folk music in bengal

7/30/2019 Folk Music In bengal

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FOLK MUSIC OF BENGAL

S Sowmya

Folk traditions are the indices of the culture of any community or country. . Folk culture includes a vast range of art forms such asfolk music, dance, literature, tales, proverbs and theatre. Theunique feature of folk arts, as opposed to classical arts, is that itinvolved a more casual approach, in the sense that it wasn't performedfor professional considerations. The emphasis was on the feeling of

belonging in the community, unity and enjoyment. The music anddance were more instinctive than technical because they came fromthe heart than from the mind.

Folk songs, in general, can be lyrical and subjective. They, however, do not convey the psychological intricacies of the sophisticated elite. Nevertheless, they reveal the feelings andsentiments of the common people, their deprivation and struggles, anguish and bitterness,torments and anger in a simple and straightforward manner. The stanzaic form of a folk song isusually four to six lines. The first part moves in a refrain and the musical pattern of a folk songgenerally consists of verse repetition. This often maintains the pattern of tri-, tetra- and

pentatonic scales.

The folk literature and music of Bengal consist mainly of songs. There is a lot of discussion andmaterial on folk-literature, but the music is generally spoken less of. Excepting a few tunes inBengal folk music, most of the other items are monotonous. Tunes are generally limited to thenotes of half an octave, sometimes pentatonic or else confined to two to four notes only.

The impact of various religious thoughts produced folk cult of different types. The Vaishnavacult including keertan, has influenced many folk songs. There is also a remarkable influence of Sakta music, Ram prasadi, Agamani, etc. Islamic faith has also produced quite a member of songs in the villages of East Bengal. Baul is a special musical type which is a mixture of Vaishnavism and Sufism. The two Bengals (East and West) are regions where folk musiccomposition had multi forms, the ideas and patterns of tunes being mostly distributed andexchanged at different levels.

The other remarkable feature is the individual developments of Bhatiali, a type of folk music freefrom religious and sectarian bias. This particular type of music influenced the various groups of songs of the eastern and northern sectors of Bengal. The original musical melody of the riverinedistricts of the then East Bengal was spontaneous and melancholic in nature. Bhatiali slowlycaptured the hearts of the people and spread all over Bengal and even outside. Besides these,devotional songs of various religious sects, songs of folk parties, work-songs and narratives,ceremonial or seasonal community songs, dance and tribal songs are prevalent.


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The Folk songs of Bengal may be classified as being:

1. Emotional and Secular 2. Religious or Sectarian like Baul, Vaishnava, and Sakta

3. Occasional, ceremonial and occupational, like festival songs (Parvageeti), marriagesongs, etc.

The first type is solo and spontaneous in character. The second type, solo or chorus, grew out of religious cults, while the third one, a set of solo or chorus, is generally born of social impact. Thefirst two types of songs maintained distinct development in tune and rhythm. The third type is amedley of tunes. Most of the second and third types of songs are accompanied by percussioninstruments.

Musical Patterns in Bengal folk music

The musical structure of Bhatiali, Bhaoaia and Baul are classed as the standard music of the popular type. Songs have been collected and popularised, notations made available and tuneshave infiltrated in common music, film tunes and lyrical songs of the poet-composers.

Bhatiali is a standard folk music of urban type popularised greatly within half a century. Itssubject matter with specific themes, based on definite form of tune and mode of performance, isfamiliar to a section of composers and artistes of the urban areas. Bhatiali literally means a songof the boatman going down the stream. It is a music of the wide field where the singer just singsand where the presence of no listener is presumed. He starts at once with an exclamation of endearing poignancy, addressed to his love at a distance in the high pitch-note and graduallydescends over the seven notes until the tune stops at a point. A simple and plain voice with full

throated ease can create wonder in this type of song. Bhatiali is generally described as a sad tune.Originally it was not supposed to be accompanied on musical instruments. The use of Dotara, thestring instrument now played with strokes or strummings, making for a few combinations of notes for accompaniment to Bhatiali, Bhaoaia and other types of songs, is a stage in the evolutionof this music.

