Balumama's gift of a bounteous harvest
A much-loved shepherd is the focus of these devotional songs sung by women working the grindmill in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district
September 26, 2023 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
The train chugs along, roaring and shouting
Two women from Kolavade village, Pune, sing about a steam-pulled train to Mumbai, the journey on board and life that awaits in the big city
June 15, 2023 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Prosperous brother drives a jeep, sister is proud
Three singers from Nimgaon Ketki village in Pune district sing songs of affection for a brother as they carry out the everyday task of grinding
August 12, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Remembering Bhimrao and Ramabai Ambedkar
A mother and daughter from Majalgaon sing songs of love and affection for the young Bhimrao Ambedkar and Ramabai, making them a part of their own household
April 29, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
The village midwife is ‘no ordinary woman’
Tara Ubhe, from Mulshi taluka , Pune, talks about the inception of the Grindmill Songs Project, and sings a few ovi on the importance of midwives and the loss of their invaluable knowledge
March 31, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
The healing touch of mother’s love
Shahu Kamble from Mulshi taluka, Pune, sings about being hurt by a friend and turning to her family, especially her mother, for emotional support and sustenance
February 15, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Sita’s songs of love, exile and sorrow
In these 13 grindmill songs full of vivid word pictures, two singers from Shirur taluka , Pune, sing of Sita’s exile in the forest and the sorrow of losing loved ones
January 25, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Women, patriarchy and songs of rivalry
Three women from Mulshi taluka in Pune sing grindmill songs about the impact of a young and attractive woman’s behaviour on a married woman’s husband or son. They see in her a threat to their own happiness
January 5, 2022 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Tips to a new mother about home remedies
Jai Sakhale in Pune’s Mulshi taluka sings nine ovi about a woman advising her daughter – a new mother – on looking after her health while also observing the social customs and norms expected of her
November 1, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Riding the grindmill chariot to prosperity
Savitra Ubhe sings 11 couplets about the daily task of grinding grains, and the tricks to make it easy – all the while remembering her mother, who made her strong for the hard labour
October 5, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
A sister’s anguish, a brother’s worry
Savitra Ubhe and others sing eight ovi about grain being ground while an anguished sister dwells on a quarrel with her brother as life goes on around her
September 2, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
A woman’s work and sweat for prosperity
Savitra Ubhe sings five ovi about the daily grinding of grain to flour, and a woman’s efficient ways in making her family prosper
August 12, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
'I invite you, Ganaraya, to a family wedding'
Vijaya Maid, from Shirur town in Pune district, sings nine ovi inviting her favourite deities to a family wedding – and her songs paint a vivid picture of the scenes from the joyous event
August 4, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Fasting to liberate the soul
Phulabai Bhong sings about Ashadhi Ekadashi and the fast observed by Lord Vitthal's devotees on the auspicious day. It is believed that the practice releases one's soul from the cycle of life and death
July 20, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
A billion salutations to Gautam Buddha
Two mothers and their daughters, from Majalgaon in Beed district, sing in devotion to Gautam Buddha. Their songs highlight his presence in people's daily lives, and how he leads his followers through his teachings
May 26, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Bhimrao: 'A diamond born to his parents'
On the 130th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, this collection of songs by Shahu Kamble of Pune's Nandgaon village celebrates what he accomplished in his fight for social justice and equality
April 14, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
What is the worth of a woman’s endless work?
