Maati kahe kumhaar ko,
tu kya rundhe mohe
Ek din aisa hoyega, main
rundhungi tohe
(Clay says to the potter, who are you to knead me? There will be one day when i will knead you)
Accompanied by the plinky sounds of a five-stringed Tambura and and the robust clanks of the Khadtaal, both played by him, singer Kaluram Bamaniya sets the mood for the evening reminding us all about our final destination. With many more timeless dohas and songs, Kaluram unravels the brilliance of the 15th century poet: Sant Kabir.
Apart from token references in mainstream Bollywood songs and films, Kabir does not find much mention in popular culture. Yet, though written some 600 years ago, his dohas and songs ring true in every century, especially now when group identities are encroaching on the ideas of peace and harmony.
“Kabir has a lot of significance in view of communal tensions prevalent in the country now. He had said that our source is one and our destination is one,” says Kaluram, and quotes these lines from Kabir:
Mandir todo, todo re masjid todo todo re, ismein nahi muzaka hai, Par dil mat todo kisi ka bande, ye ghar khas khuda ka hai
In these ancient lines which can be uncannily applied to the political situation today, Kabir says “Breaking down a temple or a mosque is not as big a sin as breaking someone’s heart. What is the use of mandir and masjid if we do not love each other?”
Sharing such wisdom with the audience, Kaluram’s powerful voice brings alive the ideas of a fearless, radical poet. He has the right timbre for the bhajans and dohas presented in the format of folk songs, and his group provides him ample support. Ram Prasad Parmar on harmonium, Devidas Bairagi on dholak, Sajjan Singh Parmar on nagnagaadi and Uttam Singh Bamaniya on the manjira work magic, and the audience can’t help but clap along.
Kaluram, who hails from a family of farmers at Malwa in Madhya Pradesh, belongs to a vibrant tradition of singing bhakti poets such as Kabir, Gorakhnath, Bananath and Meera. When he was 13 years old, he ran away from home and went to Rajasthan, where he absorbed a wide repertoire of songs from an itinerant Mirasi singer Ram Niwas Rao for a couple of years. For Kaluram, singing Kabir is not merely a profession. It’s a way of life.
“I learned whatever I could from my father and grandfather. Though I lost them at a very young age, I managed to learn a lot. It’s an oral tradition and I have memorised over 500 bhajans. I started at the age of nine years. I sing in Malwi dialect, which has influences of Gujarati and Rajasthani.”
Stating that Sant Kabir was a relentless social crusader, Kaluram says: “You get fearless by singing
Kabir. All his life, the saint poet fought against Brahminism, communalism and hypocrisy. He never used to mince his words. During the Mughal rule, he stood in front of a mosque and said —Kaankar paathar jori ke, masjid layi banai/ Ta chadhi mulla baag de, kya behra hua khudai? Even today, saying something like this will create a big uproar. Kabir was a fakir in the true sense. He was detached from everything. He had nothing to do with religion or riches. He had nothing to worry about, and was therefore bold.”
Talking about taking the tradition forward, the singer who was part of the Kabir Project, says: “We need the support of the government to keep these traditions alive. Right now, I am trying to form women singer groups, but they get married fast, or their husbands do not allow them to sing,” he rued.
The singer’s devotion to Kabir shines through when he says: “This tradition is something that cannot be imposed on anyone. Only people who are struck by the brilliance of Kabir’s words can take it forward. There were days when I used to work as a daily wager by the day and sing by the night. It was a very difficult period for me. But such was the hold of Kabir’s wisdom that I never quit singing.”
— Kakoli Mukherjee
kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com
@KakoliMukherje2