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

“The jeep looks nice with my brother Jitendra at the wheel,” sing the women in Nimgaon Ketki. The worth of the jeep swells when the brother drives it; such is his distinction. Jitendra – the brother named in the ovi – is Jitendra Maid, the young researcher from the original GSP team, who was in the village at the time to record these grindmill songs.

Coaxed to adapt to the immediate setting, the songs in this set of 15 ovi have been contributed by Phula Bhong, Chandrabhaga Bhong and Bhagu Mohite from Nimgaon Ketki’s Chinchwadi hamlet in Indapur taluka . They express pride in a brother’s success – in this case, addressing Jitendra as the wealthy yet humble brother.

Each woman would lend words to the other as they sang these songs for the GSP team in 1995. Jitendra too would encourage them when they struggled to recall the words of these songs they had learnt from older women. With this, an affectionate collaboration was forged. The singers allowed the researcher an insight into their world, welcoming him into its fold.

The brother’s visit to his sister’s home is described in the first two couplets. The sister remarks:

She looks on with pride as the brother deftly manoeuvres his vehicle on a crooked road. Though he drives a jeep – a sign of wealth and mobility – he walks up to the sister’s house to visit her. She appreciates this gesture of casting aside fanfare.

The brother in these ovi is depicted as a man of character – discerning and virtuous, and worth more than the wealth he has amassed. The singers narrate an incident when two sisters are on their way to visit her brother; one of them locks eyes with a stranger. Smitten by the stranger, whose “gaze is special”, she is ready to forsake her world and its charms for him. But the brother advises her to be wary. “Take care of your reputation,” brother Jitendra says. The brother’s warning is seen as a sign of his affection.

The affection is also illustrated in the couplets through food. Even though her kitchen fire is out, the sister begins to light it again to cook a meal for her brother. His favourite meal is prepared as the siblings chat:

Bundi laddoos, the tiny balls of gram flour fried in a sieve, are dipped generously in sugar syrup.

In the couplets that follow, the sister sings about receiving the news of her younger brother’s marriage. “My young brother will become a bridegroom in the month of Vaishakh [April-May],” she says. She strings pearls together to make mundavalya, an ornament tied on a groom’s forehead during his wedding ceremony, keeping it safe on a bed of cotton. Spending on pearls to adorn her precious brother, the affection of a doting sister is evident.

The last two couplets, sung by Bhagubai Mohite, reveal an array of emotions the sister feels for her natal home. While she is proud of her brother’s wealth and success, there is an undertone of envy too. She sings of how her brothers’ wives “reign” over their husband’s prosperity and reputation. Possessive and a little jealous, the sister turns back to her task of grinding flour. Revealing the nature of attachment in familial relationships, these couplets express the everyday conflicts that exist alongside the love and affection.

The singer has finished grinding enough flour for the day, she says, feeling “complete satisfaction”. In her winnow is a betel box, suggesting she will relax now and enjoy a betel nut. As if remembering suddenly, the singer tells us that her husband is precious too – a naulakha – worth nine lakh rupees.

In between the singing, Jitendra Maid and the singers banter. Jitendra invites them to his wedding, whenever that might happen. “We will sing wedding songs when you get married,” the singers remark amidst laughter. Then quickly add, “But you will have to come and fetch us, we don’t know where you live.”

The one who rides in a jeep, came to my house walking
My brother Jitendra is rich, yet does not put on airs

This crooked road goes to the bungalow
The jeep looks nice with my brother Jitendra at the wheel

Traveller on the road, your gaze is special
For your sake, I have left everything

My brother Jitendra says, take care of your reputation
Today, we, both the sisters, are coming to your village

Brother has come for a meal, my hearth is cold
Jitendra, my brother, likes bundi [gram flour sweet balls]

As a mark of hospitality, I cook pulses and onion for elder brother
How much can I tell you, brother, let’s make bundi laddoo

As a mark of hospitality, I offer water and tea
My brother tells me to take away the water

It is early in the morning and my eyes are blurry
I ask you my son, where’s the cup and saucer

It is early in the morning and my eyes are blurry
I’m telling you, Shivaraja, the cup and saucer is in its place

We are brother and sister, and we have affection for each other
How much can I tell you, brother, spread a mat on the floor

I came to know about my brother’s marriage, in the bazaar
I buy pearl mundavalya and wrap them in the brocade-end of the sari

I came to know about my brother’s marriage in my in-laws’ house
I string pearl mundavalya for him, sitting in the veranda

Pearl mundavalya , I keep them in cotton wool
My young brother will become a bridegroom in the month of Vaishakh

The grinding is over, it gives me complete satisfaction
Sisters-in-law are reigning on the reputation of my brothers

My grinding is over, there’s a betel-leaf box in my winnow
I tell you, my friend, my husband is worth nine lakh [rupees]

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Performer/Singer: Bhagubai Mohite

Village: Nimgaon Ketki

Hamlet: Bhong vasti

Taluka: Indapur

District: Pune

Caste: Maratha

Date: The information, photograph and songs here were recorded on December 11, 1995.

Poster: Urja

Read about the original Grindmill Songs Project founded by Hema Rairkar and Guy Poitevin.