. Now the ballad takes the written form,
of
of course
oral tradition of the ballad is still alive in the mouths
of traditional singers of Assam
326
(6)
E t h i c a l ballads *
/
Of the mythical ballads in Assamese the 31tala or
/_
Ai
bears similarity with the Bhojpuri ballad Sitala-mata»
c
In both the regions the pox deity Ai or Si tala niata is
supposed to be a manifestation of MahamayaPor Durga.
Pox is a dreaded disease. But no disease is worshipped as god or goddess except Sltala.
At
Like Assamese ballad
or Si tala the Bhojpuri Sltala-mata is also associated
with a myth. When a child suffers from pox and shrieks with
terror and pain, the mother in order to relieve the son from
pain offers prayers to the sttaia-mata instead of taking any
other medical treatment. When the Sitala-mata is satisfied
and pleased, she cures the patient of the disease. For this
the mother of the child thinks herself to be guilty and sin­
ful. she offers her prayer to Sitala mita to free her son of
pain and torture as follows *
Patuka pachart bhikhi magell balakawa ke mjl
hamara ke balakawa bhlkhl d l ,
more dujari meya,
hamara ke balakawa bhlkhldi
more manewa rakhanL meya
hamjra ke balakawl bhlkhldi./ 47
47
Ibid., p .202
327
i.e.#
The mother of the child begged that she should be
given a child in alms. She is her dear mother. So she should
spare her a child in alms. She has been always fulfilling
her wishes# no doubt. She should offer her a child
this
time.
When a child suffers such a disease like the Assamese
families the Bhojpuri families also have to fellow some spe­
cial customs and they have to avoid some kinds of food
and
things until the patient is cured completely. They are prohi­
bited to cut hair# to take bread# to use turmeric and oil
in
dal# to eat dry vegetables and to mended shoes etc.The Muslims
of both the regions are influenced by the Hindus with regard
to Sitala*
They also believe in the presence of such a devine
power. 48
Of the mythical ballads the ballad of Manas's is most
popular# particularly in lower Assam# which bears similarity
with the Blsaharf-git of Bhojpur region.
The Manasa-puja is
performed on the auspicious day of Nagpanchami falling
month of Sravan.
48
Ibid.# p.200
the
on the morning of Nagpahchami # the girls
328
just after leaving bed clean the whole house with cow-dung
and draw lines with the same. At the front or main door of
the house# they draw the pictures of two snakes with
dung.
cow-
In towns and cities where cow-dung is not available
they draw# snakes on paper and set it on the front door of
the house. There after in conformity with tradition# worship
is performed. By putting milk and friedrice in a pot#
they
kept in a lonely spot within the premises of the house for
the Snake Goddess Manasa. It is believed in the Bhojpuri
society that Manasa would come and accept their offer. The
purpose of the worship is to get one-self rid of the fear
of snake-biting# and if at all the snake-bites, the poison
will not affect them. Like all other parts of India# Nag .apanchamj
is celebrated with traditional# devotion land sin­
cerity# in the Bhojpur area and in the context of Manasa
the ballad of Bigaharl is sung by both the men and the women
folk.49
Similarly the Manasa-pija performed in the Nag —
pahchami day in lower Assam privately and publicly by
49
H. Tiwari s Op-cit. # p.105
the
329
t r i b e s and th e n o n - t r i b e s and th e son gs ( b a l l a d ) a s s o c i a t e d
w ith M an a sa-lore are sung by O ja p a ll t r o u p s .
ii)
D is s im ila r itie s J
i n s p i t e o f h a vin g so many s i m i l a r i t i e s among th e
Assamese b a lla d s and t h a t o f B h ojp u rl r e g i o n . We fi n d some
d i s s i m i l a r i t i e s among them in re g a rd s o f theme# c o n t e x t
,
m oti£ and s t r u c t u r e .
( 1 ) H i s t o r i c a l B a lla d s
t
The Assamese h i s t o r i c a l b a lla d s e x h i b i t th e f e e l i n g
o f tra g e d y o f the h e r o e s and h e r o in e s . The b a lla d s
e n title d
Jaym atl K u w a r lr -g t t , Manlram J 3 e w a n a r-g it, Chikan S a r lfrahar,,
qlt>» N a h a r a r -q lt , e t c . a re most s i g n i f i c a n t o f t h i s
ty p e.