North Bengal (Rajsahi and Cooch-Behar) music, namely, Bhaoaia, is but a variety of Bhatialitune. Bhaoaia is sometimes called a song on Dotara. Both Bhatiali and Bhaoaia are free fromreligious bias. These songs depict longings and pathos of love and some other similar feature likethe relationships between a mother-in-law and sister-in-law and so on. Therefore, softness andgracefulness are some of the important features exposed in the tune.

One of the most colourful, rhythmic songs of the Bhatiali group is Sari, sung during boat-race inEast Bengal. The song is initiated by a leader standing in the midst of a party of boatmen pullingthe oar on the water with beats. Series of sounds in water with rhythmic strokes on the flanks of the boat in a quick tempo. They repeat the leaders loud song in chorus along with beats. Series


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of sounds in water and on the boat-side get mixed up with occasional yelling. The subject-matter of Sari is a down-to-the earth thing.

As regards the structure of Bhatiali tune, it may be explained in terms of two modes; firstly, it isin Bilawal That. This means the music starts from the note F (m) of the higher octave with

address or exclamination and gradually descends to the lower notes in a drawl. Secondly, thetune starts from the top C (Sa) and D (Re) and gradually descends over the notes of the middleoctave in a similar manner to the tonic C (Sa) and then it gradually goes down to the lower octave below tonic C and finally, touching B flat (n) the tune would stop at A (Da) of the lower octave. In the latter case the tune belongs to Khamaj That. For use of the notes below C (Sa) andfor some other characteristics the tune is considered to be Raga Jhinjhoti familiar in Bengal.Suresh Chandra Chakraborty refers to the latter as raga Kasauli-jhinjhit.

Thus, the tune on the medium and top octaves represent feature of composition of basic notes of Bilwal and appears to be a blending of ragas like Behag-Pahadi-Jhinjhoti etc. On the whole, itdoes not satisfy the condition of the structure of a raga. Therefore, Bhatiali maintains an

individuality of its own in tune pattern. The alankara-s (graces) include a few groups of trembling notes which look like Taans, may be these are in tune conformity with certain TappaTaans, spontaneously developed. Sources of these are not known. If the old run of the tune andits local peculiarities are examined, then it would be conceded that Bhatiali was not influenced

by Tappa or vice versa. A Geetkari, as used in most medieval music, is used in many types of songs as the only decorative element.

Bhatiali has extended its influence on all types of songs of East and North Bengal. Further, itsinfluence on the rhythmic-patterns of various music-types of those regions is manifest. Somerhythmic patterns and stray fragments of tunes are combined to build songs in full. Occasional

break in the voice and in syllables of words, pronounced with rhythmic break in tune, make these

songs colourful. Bhatiali was brought to the metropolis roughly by 1930s and some songs werecomposed in the same mould. Later Abbasuddin Ahmed, Sachin Deb Burman, GirinChakraborty and some other folk singers introduced Bhatiali - Bhaoaia tunes in popular music.After 1947 singers from East Bengal have stationed themselves in Calcutta. All sections of Bhatiali have been widely popularised through commercial records and radio. But personaltouch-up on the original tunes by artistes produces distortion in the form. Singers often lack thesense of the need to preserve original of local colour. This is no doubt harmful to the form of music.

Another form of folk music which influenced the general lyrical songs of Bengal was Baul. It isa sectarian type of composition arising out of a peculiar religious faith, which has its principalexpression in songs only. The Baul-lyrics attracted the poets of Bengal because of their simplicity of expression, use of common phrases and common imageries. The Baul sectsmaintain God or the Lord to be the husband of beings with whom one should unite and getsupreme satisfaction of revelation, the world and the life being unreal and deceptive. Theconception was mingled with Gurubad (master worship) at a later period. This means that thereshould be a master of Guru who would act as the medium between the Lord and devotee. The

poetic language used for this mystic faith sung in common rural tune in swinging rhythmic patterns. Some of the songs which address Guru have become popular for the mode of


