Pratishtha Pandya

Series Curator

Jigyasa Mishra

Illustration

large_FEATURE-IMAGE-We_will_save_our_ports.jpg

medium_FEATURE-IMAGE-We_will_save_our_ports.jpg

small_FEATURE-IMAGE-We_will_save_our_ports.jpg

thumbnail_FEATURE-IMAGE-We_will_save_our_ports.jpg

FEATURE-IMAGE-We_will_save_our_ports.jpg

Agricultural labourers working in the field. Or maybe a group of salt-pan workers, or a few miners, or fishermen on their boats, bursting into song while labouring, is not a surprising sight. In traditional cultures, hard physical work has often been accompanied by songs about specific occupations or forms of labour. Occupational folk songs have existed across cultures. Sometimes, they encourage and coordinate a group of people working together. Sometimes they relieve the boredom and pain of a wearying job.The 170-metre long Gulf of Kachchh, a vast intertidal zone with a network of creeks, estuaries and mudflats, houses a large ecosystem and is a breeding zone for many marine organisms. Fishing has been a traditional occupation for many in the coastal region. The song here speaks of the challenges faced by the fishing communities whose livelihoods are being steadily eroded by waves of coastal development activities.Unions of fisherfolk in Kachchh, academicians, and others have reported the adverse impact of these activities. They have blamed the Mundra Thermal Plant (TATA), and the Mundra Power Project (Adani group) for the rapid decline of marine diversity, which in turn affects the fishing communities in the area. The song presented here, utterly simple in its language, hints at these challenges.This work-song is beautifully rendered by Juma Vagher of Mundra taluka, a fisherman himself. He is the lead singer, and the chorus chants the refrain – ho Jamalo (hey, fisherfolk). The song’s captivating melody transports us to the fast-changing, distant shores of Kachchh.

Type of song: Traditional folk song

Cluster: Songs of land, places and people

Song: 13

Title of the song: Jamalo rane rana ho jamalo 

Composer: Deval Mehta

Singer: Juma Vagher from Bhadresar village of Mundra
taluka

Instruments used: drum, harmonium, banjo

Recording year: 2012, KMVS studio

English translation: Pratishtha Pandya

These songs, 341 recorded by a community-run radio
Soorvani, have come to PARI through the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS).
For more of these songs visit this page: <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/songs-of-the-rann-archive-of-kutchi-folk-songs/">Songs of the Rann: archive of Kutchifolk songs</a>

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.

We will save our ports

ہم اپنی بندرگاہوں کو بچائیں گے

எங்கள் துறைமுகங்களை நாங்கள் காப்போம்

ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਬੰਦਰਗਾਹਾਂ ਅਸਾਂ ਹੀ ਨੇ ਬਚਾਉਣੀਆਂ

ଆମେ ଆମ ବନ୍ଦରକୁ ବଞ୍ଚାଇବୁ

ഞങ്ങൾ ഞങ്ങളുടെ തുറമുഖങ്ങൾ സംരക്ഷിക്കും

ನಾವು ನಮ್ಮ ಬಂದರನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ

हम अपने बंदरगाहों को बचाएंगे

चलो संगी, हमन अपन बंदरगाह ला बचाबो रे भाई

आव हो साथी, आपन बंदरगाह बचावल जाव!

বন্দর, খেয়া, জাহাজঘাটা — আগলাবে কে তা শুনি?

আমি আমাৰ বন্দৰ বচাম

આપણે આપણાં બંદરોને બચાવીશું

Kachchh

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

IN TELUGU - Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

We will save our ports

A fisherman of Kachchh sings an energising song to motivate his fellowmen as they all prepare to go to sea. A song from the ongoing series of folk songs from Kachchh

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit