The Music of Hindostan c7: Chapter II. A Musical Diary (continued)

The Music of Hindostan c7

Language: English

Chapter II. A Musical Diary (continued)

c7.2

AT Allahabad I came across some Garhwālīs who had been got down from Mussouri in the Himālaya for the Exhibition as *riksha-wālās* because they would be in good training, and because they were cheerful and honest. They said they could not sing in the daytime because they were thinking about their work, so we had a very merry evening in a hot tent from nine o’clock to past midnight. There was great competition to sing into the phonograph and have their performance given back to them; but unfortunately only one phonogram has survived the railway journey. The subjects of their songs are given for what they are worth; I was able to get them only at fourth hand. The men sang in Bālī; this was translated by one of them into bad Hindostani, retranslated into good Hindostani by a bystander, and from that a version was given me by a (most patient) English boy of fourteen who spoke Hindostani like a native; his actual words are given here.

c7.3

Ex. 94.

c7.4

(He and she on opposite banks of a river). *She.* If God gave me wings I’d fly to you. *He.* If God made me into a bullet I’d reach you so. *She.* Are your father and mother well? *He.* How are all the village people, &c.

c7.5

Ex. 95.

c7.6

Make me the best instrument in the world. What will you give? I will give you four annas a day and as much *dāl* (maize) as you like.

c7.7

Ex. 96.

c7.8

A man had a daughter and sold her in marriage to an old man (aetat. 36) She protests:— ‘Why did you marry me to such an old man?’ An old woman says:—‘It was your fate; don’t be sad about it.’

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‘Still, I’m not happy. I’ll go away and get married to a young man.’—for she had many lovers.

c7.10

But they say—‘You have chosen an old, old man and now we won’t have you’.

c7.11

Tonic G.

c7.12

Ex. 97.

c7.13

(He). O give me those pret - ty eyes, And I’ll (She). And if I give you my pret - ty eyes, Oth - er (He). Then O let me bor - row them And (She). For six months you shall bor - row them; Pro - mise (He). What word is this of a bar - gain - ing! I will

c7.14

make you the gift in re - turn of my own, dear. lov - ers ’ll laugh and ’ll leave me a - lone, dear keep them safe till you need them a - gain, dear. tru - ly you’ll give me them back then a - gain, dear. keep your eyes and your heart and your soul, dear.

c7.15

Ex. 98.

c7.16

A Gurkha song. He deserts his sweetheart.

c7.17

Tonic B.

c7.18

Ex. 99.

c7.19

1. Mo-ther, send to the dho - bi to bring back my li - nen.
2. Nev-er mind where I’m go - ing if you’ll send to the dho - bi.
3. Oh I’m go - ing to get me a new wife, pret-ty Hi - ra.
4. Oh I’m wea - ry of Chhai - la as you know, lit-tle mo - ther.
5. For the love of your son, moth - er, my Hi - ra will leave him.
6. For five hun - dred ru - pees I can make good the de-ceiv - ing.
7. He shall cease from his griev - ing for I’ll dou - ble the ran - som.
8. Some new ear - rings of pearl and a long neck-lace of ru - by.

c7.20

Tonic G.

c7.22

1. O where will you go if I get back your li - nen?
2. You must say where you go be - fore I send to the dho - bi.
3. Lit - tle Chhai - la is yours and will you mar - ry an - o - ther?
4. But her hus - band ’ll kill you if you get pret-ty Hi - ra!
5. He will fol - low with fif - ty if you dare to de-ceive him.
6. For five hun - dred ru - pees he will not cease from his griev - ing.
7. And what gems will you get to a - dorn Hi - ra the hand-some?
8. You have said where you’re go - ing and I’ll send to the dho - bi.

c7.23

Ex. 100.

c7.24

A postman and his sweetheart. ‘Since we were at school we have loved each other. I have spent all my money on you; and didn’t you love some one else?’ ‘Up to now you haven’t married me!’ ‘I’m so busy all day; I’ve no time to speak to you.’ ‘If you loved me you’d find time; you’d leave all your work.’ ‘I’m being transferred to another village; I hope you’ll be well.’ ‘You’re going? I feel lonely.’ Tonic F.

c7.25

Ex. 101.

c7.26

Jāgalī wanted to go to a flour mill. Her uncles and brothers said, ‘Don’t go, else the police will catch you, and pinch you, and kiss you, &c.’ But she,—‘Never mind, I want to be caught, and pinched, and kissed, &c.’

c7.27

1st version. (1)

c7.28

Ex. 102.

c7.29

2nd version.

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(3)

c7.31

Called Jonu’s song: I could make no story out of the words. It was accompanied by a graceful two step, with a drag on the second. Phonogram.

c7.32

Ex. 103.

c7.33

1. Two pret-ty boys there were Un-der a gu-ru’s care.
2. One day the Ra-jah came, Asked of their house and name.
3. In days that are now no more They sojourned in Ab-bot-pur.
4. Their moth-er, Con-sī-la fair, To Das-rat their fa-ther bare.
5. The names of the chil-dren are Rā-ma and Laksh-ma-na.
6. Forth they were cast from home, Far in the woods to roam.
7. Mes-sen-gers came, but they Would not the word o-bey.
8. But when they grew to men Home they re-turned a-gain,
9. Marched to the Ra-jah’s throne, Slew him that sat there-on.
10. Now by high God’s de-cree, At their re-turn, I see.

c7.34

1-9. O God, hear me in Thy great kind-ness, All - see-ing God light-en my blind-ness. 10. Thou God hear-est me in Thy kind-ness, Thou God hast light-ened my blind-ness.

c7.35

Ex. 104.

c7.36

No words available.

c7.37

Ex. 105.

c7.38

Bachhi married Dēvali; but she only bore him a daughter; so he expelled the former, and exposed the latter.

c7.39

There was also a recitative song from Bhotan:

c7.40

Ex. 106.

c7.41

Ex. 106 (continued)

c7.42

The long note was of indefinite length—as long as the breath lasted.

c7.43

These Garhwālīs had come from the hills: I went next to Dehra Dūn, a few miles below Mussouri, and met with some more of the same tribe. Their songs follow below. Most of the words were, I was told, mere snatches of sentences, often in the wrong order, learnt by heart without understanding, interspersed with tags for the sake of the rhyme. The first half dozen were sung by a small boy. The intervals between the verses he occasionally filled up by a combined smack of the lips and clack of the tongue to represent the thud, or rather the squeeze (see Chap. IX) of the drum, which would at that place have a solo, in order to give the singer time to recover his breath. The other songs were given by men soli, or by women in chorus.

c7.44

*Tāra Padhāne.*

c7.45

Ex. 107.

c7.46

Ex. 107 (continued)

c7.47

*Sovkin Biwāri.*

c7.48

Ex. 108.

c7.49

Ex. 108 (continued)

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*Būji Dhānpuria.*

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Ex. 109.

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*Tānko.*

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Ex. 110.

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*Chhaila.*

c7.55

Ex. 111.

c7.56

Must you go, my Chhai-la, now, Leav-ing me a-lone, my Shall I live, my Chhai-la, say, Like a wa-ter-mill, my dar-ling! Tell me, Chhai-la, how I shall live when you are gone? dar-ling! Stand-ing all the day des-o-late up-on a hill?

c7.57

In this song two bars are taken as the unit, and the rhythm is 2 + 3 + 3 + 2; it would have been more correct to write it 10/8, but more difficult to read. No method of writing it will reproduce the charm of the original. (*Chhaila* = darling.)

c7.58

*Hyun Pārio Gād.*

c7.59

Ex. 112.

c7.60

*Ranwain Bāja.*

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Ex. 113.

c7.62

*Biglitār.*

c7.63

Ex. 114.

