Grief Sentiment in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater, Community Rituals and Traditional Plays

गढवाली लोक नाटकों में शोक भाव

Review of Characteristics of Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Rituals and Traditional Plays part -15

                                        Bhishma Kukreti

                  According to Natya Shastra, grief in drama or play is expressed by silent weeping, crying, deep breathing, stagnancy, insanity, delusion, death and like that.  

           Though, Garhwali folk creators especially women and Badi the professional class of Garhwal creating drams never read Bharat Natya Shastra but both (women and Badi class) were aware creating grief sentiment in folk plays or community rituals as Hantya.

                            Grief and Sadness

                     Garhwali women were well aware about grief and sad sentiments. There is sharp difference between weeping for a dead relative and weeping for a person is separated due to physical geography. In Garhwali weeping for a dead person is called ‘ह्यळि ‘‘Hyali’. In weeping for geographical separation or weeping in pain is just रुण or to weep.

                           A Prose Folk Drama ‘Sati’ showing Grief

               This author saw a folk drama played in the month of Song-Dance (Chait month) in his village Jaspur (Dhangu, Pauri Garhwal, and Uttarakhand) played by women.

                The drama was based on true story of one of our ten -twelve generation back Great grandmothers who choose to become Sati (woman willingly burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre).  Women took care that children did not watch this drama but I watched this drama hiding into a Bushad (grass heap).

   In the drama, when the woman sat on pyre and started burning, the drama performing women started weeping differently.

    When through dialogues, the women were showing that Sati is burning other women were making performance to show grief.

A woman (throwing her hands and legs on air)- he didi (elder sister ! why are you going to heaven at this young age?

Another drama performing woman weeping in ह्यळि Hyali tone-O ‘bwari’ (daughter in law) with whom I shall go to Jungal for grass?

Third drama performing female (crying in   lying on ground position) - Oh my beloved friend is leaving us.

Fourth woman (in insanity position) –oh oh I am also dying!

          Each woman participating in drama was performing actions suitable for grief and pathos.

               In my life, I never saw such pathos in any drama as I experienced grief in this folk drama played by my village women long back around 1962.

              Hantya Jagar: A Garhwali Folk Ritual/Folk Drama for calling the unsatisfied soul of ancestors 


‘Hantya’ means the unfulfilled desire of deceased one. Many times, the future teller speaks that there is ‘Hantya’ problem for the bad days of a family or families the family perform the ‘Hantya’ Ghadela ritual. The jagri (Ghadela performer) first sings the following songs before the stories of Hantya Jagar. In the initiating chants the Jagri calls the souls of deceased died by accidents or with unusual death. Jagri and his assistant play the Daunru and bronze plate.
हंत्या जागर का प्रथम भाग

मृत पितर अथवा पुरखों की लालसा को गढवाली-कुमाउनी में हंत्या कहते हैं

ओ ध्यान जागि जा
ओ ध्यान जागि जा
गाड का बग्यां को ध्यान जागि जा
ओ ध्यान जागि जा
भेळ का लमड्याञ को ध्यान जागि जा
ओ ध्यान जागि जा
डाळ का लमड्याञ को ध्यान जागि जा
फांस खैकि मरयाँ को ध्यान जगी जा
ओ ध्यान जागि जा
जंगळ मा बागक खयां को ध्यान जागि जा
ओ ध्यान जागि जा
घात प्रतिघात का मोर्याँ को ध्यान जागि जा
आतुर्दी मा मरयाँ को ध्यान जागि जा
भूत देवता परमेश्वर महाराज
हरि का हरिद्वार जाग -- धौळी देवप्रयाग जाग
जै रण का मोर्याँ तै रण का ध्यान जाग ..

After the above initiating chant the Jagri tells the Jgari /stories of Dashrath-Shravan Kumar, Mordhwaj or Abhimanyu.
In all the stories, the last stage of Jagar is of pathos rapture and creates a tragedy among the listeners and dancers

The following Jagar is played after the above song or when the Pauranik or epic story is finished .

रवाईं में हंत्या  जागर -भाग -2
भैया कलकी रौ तेरी हौंसिया उमर।
कैसू रयो भैया तू सौबकू प्यारो।
दुखी रौ दी मेरा भया बैठ्या छन तेरा सारा।
देख तेरी  इजा रौया निपूती इजा।
तेरी जोड़ी रौयो कनी सौजोड़ी।
तेरो कनू रौयो मयऴदू स्वभाव।
मरदी बगत त्वेन पाणि भी न पाये।
कनि गई होली बंठ्या तू बांकी स्वैण छोड़ी।
अकेली इजा को यकूलो लडीक।
बांकुरासे पराण तेरो डाऴयूं-डाऴयूं रै गे।
टोली छोड़ी गयी भैया सारा बाल बच्चा।
कनू गई प्यारो भैया इजा कू तू जायो।    

O Brother! You were young.

O Brother! All appreciated you and all loved you.

O Brother! All your relatives are sitting here.

O Brother, Watch! Your mother is sitting without son.

O Brother! You and your wife were marvelous pair.

O Brother! You were peace loving man.

O Brother! You did not get water while die.

O Brother! How did you leave you wife?

 O Brother! You were only one son of your mother.

O Brother! Your soul would be flying on trees.

O Brother! You left your family.

O Brother! You were lovely son of your mother.

 O Brother! You went at young age.

  The above example are sufficient to prove that folk dramatists were unaware about rules of classic drama but they were fully aware about creating targeted sentiment in the drama played by them.  

Copyright @ Bhishma Kukreti, bckukreti@gmail.com 9/10/2013

Review of Characteristics of Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Rituals and Traditional Plays part to be continued…

                    References

1-Bharat Natyam

2-Steve Tillis, 1999, Rethinking Folk Drama

3-Roger Abrahams, 1972, Folk Dramas in Folklore and Folklife 

4-Tekla Domotor , Folk drama as defined in Folklore and Theatrical Research

5-Kathyrn Hansen, 1991, Grounds for Play: The Nautanki Theater of North India

6-Devi Lal Samar, Lokdharmi Pradarshankari Kalayen 

7-Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas part 1-12

8-Dr Shiva Nand Nautiyal, Garhwal ke Loknritya geet

9-Jeremy Montagu, 2007, Origins and Development of Musical Instruments

10-Gayle Kassing, 2007, History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach

11- Bhishma Kukreti, 2013, Garhwali Lok Natkon ke Mukhya Tatva va Charitra, Shailvani, Kotdwara

12- Bhishma Kukreti, 2007, Garhwali lok swangun ma rasa r Bhav , Chithipatri

Xx

Notes on Grief Sentiments, Feeling/emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Pauri Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Dhangu Patti Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Chamoli Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Rudraprayag Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Tehri Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Uttarkashi Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Dehradun Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Haridwar Garhwal; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Garhwal, Himalaya; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Garhwal, North India ; Grief Sentiments ,Feeling/sorrow emotions, attitude in Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Theater/Community Rituals and Traditional Plays from Garhwal, Asia.