Kusum Sonawane, a 72-year-old farmer from Pune district, sings about women’s unending and unvalued work – and the many facets of their life from birth to adulthood
March 12, 2021 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
‘A drop of sweat is worth a lakh of rupees’
Jai Sakhale sings about people migrating from the village to work in Mumbai, and about the mother who worries for her son working hard in the demanding city
November 6, 2020 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Songs of love for the migrant away from home
Muktabai Ubhe of Khadakwadi hamlet in Mulshi taluka, Pune, sings nine ovi about a wife’s love and longing for her husband, who has gone away in search of work
June 26, 2020 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Walking to Pandharpur, carrying love
Sonubai Mote of Savindane village in Pune district sings about taking every member of the family to Lord Vitthal’s abode in Pandharpur – all together on a pilgrimage that concludes this year on July 12
July 9, 2019 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Marking a different milestone on Dussehra
In 1956, on Dussehra day, Dr. Ambedkar publicly rejected the Hindu faith. Radhabai Borhade and Walhabai Takankhar sing about this landmark event and of Buddha’s renunciation, for the Grindmill Songs Project
October 18, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Anjanabai’s songs from the heart
Anjana Gadhave of Pune district recalls ovi from a memory storehouse, and sings of the saint-poets Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram, of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini, and tulsi's marriage, for the Grindmill Songs Project
September 28, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Six songs of rain from Mulshi
Women from the Khadakwadi hamlet sift through memories to sing ovi about rain for the Grindmill Songs Project – the damp soil and sowing, the fading of a brother’s affection, the pilgrimage to Pandharpur
August 24, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
‘Bhimraya moved heaven and earth’
In this instalment of the Grindmill Songs Project, Kusum Sonawane and others from Mulshi taluka sing 14 ovi remembering Babasaheb Ambedkar’s struggles for equality and his efforts to dismantle the caste system
May 4, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Fighting for water is fighting inequality
The Grindmill Songs Project celebrates the birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar with a video in which Kusum Sonawane and others from Nandgaon village sing 14 ovi about the Mahad satyagraha
April 13, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
“Let the world say what it will…”
The Grindmill Songs Project presents seven ovi by Kusum Sonawane and Shahu Kamble of Nandgaon village, which speak of the strong but sometimes fragile friendship among women
April 3, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Four songs of fury for abusive men
For March 8, International Women’s Day 2018, we bring you four ovi from the Grindmill Songs Project by Shahu Kamble of Nandgaon village. These songs express a woman's rage and contempt at male oppression
March 7, 2018 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
A reluctant singer relents
Chimabai Dindle in Malthan village of Pune district says she barely remembers the ovi she once sang at the grindmill. However, after many requests from the PARI GSP team, she sings a few about loving husbands, wandering ascetics and the ‘god of the grindmill’
December 29, 2017 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Master wrestlers, masterful mothers
Should we credit the strength, skills and physique of wrestlers to their mothers? Yes, suggests Shahubai Kamble of Nandgaon village in Pune district, in her ovi in this instalment of the Grindmill Songs Project, singing about a wrestling match between a maternal uncle and his nephew
December 15, 2017 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Ambedkar lives on in rural women’s songs
For Babasaheb Ambedkar’s death anniversary on December 6, the Grindmill Songs Project presents ovi by Lilabai Shinde of Lawarde village, who sings of Dr. Ambedkar with affection, reverence and gratitude
December 5, 2017 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
When the daily grind is done
In this edition of the Grindmill Songs Project, Dhondabai and Anjanabai Gadhave of Savindane village sing of the relief they feel when they are done crushing grain into flour at the mill. The gods and goddesses, they say, help them through the hard labour
November 24, 2017 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Mothers sweet as honey, sons-in-law pungent as horse gram
In this edition of the Grindmill Songs Project: Lilabai Kamble of Kolavade village sings of irreplaceable mothers and the cruelty of in-laws while Tarabai Ubhe of Lawarde village tells sons-in-law to limit their demands
November 17, 2017 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
'Brother-sister are oranges from the same tree’
For Diwali, here are 13 ovi related to Bhaubeej from the Grindmill Songs Project – celebrating the ties between brothers and sisters. The singer is Shahubai Kamble of Nandgaon village in Pune district
October 19, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
and Namita Waikar
Melodies that thrive like marigold
Dussehra, on September 30 this year, is celebrated in a few songs in the Grindmill Songs Project. This week, we feature three ovi sung in 1999 by Shahubai Kamble of Nandgaon village, that describe the festive rituals
September 29, 2017 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
Singing the stories of her seven decades
Sarubai Kadu of Dapodi village in Pune district enriched the Grindmill Songs Project by singing more than 5,000 couplets, though her own life is penurious. In this second part of a two-part story, she sings 11 ovi that reflect her past joys and persistent sorrows
September 22, 2017 | PARI GSP Team and Namita Waikar
Sarubai: 5000 songs and still singing
Sarubai Kadu of Dapodi village in Pune district is the most prolific singer in the grindmill songs database. In this first part of a two-part story, she sings ten ovi about sons who drift away, daughters who are fleetingly pampered, and wayward husbands
August 25, 2017 | Namita Waikar and PARI GSP Team
A loving family and an imagined funeral
Continuing the Grindmill Songs Project on PARI with 23 couplets by Renuka Umbre of Rajmachi village in Pune district – about a woman’s steadily growing illness and eventual death, and the grief of her siblings and parents, who give her comfort throughout this process