c7.64

In the moun-tains of Ne-pāl Lives a And on Sim-la's high hill Is the A-long the hills, near and far On ma-ny In the home of the tall pine Is the *Chhaila.*

c7.65

Musical notation for "might - y king; And his peo - ple one . . and all . . To his feet hom - age bring. Lāt Sahib’s 1 camp; And when mount Me - ru . . is still . . You may hear his Si - pa-his’ tramp. poles hang wires; Is not that a fair . . Dar - bār . . . Lit by a thou - sand fires! Lāt Sahib seen; But in Mat-tra’s ho - ly shrine . . Is Ne - pa - li - ya queen."

c7.66

Musical notation for Ex. 115.

c7.67

(The spelling of the titles in Exs. 107–115 is merely phonetic.)

c7.68

Musical notation for Ex. 116.

c7.69

Tonic C?

c7.70

¹ Viceroy’s.

c7.71

Musical notation for Ex. 117.

c7.72

Musical notation for Ex. 118.

c7.73

Musical notation for Ex. 119.

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Musical notation for Ex. 120.

c7.75

Musical notation for Ex. 121.

c7.76

These were sung by women, tile-layers. They clattered their wooden trowels on the floor, in an approximate rhythm, and ‘felt shame’ because there was no actual roof to work on.

c7.77

Women. Men. Ex. 122.

c7.78

Ex. 123.

c7.79

Ex. 124.

c7.80

This came from Dharmsāla¹; and the *Rāg* was given me as Behāg. That its singer knew so much about it as that, not to mention its carefully balanced sections (the same as in our National Anthem), removes it from the category of folk-song proper.

c7.81

¹ An officer of the 1st Goorkha’s at Dharmsāla gave me these two tunes that his men sung on the march.

c7.82

In many of these Garhwālī songs, and still more in the Gurkha songs which follow, I noticed, instead of the usual slide or vibrato on the emphatic notes, a sort of luscious squeeze, a glutinous warble—quite incommunicable.

c7.83

Zakmi Dil (the wounded heart). 1st. 2nd. Ex. 125.

c7.84

1st. 2nd. D.C.

c7.85

O Sādhu. Ex. 126.

c7.86

N.B.—The tonic of this is probably C, but may be F. The third bar begins with what may be the ‘warble’ noticed below.

c7.87

To such tunes as

c7.88

Ex. 127.

c7.89

Ex. 128.

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four men, A, B, C, D, danced, lifting the foot to the level of the knee, their movements corresponding to the four beats of the bar [0 stands for the silent beat].

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(1) All clap hands.

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(2) B, D touch right palm to A, C's left palm, the fingers pointing upwards.

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(3) Clap hands.

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(0) D, B touch left palm to A, C's right palm. All step backwards (instead of forwards) on this beat.

c7.95

One night during my stay a sing-song was kindly organized for my benefit among the men of the 2nd Goorkhas. They were in more than their usual good spirits over a successful hockey match with the 9th. There was no *géne* in the presence of their officers, and the performance was in no sense ‘to order’. The songs followed in such quick succession that there was no time to get down any words: most of them were danced to. One man, or perhaps two, stood out in the midst of an admiring crowd, and whirled round and round; bent knees and elbows, palms of the hands upturned, arms extended. At regular intervals a couple of bars, or four, were danced in a crouching position. At the end of a chorus there was occasionally a grunted ‘Ha! Ha!’

c7.96

Ex. 129.

c7.97

Drum. Right. 6 Left. 8

c7.98

Solo. Chorus.

c7.99

Ex. 130. 1st version. 2nd version.

c7.100

3rd version.

c7.101

4th version.

c7.102

Ex. 131.

c7.103

1st version.

c7.104

2nd version.

c7.105

Ex. 132.

c7.106

1st version.

c7.107

2nd version.

c7.108

Ex. 133.

c7.109

Ex. 134.

c7.110

1st version.

c7.111

2nd version.