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For comprehension of folk music of Bengal the different aspects of tunes to be noticed are themodels of some phrases simply formed by a combination of a few notes of almost similar natureas utilised partially in ragas like Bilawal, Behag, Khamaj, Behag-Khamaj, Jhinjhoti, Pahadi,Maund, Bhairavi, Piloo, Kafi, Kalingada, Bibhas, etc. We refer to these ragas for proper understanding of the nature of phrases. It should be remembered that these phrases, similar to

those of base parts of Bilawal group, upper part of Khamaj group and middle portions of Kafiand Kalingada groups, do not indicate the true character of the ragas in any way. It is not also of any use to connect musical forms of these folk songs with raga sangeet excepting somereferences to That-s or portions of ragas as appear in the songs. As folk song is plain andspontaneous, it is futile to discern in it an element of direct connection with ragas. Influences, if any, were sporadic.

A Prabhati-sangeet or a rural morning-hymn may represent a few phrases from the Bhairav Thator raga Kalingada performed in a monotonous manner, but such individual composition should

be considered as an item of sporadic type having nothing to do with the conception of these ragaframes. It might be that there was same influence of a raga somewhere in the past. Similar is the

case of raga Bibhas often referred to be in use in folk song. A raga does never take shape in afew fixed and monotonous patterns. As a raga delelops, it moves, it creats variations.Combinations of some group-notes do not make a raga. A folk singer is generally ignorant of raga forms. The name of the tunes goes by the type of the songs which represents a locality or asect or grup. So, for folk music, it is idle to established any relationship with raga music, as isoften done.

Musical instruments used in Bengali folk music

In most of these songs the use of percussion instrument has been a predominant feature and the

nature of these accompanying instruments differ in size, sound-production and nature of music.It is observed that tal and the rhythmic swing of different types produce a phase of musicalsatisfaction in rural people. The mode of the use percussion instruments is the most significantfeature of folk music.

The biggest drum, Dhak, one of the oldest instruments of Bengal is made of big wooden-shellhaving two parchment heads tightened by leather straps, and is hung on the shoulder slantinglywhen played. Its peculiar use in Bengal denoting the festivals of Saiva and Sakta type perhaps

justifies the tremendous volume of sound befitting such uproarious occasions. The instrument isthus as old as the Sakta festivals. Therefore, its loud play by two light and thin sticks on one sidehas developed a technical method imitating all possible Tals of quick tempo. When it is played,the accompanying strokes on a metal plate, known as Kangsya or Kansar, reinforces the Tal withan equal effect of a metallic pitch. Dhak is used in major Sakta or Saiva religious ceremonieseven today. In the olden days, the master-Dhak (Dhak player) used to be sumptuouslyremunerated during the worship of Goddess Durga. Dhak players would decorate the Dhak withfeatures and make swinging dance-like movements while playing. This percussion instrument ishardly used with vocal music excepting in cases of dance-cum-vocal recital like Gajan of Maldaand such other items.


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The Dhol happens to be the most important of the percussion instruments used in folk music aswell as the oldest of the useful percussion instruments of Bengal. Dhol has developed a brillianttechnique of its use in different types of items - loud or moderate. The wooden-shell or mediumtype has two parchment-heads as played by hand on the left side and by a small stick on theright. The two sides are tightened by leather straps and a heavy tope helps it to be hung around

the neck. Dhol is not a mere accompanying instrument of the music of the villages. It has beenwidely used with song and music of Panchali-parties and other narratives since the early days.Dhol was raised to the status of a skilled percussion instrument of technical type played with theKavi songs in the 18th and 19th centuries. Often Kansar (Kangsya) is seen to be used asaccompaniment for metallic rhythm of Tal. Connoisseurs of music used to take a fancy to expertDhol-playing in their parlors. It is a singularly prominent solo-playing instrument in the ruralareas and was accompanied to the rural imitation - Shehnai, mainly in marriage festivals of EastBengal.