S im ila r ly in the b a lla d o f B a rp h u k a n a r-q lt a s tr o n g c r i t i c i s m
o f Badan Barphukan i s n a r r a te d f o r h is inhuman d eed s and un­
p a t r i o t i c a t t i t u d e . But in th e B h o jp u rl h i s t o r i c a l b a l l a d s
h eroism , cou rageou s and c h iv a lr y o f th e h e r o are g l o r i f i e d .
Some tim es the h ero I s fou nd as a r e s c u e r and s a v io u r o f a
woman in a g ra v e s i t u a t i o n . Very o f t e n th e h e r o 's uncommon,
e x t r a - o r d i n a r y , m ir a c u lo u s and w o n d e rfu l s p i r i t , s t r e n g t h ,
,
330
skill and boldness are manifested
in this type of ballads*
The feelings of sorrow# excitement# worriness
the common people on behalf of the hero and heroine
manifested in the following verses
of
are
i
Jorhat on this side, golaghat on that
through a letter did they catch you#
secretly did they catch you# O Man!ram#
Secretly did they catch you#
Holroyd sahib on the Tbkolai bank
Had you secretly hanged.
50
Jaymatlr- Git »
In the forest cried the Naikuli (?) bird
looking at he face of trap*
Jaymati kuwGri
cried in the jerenga field
_
5i
looking at the face of chaudang (torturer).
On the other hand we find in the Bhojpuri historical
ballads s
Allha-Ki- Gatha *
dono fauja ke antar me# rahigayo tin paig roaldan#
khat-khat-tega blj an lago# -.jujhan lago anekan jowan#
50 P. Goswami j og-cit.# p.28
51 Ibid.# p.29
331
barhe sipjhl dono dal ke, sebke maru-maru l agl,
paidal amlri gaye paidal sang/ aow asbaran te asabar,
hawda ke sanga hawda mill goye, hathln arho d$nt se
dant
surhl lapata hjthl holqe, aow wahl chall rakta kl
d h a r . / 52
i.e.,
There .were three steps lying between two
armies
facing each other in the battle field. The war begin
and
swords struck the swords of others- Many soldiers from both
the sides started fighting, shouting to kill all the infantry
and cavalry. The soldiers fighting with the elephants fought
with their counter parts and even elephants fought ■ iWith
their teeth and strucking the teeth of other elephants •Some
of them were caught by the elephant's trunks. There was almost
a river of blood flowing.
(2) Magical Ballads i
Of the magical ballads of Bhojpuri folk literature
we have seen an out wordy sectarian in the ballad of Goplv
c&and
52
and Bhartharl-charlt, which are based on the strength
K.D. Upadhyaya * Op~cit., p. 221
332
of the moral character of saints Gopichand and king Bhartharl.
But we have not found this ascetic theme in Assamese Ballads*
Gopichand is an important character of the Assamese
ballad J a nag abharur-q11
and in the same way he is the central
r
*—*
«
n
figure of the Bhojpuri ballad entitled Gopichan ~ ki~> git .
According to Assamese ballad mentioned above Gopichan could
manage to marry Janagabharu, the central figure of the ballad
Janagabharur- gTt
by facLng various hardness*
on the contrary Gopichan of the said Bhojpuri ballad
was a king. He deserted his throne to become a disciple
Garakhanath.
of
His mother mainamati tried her best to dissuade
him from leaving the kingdom. But she could not succeed.
At
last Gopichan was blessed by mother and bade good bye him and
instructed him not to go to the kingdom of Gaur (Bengal).
When Gopichan expressed his desire to go to Bengal,
his mother explained the reasons of preventing him from going
there. His mother said i
aggam jiyio lalll pachham jayio lalla
lal; gaur Bangal mat jayio ji«
gaur bangal tere bahan basai hai
bat mere jahar khai maregi ji./
53
L. Prabhakar (et-al)
i
Dhuli Dhusarlt ManliT; p.412
333
My dear son i go to the east and the west but donot
go to Gaur, the kingdom of Bangal. Because there lives your
sister and seeing you she will die taking poison. But Gopichan was determined and he told his mother »
aggam dekha pachham dekha
mjta mor gaur bangal na dekhj r i .
art barah sow kanyi salaha sow rani
amma meri ek na marl hai rl bahan mere kalse maregl j i »/
54
X have seen the east and the west, mother, but I have
not seen gaur, the kingdom of Bangal. X have twelve hundred
„girls and sixteen hundred queens, but none has died.