c7.112

Ex. 135.

c7.113

Ex. 136.

c7.114

1st version.

c7.115

2nd version.

c7.116

Ex. 137.

c7.117

The following two melodies were given me by an officer of the regiment.

c7.118

Ex. 138.

c7.119

Andante. d. = 100.

c7.122

This is a Chitrālī dance (the regiment spends its time between Dehra Dūn and Chitrāl). It is played loud, soft, *staccato*, and *staccatissimo*. The final notes are blown with all the fingers off the holes, the acciaccatura being got by overblowing.

c7.123

Ex. 139.

c7.124

A Kāfir song. The three-crotchet cross-rhythm of bars 2, 3, 4 is noteworthy..

c7.125

At Jhelum the station was entertained one evening by the 20th Punjabis with a Cuttack dance. About one hundred men grouped themselves in a double circle round a bonfire, which shot up into bright flame at intervals in response to libations of kerosene. They advanced towards and retreated from the fire with swoopings, punctuated by sudden crouchings, twirlings, and pirouettings; waving their arms, with handkerchiefs in their hands; sometimes pausing suddenly by bringing one leg sharply down on the ground. Later on some picked dancers substituted swords for handkerchiefs. Then two swords, one in each hand; and one man dangling a third sword held in his teeth by the sword knot. The *surnai* (or *shahnai*), a sort of oboe, or bagpipe chanter, and the *dhol* were employed. The dance tunes were:

c7.126

= 110. Ex. 140.

c7.128

Surnai. ♩=92. Ex. 141.

c7.130

Dhol.

c7.134

Surnai. ♩=165. Ex. 142.

c7.136

Dhol.

c7.139

[Figure:] &c.

c7.140

At Achilgarh, near Mount Ābū, women climbing up to the temple, with waterpots, stopped by request and sang,

c7.141

Ex. 143.

c7.144

At Bhavnagar (Kāthiawār) some *khawas* (maidservants in the royal household) sang:

c7.145

Ex. 144.

c7.147

Ex. 145.

c7.149

Ex. 146.

c7.151

Ex. 147.

c7.153

Ex. 148.

c7.155

Ex. 149.

c7.156

Ex. 150.

c7.157

Ex. 151.

c7.158

Ex. 152.

c7.159

The first eight of these were danced to, the silent beat (the khālī) being marked by a retrograde step.

c7.160

The last, Sītājī na mahina, is a well-known and popular song, describing the twelve sorrows¹ of Sītā, one for each month.²

c7.161

¹ For other (Bihārī) forms of the ‘Twelve Sorrows’ see J. R. A. S., xvi, New Series, pp. 203, 207, 213, 216, 218.

c7.162

² The Indian months are:

c7.163

Dasrat, king of Ayodhyā, had two sons, Rāma and Bharata, by two wives. Bharata’s mother had a promise from Dasrat that he would give her anything she liked. She demanded nothing till Dasrat was on the point of abdicating, when she asked that Bharata should succeed, and Rāma go into retirement in the jungle with his father for fourteen years. Bharata was away at the time; the claim was honoured, and Rāma retired. Bharata on his return refused to accept the situation, and tried to induce Rāma to return; but he

c7.164

| *Kartik* | { Nov. | *Vaishak* | { May |
| *Magashir* | { Dec. | *Jeth* | { June |
| *Posh* | { Jan. | *Ashā’ī* | { July |
| *Megh* | { Feb. | *Shravan* | { Aug. |
| *Phalguna* | { March | *Bhadarva* | { Sept. |
| *Chaitra* | { April | *Aso* | { Oct. |
| | { May | | { Nov. |

c7.165

said he was bound by his promise. Bharata then placed his padūka (wooden shoes) on the gaddi (throne) and dressed like his half-brother in jungle clothes to show sympathy. Meanwhile Sītā, Rāma's wife, was carried off by Rāvaṇa, with a view to marriage. In her captivity she laments to her friend.

