It’s been a big week in India. As is their wont, the friendly people of Bihar have thrown a gauntlet down upon the political maidan, as evidenced by the state's assembly election results. One of India’s poorest states, Bihar has always been unpredictable and dismissive of the conventional wisdom. It has not only rejected the script prepared for it by outsiders, but written a new narrative for the political pundits to mull over.
A few days ago, in the midst of the Bihar-instigated shenanigans, as egg-faced analysts ducked and dived for cover, I received a suggestion from a regular reader of Sunday Sounds: hadn't the time come for a Bihari playlist? I was delighted and immediately embarked on my own sort of padyatra to this most unassuming, but thrilling of musical regions. And like the mantris in Delhi’s marbled assembly halls, I was surprised at nearly every turn by what I found in Bihar. But unlike them, I came away smiling.
Let me show you what I found.
Janata Party (Geet)
Jawahar Lal Yadav
Let’s start by getting politics out of the way immediately. The "Janata Party" has delivered a tight kick to the arrogant would-be-shahenshahs of the nation’s capital. Yes, this poor, corrupt state of supposed illiterates and migrant labourers has again leaped into the breach, and depending on your party loyalty, either saved the nation or messed things up mightily. Bharatiya Janata Party politicos please note: this is nothing personal. Biharis do this all the time.
They’ve been railing against bad governance since the time of Ashoka (a Bihari). In more recent times, it was from Champaran (in Bihar) that Gandhiji’s campaign against the British really took off. And of course, as this song reminds us, it was JP Narayan, a bhumiputra of Bihar, who stuck it to your enemies – the Gandhis and Congress – some time back. As Bob Dylan (a non-Bihari, though quite wise nonetheless) once said, "Everybody must get stoned".
Bhikhari Thakur
Hasi Hasi Panva (Bidesiya)
Bihar’s Bard, Bhikhari Thakur’s (1897-1971) reform-minded poetry, dramas, and social activism are appreciated. An illiterate barber’s son, Thakur was drawn to poetry and folk culture as a means of addressing what he considered to be the moral failings of late 19th/early 20th century Bihari society: alcoholism, child marriage, the dislocating and alienating clash with modernity, and the degraded position of women. He is credited with establishing the Bidesiya theatre form, which built on existing Bihari folk traditions and artistic sensibilities as a platform to bring to life the dilemmas his audience faced on a daily basis. This clip from the 1963 Bhojpuri film, Bidesiya, picturises a Thakur song that speaks movingly of the hardships of migration (of being a bideshi), the reality for so many Biharis for so long.
Daler Mehndi
Rajaan key Raja
The ancient soil of Bihar where Lord Rama ruled with grace and justice, upon which Gautam attained enlightenment, and which is home to millions of Muslims, also holds a precious connection with Sikhism. Patna is honoured as the birthplace of the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, and is considered one of the five Takhts (seats) of the Sikh faith. This is a rocking rendition of a shabad of Guru Gobind Singh, performed by the inimitable Daler Mehndi, a Patnavi.
Kiran Ahluwalia and Tinariwen
Mustt Mustt
Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia was born in Patna but grew up in Delhi. Here, with the wily and lithesome Malian desert blues band Tinariwen, she breathes new life into this grand old sufi standard. Sharp-eyed viewers can pick out her jazzy Pakistani-American guitarist husband, Rez Abbasi, helping the proceedings along as part of the congregation.
Pandit Ram Chatur Malick
Raga Vinod (dhrupad)
Ram Chatur Malick (1902-1990) was from a family of musicians who began serving in the court of the Maharaja diraja of Darbhanga of northern Bihar in the late 18th century. Though an accomplished khyal and thumri singer, Malick’s speciality and passion was the much more ancient Dhrupad.
A beloved companion of Raja Bahadur Bishweshwar Singh, who was also a musician, Malick frequently travelled internationally with the Maharaja in luxury and socialised with film stars and other luminaries. Malick counted Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Amir Khan of Indore among his friends.
