Arundhati V.

Shobha R.

Sharmila Joshi

Editor

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The
music of the Adivasi communities of Chhattisgarh is a music of resilience – of people
caught in decades of violent conflict, whose songs, often accompanied by drums,
speak about the beauty of their land, their forests, their daily lives and a reverence of nature. Children too are taught these songs in
their families at a young age. We visited Farsegarh village in Bhairamgarh tehsil of Bijapur district in southernmost Chhattisgarh in August 2016. Of Bijapur’s population of around 255,000 (Census 2011), 80 per cent belong to the Scheduled Tribes. Farsegarh’s 1,400 residents, as well as those of neighbouring villages, are mostly Muria Gond. The village is among the many impacted by the conflict that involves Naxalite militants, the state, and the state-supported Salwa Judum. The people in the village say they are constantly caught in a cycle of violence.A woman in Farsegarh, who lost her husband in the
conflict, asks, “What else will happen when one son is a Naxal and the other is
made a police supporter? What will a family do when they are out to kill each
other? That’s the reality that we live in.” She is a farmer in her 50s who did
not want to be named. “We don’t earn too much. We don’t even  know if we will be alive tomorrow. We are
alive today and that’s all we think about.” 























Not
many government schemes reach Farsegarh – the only state presence seems to be a
residential school, the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camps.

The
residential school for tribal children on the periphery of Farsegarh is not in
great shape – electricity is intermittent, the building leaks during the
monsoon. The students have to cook and clean in the hostel. There are around 50
Adivasi students here (ages 6-15, all girls, from various nearby villages), one
teacher-caretaker, and a cook.

During our visit, the students sang the songs of
their communities in the Gondi language, and some of them translated the songs for us in Hindi.Song 1

Oh mahua tree, Oh mahua tree How beautiful you are, Oh! mahua tree The mahua flowers are falling Red, red flowers Like a red shower of rain Oh mahua tree, Oh mahua tree How beautiful you are, Oh! mahua treeSingers Susheela Manra, Farsegarh village Gayatri Tellam, Dhanora village Kamala Udde, Sagmeta villageSong 2

My dear cousin, How beautiful you are… Tell me what you like? The crow starts cawing, Flies around the village Caw caw caw Tell me how, Tell me how?Singer Gayatri Tellam, Dhanora villageSong 3

Wear your earrings girl, and come dance with us! Rela rela rela... [chorus] Wear your bright clothes girl, and come dance with us! Rela rela rela… [chorus] Wear your new shoes girl, and come dance with us! Rela rela rela… [chorus]Singer Avantika Barse, Farsegarh village

Rerela rela rela rela…[chorus] Do you see the tail of that chameleon? Catch it! Oh sister, sing a song for me, will you? Oh sister, la la la Oh brother-in-law, come before me The tail of the chameleon is green Do you see it, oh brother-in-law?Singer Gayatri Tellam, Dhanora villageSong 5

Rerela rela re rela rela...[chorus] It is a saffron flag, oh friend! It is a white flag, oh friend! It is a green flag, oh friend! There are 24 lines in the middle of the flag. Rerela rela re rela rela… [chorus]Singers Susheela Manra, Farsegarh village Saraswati Gota, Bade Kakler village Kamala Gudde, Sagmeta villageSong 6

Relare rela [Chorus] You and I, together make a lovely pair. Oh! dear boy, we make a lovely pair…Singer Avantika Barse, Farsegarh village

Relare rela… [Chorus] The leaves of the taadi tree sway gently Oh! Come to our land We will tap the toddy, Oh! Come to our land Come, let&#39;s cut the tall grass The grass is swaying gently, here and there, here and there Oh! Come to our land, together we can cut some grass Come to our land, together we can harvest paddy The leaves of the paddy sway, Here and there, here and thereSingers: Sarita Kusram, Sagmeta village Saraswati Gota, Bade Kakler village  Susheela Manra, Farsegarh village

‘Mahua flowers fall like a red shower of rain’

‘ਮਹੂਆ ਫੁੱਲ ਇਓਂ ਕਿਰਨ ਜਿਓਂ ਮੀਂਹ ਦੀਆਂ ਲਾਲ ਬੂੰਦਾਂ’

'মেঘলা মহুলবনে আলতাসি ছন্দ'

पावसाच्या लाल सरीसारखी बरसणारी मोहाची फुलं

‘बारिश की लाल बूंदों की तरह बरसते महुआ के फूल’

’مہوا کے پھول بارش کی لال بوندوں کی طرح گرتے ہیں‘

‘ନାଲି ନାଲି ବର୍ଷା ଭଳି ଝରିପଡ଼େ ମହୁଲ ଫୁଲ’

Farsegarh

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‘Mahua flowers fall like a red shower of rain’

In the seven audio songs here, Adivasi girls from a residential school in Farsegarh village of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district sing of trees and fields, friends and families, of dressing up and dancing, and the tricolour

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