July 21, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The devotion and the discord
Hausabai Mandekar on audio and Chababai Sutar on video, both from Pune district, sing couplets about the relationship between Vitthal and Rukmini, the deities at Pandharpur, in this edition of the Grindmill Songs Project on PARI. The bi-annual procession of devotees to the temple town is underway this week
June 30, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The enduring pull of people’s poets
The ‘wari’, a procession of pilgrims, is on its way to Pandharpur this week. In this instalment of the Grindmill Songs Project, four singers from Kolavade village in Pune district sing 10 couplets about the poet-saints revered by the pilgrims, Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram, and their towns, Alandi and Dehu
June 23, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The pilgrims’ progress
This week, in the Grindmill Songs Project, Muktabai Ubhe and Sitabai Ubhe from Kolavade village in Pune district sing five couplets about the warkaris’ pilgrimage to Pandharpur in Maharashtra
June 20, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Seven songs of summer
Women from the Khadakwadi hamlet of Kolavade village in Mulshi taluka , Pune, sing seven verses that describe life under a hot summer sun, in this instalment of the Grindmill Songs Project
June 5, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The extraordinary colour of rain
Rain songs from the field, as recalled and sung by Anusuyabai Pandekar and her daughter-in-law Manda from Lawarde village in Pune district. Recorded in April 2017 for this edition of the Grindmill Songs Project
May 26, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The cow’s ‘sons’ are praying in the fields
The cow’s ‘sons' refers to the farmer and the bullock in one of the six ovi in this edition of the Grindmill Songs Project on PARI. These songs, by Phulabai Bhong of Nimgaon Ketki village in Pune district, speak of anxiety due to a lack of rain and the joy that rainfall brings
May 19, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The farmer and the rain song
This edition of the Grindmill Songs Project brings you melodies of the rains and fields, ploughing and sowing. It features eight audio couplets by Jai Sakhale and three video recordings by Chababai Mhapsekar/Sutar, both of Lawarde village, Mulshi taluka , Pune district
May 12, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
A midsummer day’s song
In these six couplets of PARI’s Grindmill Songs Project, Gangubai Ambore of Tadkalas village sings about summer mornings, concern for her son feeling the heat, and her husband’s pride in a virtuous wife
May 5, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
A demand for equality, a rejection of caste-based duties
This month, PARI’s Grindmill Songs Project has featured couplets on Babasaheb Ambedkar and caste issues to mark Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14. Muktabai Jadhav of Beed district winds up this series
April 28, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
‘Even one lakh songs are not enough for our Bhimrao…’
This month, PARI’s Grindmill Songs Project has featured couplets on Babasaheb Ambedkar and caste issues to mark Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14. In the last of this batch, Radhabai Borhade of Savargaon sings 10 ovi on Phule, Buddha, education, unity, self-respect, and the message given by Bhimrao
April 21, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
The country salutes: ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim!’
Today, on the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar, PARI features two sets of grindmill songs by Walhabai Takankhar and Radhabai Borhade of Majalgaon in Beed district. These songs of pride, of affection for their leader, of riches and joy, are a part of an April series of couplets on Dr. Ambedkar and caste issues
April 14, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Songs of Majalgaon, memories of Mhow
In eight songs, three singers from Majalgaon in Beed district hail the birth of Bhimrao in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. They express gratitude to him, and speak of the new identity that Buddhism has given them. To mark the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 14, PARI’s Grindmill Songs Project features couplets on Dr. Ambedkar and caste issues throughout this month
April 12, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Songs of gratitude, chants of celebration
For the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 14, and as a part of PARI’s Grindmill Songs Project, this month we will feature couplets on Dr. Ambedkar and caste issues. In the first of this series, Radhabai Borhade of Savargaon sings five ovi on Buddha, Bhimrao, dhamma, sangha and Ramabai
April 5, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Eating Mumbai’s fish, longing for Rajmachi’s vegetables
‘Now the tourists come’, Renuka Umbre of Rajmachi village in Mawal taluka said, ‘So we do not get much time to sing…’ In these ovi, she sings about a woman who has left for the big city. Continuing the Grindmill Songs Project on PARI as part of our International Women’s Day features throughout March
March 29, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Morning songs on making flour
Continuing the Grindmill Songs Project as part of our International Women’s Day features in March: Yashoda Umbre sings about the grinding to be done early in the morning so that the children can eat
March 22, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Burn, burn, youth, because a young woman is blamed...
Continuing the Grindmill Songs Project on PARI as part of our International Women’s Day features throughout March: Kusum Sonawane of Nandgaon village in Maharashtra sings about the oppression of women, of being weary about being treated badly, of the forced waste of a life when born female
March 15, 2017 | PARI GSP Team
Gangubai: village voice, Marathi soul
Gangubai Ambore of Tadkalas village in Parbhani district sang songs suffused with sorrow, her voice spoke of long years of loneliness — and it captivated listeners
March 7, 2017 | Jitendra Maid
The grindmill songs: recording a national treasure
Listen to the first of over 100,000 folk songs by women in Maharashtra’s villages that make up the unprecedented Grindmill Songs Project, which will run regularly on PARI. Close to 30,000 of these songs have been digitally recorded and 40,000 translated into English from the original Marathi. Some 3,302 performers across more than 1,000 villages were involved in this phenomenal recording of a poetic-musical legacy
