“I learned grinding and singing ovi from my mother while helping her at the stone mill every morning,” said Baban Dighe from Bhambarde village. The 55-year-old is the only male member among the all-women singers and performers recorded in the Grindmill Songs database.
After his mother died, his father remarried and his stepmother neglected him, often not giving him food to eat. He had to fend for himself by doing odd jobs.
Baban Dighe gave 19 songs to the collection of grindmill songs, 17 of which were audio recorded and are presented in the song clip. When we met him in December 2023, he sang four new songs, which we recorded on video. “My voice was always sweet and even more bareek [slender], when I was young,” said Baban.
In the video, Baban sings about the rising sun, referring to it as God, and likens the sun rays to the brilliance of a brother’s youth. The name ‘Putala’ for the brother is used to indicate a young man with a powerful beauty. The singer urges the sun, the God to come soon and to reveal what the future holds.