c7.166

‘O girl, with the month of Kartik my beloved went away. This month is the harbinger of winter, when cold is fierce like lightning. My beloved has left me, and the night which is my enemy begins to increase in length. I wonder why my soul does not leave my body. Magashir is full of emotion. It is difficult for a woman to pass her days apart from him who loves her; so her condition is very unhappy. The rooms of the house look empty, and Sītā is grieving with tears in her eyes. Will any one bring a letter from my beloved, or carry one to him? In Posh, here in the court of Rāvaṇa, my home comes to my mind: this Sītā says with tears. In Megh the wind from the Himālaya blows, and my body trembles. To whom can I open my heart, O friend, that heart which is attached to Rāma alone? In Phalguna the flowers bloom; but what are these to her who has not her lover. The Rāg Basant is being sung, but how can she care for such songs. In Chaitra my mind has become anxious and confused, and the absence of a letter from him pains me. All the leaves return to the trees, but not my lover to me. In Vaishak grapes and mangoes are ripe, and the hot wind is blowing, and the body of one who has not her husband breathes fire. In Jeth it is the custom to go to the tanks with friends to bathe; but he is not here, and my heart does not permit me to do so. Why bathe, or dress, or put on ornaments; I will none of them. In Ashā’ī when the rains have begun, and birds are singing in the trees, I envy them. In Shravan the tanks are full and the rain falls in streams. My gay clothes are wet with rain and tears. One who has once loved can never change; but for all this I must not lose heart. In Bhadarva all kinds of corn are ripe, but they please me not. It is now Aso, and I have heard, O friend, that Rāma has constructed a bridge to carry an army from India to Ceylon.’

c7.167

[Rāma brought his army of monkeys from Rāmesvaram across ‘Adam’s bridge’, Rāvaṇa was killed, Sītā was brought back to Ayodhyā (Oudh) to the great joy of her people, and Rāma embraced Bharata.]

c7.168

‘I Rāmayya, the poet, and whoever will sing my song, shall obtain heaven, and all his desires will be fulfilled by God, and all his accumulated Karmas will be exhausted.’

c7.169

Cradle Songs.

c7.170

There is one special class of song, lullabies,¹ of great interest and beauty. They seem not to be much known in the Punjab, where Mahommedan mothers croon only The Name, Illāh-il-illāh, over their babies. But in any part of the peninsula they may lurk unsuspected, as the difficulty of persuading a woman, except of the lowest class, to sing before a man, and especially before a European, is almost insuperable. Those I got were chiefly in the south, and from ‘enlightened’ women.

c7.171

¹ Is it too daring to offer ‘Lali’, I rock, or cradle (‘Lālo’ in Kashmir), and ‘Bai’, baby, as an alternative to Skeat’s not very convincing derivations of ‘Lullaby’—brought from India possibly by gipsies?

c7.172

Rāgi-grinding.

c7.173

Pāṇans.

c7.174

Schoolmistress, Tanjore.

c7.175

At Trivandrum I obtained¹ the song with which His Highness the present Maharajah of Travancore is said to have been put to sleep as a child.

c7.176

¹ The songstress wanted to accompany herself on the inevitable harmonium, until I pointed out that it would be much in her way when she pulled the string of the cradle, and that the sound of it might prevent the baby from going to sleep.

c7.177

Ex. 153. ♩=50.

