A courtyard, a home, a village

A woman on her way to her in-laws’ village after her wedding ceremony sings a gloomy song. Lyrics and tunes that capture the painful separation of a woman from her family and friends are common in many cultural traditions across the country. These songs sung at the time of the wedding form an important component of the rich repertoire of oral traditions.

The songs, seemingly simple in their form and subject-matter, passed on, preserved, and sometimes adapted by different generations, play a crucial role in the social construction of identity, often gendered. In a patriarchal society marriage is not just a special event in the life of a woman, but also an important landmark in her identity formation. Courtyards that stand for the memories, families, friendships and freedom that she has known until now, are to grow unfamiliar and distant from this point. This loss of all things familiar, mandated by culture as desirable, awakes in her a complex set of emotions.

The song presented here by a fisherman, Juma Vagher of the Muslim community in Bhadresar village of Mundra taluka, is one of 341 songs recorded by Soorvani, a community-run radio station started in 2008. A collection that has come to PARI through KMVS, these songs capture the immense cultural, linguistic and musical diversity of the region. The collection helps preserve the musical tradition of Kutch, which is in decline, its sounds fading across the desert sands.

It is safe for her to sing of her anxieties and fears through songs, feelings that she cannot otherwise express freely.

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 with Gujarati translation