DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22468#0424
Bte n»m»K 4<m» November 8 1969
SONGS OF RURAL BENGAL
BY SURE3H CHAKRAVARTI
Deputy Chief Producer, Music, All India Radio.
Leaving aside the
question of Bengal'*
achievements in the field
of olanioal music, which
ii the common property
of the whole of Northern
India, one may be sure
that the immense variety
of the unique regional
muiio, folk and other
types, of Bengal oan very
favourably compare with
that of any other region.
To understand this,
it is neoeasary to know
that the inhabitants of
rural Bengal have deve-
loped music for domestic,
public and occupational
purposes. Almost every
pieo* of Bengali literature
written prior to the last
oantury was in verse and
was meant not only for
reading but for ohanting
in the Bengali style of
recitation. Even today
the village storyteller
does not regard bis nar-
rative oomplete if the
story is not interspersed
with songs. His perfor-
mance sometimes is a
solo musical sketch with
narration.
Ahead of Others
It will not be out of
place to mention here
that musicmindedneis has
perhaps led the Bengalis
to go a few steps in
advance of the limitations
popularly believed to de-
fine the scope of folk
music. A easual analysis
of the melodio struoturss
of quite a number of
these folk songs will show
that they employ not
"three, four or five notes
of our musical soale, but
all the seven notes and
sometimes one or two
miorotones, while in the
neighbouring regions on*
is expected to hear a
song of two note* only,
a* in the case of some
Santhali songs.
The reason is that
Bengal has never been
known throughout its
whole history to bave
had more than one big
oity. All the other con-
temporary town* have
been only oongeeted vil-
lage* with some munici-
pal amenitir* where rural
life ha* never been aban-
doned If we look around
us >n the highly develo-
ped oity of Calcutta ««
shall not fail to see that
the original inhabitants
here differ veiy little
from their brethren in
the village* in their
thoughts and wsy of life.
Consequsntly, no occasion
has arisen up till now
for an exclusive culture
either of purely urban or
purely rural music in the
whole provinoe.
One must not be sur-
prised, therefore, to find
traces of Kaag music in
the songs of rural Ben-
gal. Theie traces are all
the more evident in suoh
oases as Jatra songs, so-
oalled old Bengali aongs
and alio Kirtan aoDge.
Conceding the argument
tl.at there are not ins-
tances of folk music it
oan (till be maintained
that even in there types
of song* which sie un- ,
hesitatingly ' olasx d as
folk music, there are ele-
ments of Bengali l appa,
which is, to a great ex-
tent; art music.
Immense Variety
Without going fur-
ther into the question
about the extent to wbieh
sophistics! rn he? entered
the folk song* if Bengal,
we may now make an
attempt to claesify their
immenre var'ety. There
are some songs that are
very lively and full of
vitality; there »ie others
that are more sober.
SONGS OF RURAL BENGAL
BY SURE3H CHAKRAVARTI
Deputy Chief Producer, Music, All India Radio.
Leaving aside the
question of Bengal'*
achievements in the field
of olanioal music, which
ii the common property
of the whole of Northern
India, one may be sure
that the immense variety
of the unique regional
muiio, folk and other
types, of Bengal oan very
favourably compare with
that of any other region.
To understand this,
it is neoeasary to know
that the inhabitants of
rural Bengal have deve-
loped music for domestic,
public and occupational
purposes. Almost every
pieo* of Bengali literature
written prior to the last
oantury was in verse and
was meant not only for
reading but for ohanting
in the Bengali style of
recitation. Even today
the village storyteller
does not regard bis nar-
rative oomplete if the
story is not interspersed
with songs. His perfor-
mance sometimes is a
solo musical sketch with
narration.
Ahead of Others
It will not be out of
place to mention here
that musicmindedneis has
perhaps led the Bengalis
to go a few steps in
advance of the limitations
popularly believed to de-
fine the scope of folk
music. A easual analysis
of the melodio struoturss
of quite a number of
these folk songs will show
that they employ not
"three, four or five notes
of our musical soale, but
all the seven notes and
sometimes one or two
miorotones, while in the
neighbouring regions on*
is expected to hear a
song of two note* only,
a* in the case of some
Santhali songs.
The reason is that
Bengal has never been
known throughout its
whole history to bave
had more than one big
oity. All the other con-
temporary town* have
been only oongeeted vil-
lage* with some munici-
pal amenitir* where rural
life ha* never been aban-
doned If we look around
us >n the highly develo-
ped oity of Calcutta ««
shall not fail to see that
the original inhabitants
here differ veiy little
from their brethren in
the village* in their
thoughts and wsy of life.
Consequsntly, no occasion
has arisen up till now
for an exclusive culture
either of purely urban or
purely rural music in the
whole provinoe.
One must not be sur-
prised, therefore, to find
traces of Kaag music in
the songs of rural Ben-
gal. Theie traces are all
the more evident in suoh
oases as Jatra songs, so-
oalled old Bengali aongs
and alio Kirtan aoDge.
Conceding the argument
tl.at there are not ins-
tances of folk music it
oan (till be maintained
that even in there types
of song* which sie un- ,
hesitatingly ' olasx d as
folk music, there are ele-
ments of Bengali l appa,
which is, to a great ex-
tent; art music.
Immense Variety
Without going fur-
ther into the question
about the extent to wbieh
sophistics! rn he? entered
the folk song* if Bengal,
we may now make an
attempt to claesify their
immenre var'ety. There
are some songs that are
very lively and full of
vitality; there »ie others
that are more sober.