Khol, widely used in a variety of folk songs, was originally borrowed from keertan. Bengals holsare clay-shells of cylindrical type, laced all around the body by leather straps, the head

parchment being pasted with heavy vellum of iron filling. Khol of Manipur is known as Poong.Its shell is made of wood. As we know, the metal instrument (plates) utilised mainly is Kartal or cymbal, though cymbals of different size and shape are also in use. It has been claimed that Kholis basically a non-folk percussion instrument though used in folk music and light music of today(see earlier Padavali keertan). In Tagore music and in some other modern devotional music, Kholis extensively utilised.

Khanjari is one of the handy instruments of high round wooden frame with jingle-plates attachedto the frame like miniature tambourine played by hand, popular all over India esecially withOriya and Hindi devotional folk songs and less utilised in Bengali folk songs.

Gopi Jantra or Ananda Lahri is a most peculiar instrument used for swinging rhythmic patternswith various vibrations produced by strokes on a string fixed on the parchment at the base. It produces vibrations and sound effects in drone by pressing of fingers on the bamboo body fixedon gourd shell. Similar is the instrument named as Khamak or Gubguba which does not containthe bamboo top, instead the string tied to a tuning peg on the upper end is held by hand thesTRing is plucked when strokes are produced on it. It gives similar resonating effect of rhythm.The two are most useful instruments of the Bauls.

Ektara, the one-stringed popular instrument of different size made of gourd-rind or wood withone side open-some-what fork shaped or Vina-type, produces a drone of the base-note in songs.

The Bauls of the western bank of the Hoogly river play Banya by one hand suggestively. Thisscene is considered to be of a relatively later origin. They tie it with the waist-line and dancesoftly for expression of rhythmical feeling contained in the songs, rhythm being on Banya.

With every percussion instrument, as already mentioned, use of cymbals of different sizes(named Kat-kartal, Jhanjhar, Kansar, Mandira, Gini) is a common practice for providingaccompaniment. On the whole, folk music (excepting the original Bhatiali and some indoor items and narratives) is incomplete without an accompaniment of instrument for Tal.


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In most places the tunes are even neglected because people are primarily interested in the zest of the rhythm. Thus the usage of accompanying string-instrument like Dotara and other types wasdevised in course of the development of the sense of melody. Dotara is made of a single woodwith a hollow that is covered by a skin (maybe, the skin of an iguana) and a bridge is placed onit, over which four strings run from the top-peg to the bottom. It is played with a plectrum at the

bottom and strummed on the extended-flat by the left-finger-tips. The quivering tonic note alongwith stroke on 3rd or 4th or 5th note is produced along with rhythmic-patterns. This instrumentmust have originated in the eastern part of East Bengal and and must have later been carried to

North Bengal.

Sarinda, the instrument facing extinction now, is an indigenous imitation of Sarangi-cum-Violinand is played with a bow made of horse-tail hair. It is a short sized instrument made of a singlewood, its belly being hollowed and covered partially by a skin. The three strings of Sarinda withthree notes, tied to the top-keys over the extended thin-flat upwards and placed on a bridgedown, are played at a high pitch.

As for wind instruments, bamboo flutes and wooden flutes are very commonly used by tribal andhill people. Accompaniment on flute to songs was a rare practice. It has now been taken up as amajor instrument for accompaniment with folk songs produced by experts as a piece of finishedmusic. Spectacular dance with music of Santals on flute and accompaniment to songs was

perhaps a later feature. Various types of Madal, the percussion instrument used by Santals andother tribes, have also been in use in some folk songs of West Bengal.

The influences of raga music from a distance had helped people ultimately to choose Sarinda,flutes, Dotara, Tabla and Banya for accompaniment. The atmosphere of folk music is primarily

produced by the various rhythmic expressions of particular type. So far as the rhythm patternsare concerned, Khemta, Dadra, Dothuki, Karfa, Thumri (rural type) and Lofa with different typesof swings constitute the most popular form of Tal. There are also combinations of bars composedof 5 and 7 beats (Jhamp tal and Jat) as used in keertan.

folk music in bengal

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