In this wonderful clip, Malick gently unfolds the glorious Raga Vinod, credited as a creation of his father, Ranjit Ram. Ancient Dhrupad seems the perfect way to suggest that Bihar will remain a source of wonder and surprise for many generations yet to come.
A few days ago, in the midst of the Bihar-instigated shenanigans, as egg-faced analysts ducked and dived for cover, I received a suggestion from a regular reader of Sunday Sounds: hadn't the time come for a Bihari playlist? I was delighted and immediately embarked on my own sort of padyatra to this most unassuming, but thrilling of musical regions. And like the mantris in Delhi’s marbled assembly halls, I was surprised at nearly every turn by what I found in Bihar. But unlike them, I came away smiling.
Let me show you what I found.
Janata Party (Geet)
Jawahar Lal Yadav
Let’s start by getting politics out of the way immediately. The "Janata Party" has delivered a tight kick to the arrogant would-be-shahenshahs of the nation’s capital. Yes, this poor, corrupt state of supposed illiterates and migrant labourers has again leaped into the breach, and depending on your party loyalty, either saved the nation or messed things up mightily. Bharatiya Janata Party politicos please note: this is nothing personal. Biharis do this all the time.
They’ve been railing against bad governance since the time of Ashoka (a Bihari). In more recent times, it was from Champaran (in Bihar) that Gandhiji’s campaign against the British really took off. And of course, as this song reminds us, it was JP Narayan, a bhumiputra of Bihar, who stuck it to your enemies – the Gandhis and Congress – some time back. As Bob Dylan (a non-Bihari, though quite wise nonetheless) once said, "Everybody must get stoned".
Bhikhari Thakur
Hasi Hasi Panva (Bidesiya)
Bihar’s Bard, Bhikhari Thakur’s (1897-1971) reform-minded poetry, dramas, and social activism are appreciated. An illiterate barber’s son, Thakur was drawn to poetry and folk culture as a means of addressing what he considered to be the moral failings of late 19th/early 20th century Bihari society: alcoholism, child marriage, the dislocating and alienating clash with modernity, and the degraded position of women. He is credited with establishing the Bidesiya theatre form, which built on existing Bihari folk traditions and artistic sensibilities as a platform to bring to life the dilemmas his audience faced on a daily basis. This clip from the 1963 Bhojpuri film, Bidesiya, picturises a Thakur song that speaks movingly of the hardships of migration (of being a bideshi), the reality for so many Biharis for so long.
Daler Mehndi
Rajaan key Raja
The ancient soil of Bihar where Lord Rama ruled with grace and justice, upon which Gautam attained enlightenment, and which is home to millions of Muslims, also holds a precious connection with Sikhism. Patna is honoured as the birthplace of the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, and is considered one of the five Takhts (seats) of the Sikh faith. This is a rocking rendition of a shabad of Guru Gobind Singh, performed by the inimitable Daler Mehndi, a Patnavi.
Kiran Ahluwalia and Tinariwen
Mustt Mustt
Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia was born in Patna but grew up in Delhi. Here, with the wily and lithesome Malian desert blues band Tinariwen, she breathes new life into this grand old sufi standard. Sharp-eyed viewers can pick out her jazzy Pakistani-American guitarist husband, Rez Abbasi, helping the proceedings along as part of the congregation.
Pandit Ram Chatur Malick
Raga Vinod (dhrupad)
Ram Chatur Malick (1902-1990) was from a family of musicians who began serving in the court of the Maharaja diraja of Darbhanga of northern Bihar in the late 18th century. Though an accomplished khyal and thumri singer, Malick’s speciality and passion was the much more ancient Dhrupad.
A beloved companion of Raja Bahadur Bishweshwar Singh, who was also a musician, Malick frequently travelled internationally with the Maharaja in luxury and socialised with film stars and other luminaries. Malick counted Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Amir Khan of Indore among his friends.
In this wonderful clip, Malick gently unfolds the glorious Raga Vinod, credited as a creation of his father, Ranjit Ram. Ancient Dhrupad seems the perfect way to suggest that Bihar will remain a source of wonder and surprise for many generations yet to come.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!