Pratishtha Pandya

Series Curator

Rahul Ramanathan

Illustration

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The hollow rumble of a drum, the only instrument in the background, fills the air. Soon the husky voice of a devotional singer, more like an alms-seeker outside a dargah, proclaims the praise of the prophet, blessing and praying for the benefactor.

“A tola and a quarter of gold in my hand and also in the hands of my sister Be generous you giver, don’t torment us so much...”

It’s a song that gives us a glimpse of the great syncretic traditions of Kachchh. This is a region of nomadic pastoralists who once sheparded their livestock on an annual migratory route across the Great Rann of Kachchh to Sindh, now in Pakistan, and back again. New boundaries that came up after partition put an end to that journey, but strong ties between Hindu and Muslim pastoral communities across the borders of Kachchh and Sindh remained. A rich confluence of religious practices like Sufism, poetry, folklore, mythologies, and even languages spawned by that interaction, is what has come to define the lives of communities in the region, their art, architecture and religious practices. A repertoire of these shared cultures and syncretic practices, many of them based on Sufism, is found in the now declining traditions of this region’s folk music.Devotion to the Prophet shines through this song sung by 45-year-old Kishor Ravar, a pastoralist from Morgar village in Nakhatrana taluka.

Type of song: Traditional folk song Cluster: Songs of devotion  Song: 5 Title of the song: Munara mir Mamadh ja, munara mir Shahidh ja Composer: Amad Sameja Singer: Kishor Ravar. He is a 45-year-old pastoralist from Morgar village in Nakhtrana taluka   Instruments used: Drum Recording year: 2004, KMVS studio Gujarati translation: Amad Sameja, Bharati Gor English translation: Pratishtha Pandya

A special thanks to Preeti Soni, Aruna Dholakia, secretary, KMVS, Amad Sameja, project coordinator KMVS for their support and to Bhartiben Gor for her invaluable help with Gujarati translation

Kachchh: minars of faith and fraternity

کچھّ میں عقیدت و بھائی چارہ کی روایت

కచ్: విశ్వాసం, సౌబ్రాతృత్వాల మినార్లు

நம்பிக்கைக்கும் சகோதரத்துவத்துக்குமான கச்ச் தூபிகள்

ਕੱਛ: ਭਰੋਸੇ ਤੇ ਸਾਂਝ-ਭਿਆਲ਼ੀ ਦੇ ਮੀਨਾਰ

କଚ୍ଛ: ଭକ୍ତି ଓ ଭ୍ରାତୃତ୍ଵର ମିନାର

കച്ച്: വിശ്വാസത്തിന്റേയും സാഹോദര്യത്തിന്റേയും മിനാരങ്ങൾ

ಕಛ್:‌ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಹೋದರತ್ವದ ಮಿನಾರುಗಳು

कच्छ में आस्था और सद्भाव की मीनारें

कच्छ: बिसवास अऊ भाईचारा के मीनार

कच्छ: आस्था आउर भाईचारा के मीनार

কচ্ছ: আস্থা আর সংহতির মিনার

কচ্চ: আস্থা আৰু সংহতিৰ মিনাৰ

કચ્છ: મિનારા શ્રદ્ધા અને સમભાવના

Kachchh

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Kachchh: minars of faith and fraternity

A folk-song from a region that has preserved its syncretic traditions in music, architecture and culture, despite political upheavals. This devotional song carries the unique flavour of this desert

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