Then
why should my sister die.
The above specimen may provide to that effect that
Bhojpuri GopLchan had sixteen hundred wives, but in
the
Assamese ballad Janagabharur-Glt as it is mentioned
that
Gopichand had nine Pon^i »e., seven hundred twenty wives.
Besides, Janagabharu the central figure of
Assamese ballad Janagabharur Git cannot be traced in
54
Ibid., p . 412
the
the
334
Bhojpurl ballad entitled GopTchan-ki-Git.
Thus we find so
many dissimilarities in respect of theme and motif.though
the predominance of magical elements are important features
of both the ballads.
(3)
Realistic Ballads
J
Although there is resemblance between the Assamese
Realistic ballad with that of Bhojpurl region In regards of
theme, there are some differences between them in the context
of theme and motif# The attraction
of
the
hero to a beauti­
ful lady is one of the significant aspects of both the ballads
but differences
are
also
palpable from Idealistic
point
of view.After analysing some of the Assamese realistic ballads
we find that there is a feeling of ideal love of a hero for
woman,
but the hero does not make any force upon the women
to win their heart. As for example we may point to the ballad
entitled Bubalar-5§ntlr-Git»
A young merchant falls in love
with Dubaia. a beautiful lady and he sends a wreath maker as
emissary to the lady,
in that context, the chaste lady Dubaia
raises some demands just only to avoid him. The demands
laid
by the virtuous lady Dubai a were not so hard for a merchant
335
to fulfil*
But he did not go against her
willingness.
On the other hand in the realistic ballads of Bhojpuri# such as Champa-chamili ki-qit# Lachla# Kusumi Devi #
and so forth, there is absence of the feeling of ideal love
of the leader towards women* we find the leader express his
lust and insincerity
for
women.
in the ballad Charopa-Chamlli ki-Glt# the leader
champalal# a young boy belongs to a well-to-do family propo­
ses
to marry a noble and ideal girl, named Chamili o In this
context# Chamily does not only refuse his proposal# but also
reproaches him in some strong arguments
t
Barha bake to Jawah# Kala bhut ke samah
beg mjrat fir jaike# garhlya m e *
Walsi
karaba jo bat# Khiibo jut& aur lat
jai muh dekh apon# tanL paniya m e *
labl fjjat utar# Kar man me bichar.
liara nahi bhulabj tohare jabanlyj m e */
i.e.#
55
You young man who is not better than a aweful ghost
in appearence# be quick# return to your castle* If you talk
with me like this I shall be compelled to slap you with shoes*
Go, and
55
see your face in the water, why you feel cold to see
K.Do Upadhyaya * Op-cit *# p*68
336
my beauty, listen to my word, go back your castle# Otherwise
your prestige will be destroyed. Think of it, that I am not
mad in love with your demoniac and dreadful physique.
Similarly we find in the ballad of LQchiya
Lochiya" is a poor but
that
very beautiful and noble women.
A
young prince wants to marry her and he wants to entice her
by showing the greed of wealth.
But his attempt ends
in
smoke for the strong refusal of LQchiya against the proposal
of the young prince. At last he made and evil plan and tried
to abduct her, but he could not succeed.
drinking water LQchiya'’jumped into a tank
On the plea
to
save
of
her
chastety.
(4)
Satirical
Ballads t
in respect of satirical ballads we find some diffe­
rences in regards of the motif between the Assamese ballad
Aii-Kalir-Deka
and
Jharellya-B'ahar,
the
Bhojpuri
ballad
Jharelawa
though they seem parallel in theme.
in the Assamese ballad the Ojapal1 artform indirectly
criticises
and condemns the modern luxurious things like T.V.,
337
Cinema v e h ic le s e t c .
According to the version o f the sin gers
o f the O jap ali artform these luxurious th in gs are harmful as
w ell as resp on sible fo r degradation o f our young g e n e ra tio n ,
on the oth er hand the b a lla d o f BhojpurT e n title d JharelawaJharellya-B ahar,
modern youth
d ir e c t ly deplores the fashionable
u lt r a ­
move randomly on the p lea o f taking C o lle g e
education and the modern g i r l s who d e f i l e s th e ir
modesty
and womanly v irtu es by wandering in market# fa ir s and oth er
p u b lic p la c e s .
000 ----