Garhwali Folk Literature-6

Bajuband poetry or Geet : The Initial Garhwali Folk Poetry/Songs
(This write up is dedicated to late Shri Mal Chand Ramola who collected and published more than 250 gaarhwali bajuband poetry)
Bhishma Kukreti

The folklores as Bajuband Geet in Garhwal are earlier than the alphabets would have started (Ramola, 1989). Ramola provides example of saying by Sinjwik that Bajuband folk songs are earliest for of Garhwali folk songs
“ ..These folklores are older than literature, older than alphabet .It is lore and belongs to the illiterate folks”.
Ramola says that these folk songs are there in Garhwal from the initiating point when the human beings started to live there in Garhwal .
Govind Chatak and Shiva Nand Nautiyal state that Bajuband Geet are equal to Nyaoli of Kumaun. Nautiyal (1981) positions that Dudo or teedu/teedo are another style of Bajuband Nritya Geet (Dance-Song).
Chatak, Nautiyal and Ramola agreed that these songs have been part and partial of Garhwali society. However, Nautiyal states that there is no more existence of dance, drama with these songs . Nauiyal and Chatak states that Bajuband but not Deedo/teedo are love-dance-songs are of Ravanee -Jaunsar-Jaunpur but Ramola proves that these are common songs of each Garhwali folks. This author also supports Ramola that even today, at one or more times a common Garhwal creates Bajuband poetry in his/her lifetime. The process of being poetic is nothing but to create Bajuband song or verse. It is natural to create poetic statement by all. Though, Ramola says that education becoming the medium of educated Garhwalis to ignore these initial Garhwali rhymes, however this writer feels that Garhwalis are not stopping to create newer types of Bajuband verses and these educated Garhwalis may not be using these verses as entertaining and communicating medium as used to be in older Garhwal.
No body will disagree with Ramola that there is musical experiencing in Bajuband songs . Ramola says that Bajuband songs are poetry by providing examples of Sanskrit experts
“ vakya rasatmak kavya”, which means that the sentence which provides delight is poetry and “ Ramaniyarth pratipadakah shabdah kavyam’ ad it means that when the meaning of words provide delight , the composition of words is poetry.
The Bajuband songs are truly expressions of emotions, perceptions, knowledge of the creator and the wordings for Bajuband verses originate from the heart and not by intellect.
Ramola says that we should put Bajuband Kavya in the category of Mukta Chhand or stray poems.
There are two stanzas in Bajuband (couplets in Hindi) poem but the first part does have any relation with the poetry except it provides the musical alliteration or the first part of Bajuband poem is used for rhyming for the poem. Second part is meaningful. That is why it is said:
Bajuband ka geet jan rambans ka teer
Dikhan man chhwata ghau karam man ganbheer
Means the last stanza of Bajuband is smaller but is full of meaning.
A few examples of Bajuband poems are as follows :
1- Dahi khaee makhyun- duniya khandi gichhan tu khandee ankh
2-Dathuda ki dhar-ankhi teri futi jaya najar ni mar
3-banduki ku gaj- galvadi ko til, mukhdi biraj
4-khandit kadhaee-onthano par onthani mili, dantuni na ladaee
By analyzing we may understand that the second part of Bajuband is effective .the last stanza has five to seven words and are enough to express the whole expression of communicator.
There are all types Bajuband poems in Garhwali that there are all types of raptures
i.e. love, wrath, humor, tragedy, abhorrence, chivalry, humour and surprise. However, the rapture of love is found more prominently.
Some example of other raptures in Bajuband song are:
1-Paliingo sag-- mankhi jauli maya hondi purush jaula bhag
2-Pani bharun dibul-nag dikhya taiku pakyun timul
3-Panch ar panch das--kha guaoko ras
4-ringali ki mani-bain ankhi farki sua aund jani
Shiva Nand Nautiyal provides an astounding knowledge that there used to wars between two or two groups through Bajuband or Duda Dance-Song.
The Bajuband poetry is our heritage and the sensitive Garhwalis should not only take care in preserving or protecting these poems but there should not be stoage in creation of these poems
References:
1-Ramola, Malchand, 1989, Bajuband-Kavya,
2-Nautiyal, Shiva nand, 1981, Garhwal ke Lok Nritya Geet,page-279
3-Chatak, Govind, Garhwal ke Lok Geet, page 132-135

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, Mumbai, 2009