c7.178

Is this sweet babe The bright crescent moon, or the charming flower of the lotus, The honey in a flower, or the lustre of the full moon, A pure coral gem, or the pleasant chatter of parrots, A dancing peacock, or a sweet singing bird, A bounding young deer, or a bright shining swan, A treasure from God, or the pet parrot in the hands of Īśvarī, The tender leaf of the *kalpa* tree, or the fruit of my tree of fortune, A golden casket to enclose the jewel of my love, Nectar in my sight, or a light to dispel darkness, The seed of my climbing fame, or a never-fading bright pearl, The brilliance of the sun to dispel all the gloom of misery, The Vedas in a casket, or the melodious *vīṇā*, The lovely blossom put forth by the stout branch of my tree of enjoyment, A cluster of *pichāka* buds, or sugar-candy sweet on the tongue, The fragrance of musk, the best of all good, A breeze laden with the scent of flowers, or the essence of purest gold, A bowl of fresh milk, or of sweet smelling rose-water, The field of all virtue, or an abode of all duty, A cup of thirst-quenching cold water, or a sheltering shade, A never-failing *mallika* flower, or my own stored up wealth, The auspicious object of my gaze, or my most precious jewel, A stream of virtuous beauty, or an image of the youthful Krishna, The bright forehead mark of the goddess Lakshmī, Or, by the mercy of Padmanābha, is it the source of my future happiness, Is it, in this beautiful form, an Avatār of Krishna Himself?

c7.179

The next five examples were obtained from a schoolmistress in Tanjore.

c7.180

Rarāro. ♩=90. Phonogram.

c7.181

Ex. 154.

c7.182

Lālishrita. Phonogram. Adagio. ♩=70.

c7.183

Ex. 155.

c7.184

Ba - - - by mine, light . . . of . . my eyes, Here Śrī - ran-gam is - land ri - ses fair Where The gol - den nails no lon - - - ger move On *rall.*

c7.185

. . . in thy cra - - - dle bright . . with flowers Through . . . the di - vi - - - ded Kā - ve - rīs meet I . . which my ba - - - by's cra - - dle swung; The *rall.*

c7.186

sun - ny hours I bring thee sleep, I rock thee and lay thee there down at His feet, At Śrī - ran - ga song is sung; my ship is borne Safe home, my *rall.*

c7.187

sing thee to sleep On the wings of my me - lo - dies. . . rā - ja's feet Full sure of His ten - der care. . . ship is borne Safe . . on the o - cean of love. . .

c7.188

The rhythm of the first of these is obscure even on the phonograph; it was probably some 7/4 rhythm, but the melody floated away so easily on a tempo rubato that it seems better to leave it barless. It is evidently a variant of Ex. 155.

c7.189

Lāli Keshavuda. ♩=100. Phonogram.

c7.190

Ex. 156.

c7.191

Lā - li Kesh - a - vu - da lā - li Go - vin - da lā - li

c7.192

Mad - ha vu - da lā - li . . . . . . . lā - li A - Lāli pardare. Phonogram. Allegretto. ♩ = 80.

c7.193

chu-ta lā - li . . Ha-ri Ha-ri Rā-mu-di-ki Rā-ma lā - li . . . .

c7.194

Ex. 157. Lā - li Bā - la-krish-ṇa lā - li lā - li lā - li

c7.195

lā - li Lā - li Go - pā - la-krish-ṇa lā - li lā - li.

c7.196

A Gan-dhar-va wove thy cra - dle And a white Ap - sa-ras sang, And the For my hand that rocks is wea-ry, And my voice that sings is dry, And my

c7.197

courts and the halls of In - dra at thy birth with wel - come rang : lā - work waits till my ba - by falls a - sleep by and by.

c7.198

- li . . Bā - la - krish - ṇa lā - - - li. lā - li lā -

c7.199

- li. Lā - li Go - pā - la-krish-ṇa lā - li.

c7.200

The words are borrowed from Ex. 162.

c7.201

Ex. 158.

c7.202

The next two examples

c7.203

Andante. ♩ = 90.

c7.204

Ex. 159.

c7.205

Ex. 160.

c7.206

were gathered from an unmusical ayah on board the steamer; she lost her key a good deal, and the songs were difficult to piece together. My interpreter could make nothing of her particular dialect (of Hindostani). Ex. 159 is evidently a distant variant of Ex. 156. The slide gave a wonderful ‘value’ to the close and the half-close of Ex. 160.

Linked texts (2)

Śiva — Sanskrit
Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit