He is caught at the gate, killed at the crossroads,
hullabaloo around the streets.
Oh! Hamiriyo is not here, not yet.
This song goes back 200 years. Based on a popular Kutchi folk story, it tells the tale of two young lovers, Hamir and Hamli. Their families disapprove of their love, and so the two meet secretly on the shore of Hamisar lake in Bhuj. But one day, while on his way to meet his beloved, Hamir is spotted by a family member. He tries to escape but is chased and murdered in the battle that follows. This song is one of mourning as Hamli waits by the lake for her lover who will never return.
Why do the families disapprove?
The full lyrics of the song – in a form widely known as rasuda – suggest that caste may well have been a critical factor in the boy’s murder. However, most Kutchi scholars prefer to read the song as one expressing any woman’s grief on losing her lover. But that ignores the real references to the gate, the crossroads and the chaos that followed.
This is one of 341 songs recorded by Soorvani, a community-run radio started by the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) 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.
The song presented here is sung by Bhavna Bhil from Bhachau Taluka in Kachchh. Rasuda is often played at weddings in the region. Rasuda is also a Kutchi folk dance, where women sing and twirl around a drummer who plays the dhol. When a girl gets married, her family incurs a huge amount of debt to buy the required jewellery. With the death of Hamirio, Hamli loses the right to wear these ornaments and the song here refers to her loss and her debts.કરછી
હમીરસર તળાવે પાણી હાલી છોરી હામલી
પાળે ચડીને વાટ જોતી હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
ઝાંપલે જલાણો છોરો શેરીએ મારાણો
આંગણામાં હેલી હેલી થાય રે હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
પગ કેડા કડલા લઇ ગયો છોરો હમિરીયો
કાભીયો ( પગના ઝાંઝર) મારી વ્યાજડામાં ડોલે હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
ડોક કેડો હારલો (ગળા પહેરવાનો હાર)મારો લઇ ગયો છોરો હમિરીયો
હાંસડી(ગળા પહેરવાનો હારલો) મારી વ્યાજડામાં ડોલે હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
નાક કેડી નથડી (નાકનો હીરો) મારી લઇ ગયો છોરો હમિરીયો
ટીલડી મારી વ્યાજડામાં ડોલે હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
હમીરસર તળાવે પાણી હાલી છોરી હામલી
પાળે ચડીને વાટ જોતી હમીરિયો છોરો હજી રે ન આયો
English
She waits by the waters of Hamisar lake; Hamli waits.
Climbing on the embankment, she waits for her love, Hamiriyo.
Oh! the boy is not here, not yet.
He is caught at the gate, killed at the crossroads,
hullabaloo around the streets.
Oh! Hamiriyo is not here, not yet.
He took away my kadala,
the adornment for my feet, that boy Hamiriyo.
My anklets are dancing, I am in debt.
Oh! Hamiriyo is not here, not yet.
He took away my necklace, that boy Hamiriyo.
My choker is dancing, I am in debt.
Oh! Hamiriyo is not here, not yet.
He took away my nose ring, that boy Hamiriyo.
My tiladi, my bindi, dances, I am in debt.
Oh! Hamiriyo is not here, not yet.
She waits by the waters of Hamisar lake, Hamli waits.
Climbing on the embankment, she waits for her love, Hamiriyo.
Type of song: Traditional folk song
Cluster: Songs of love, loss and longing
Song: 2
Title of the song: Hamisar talave pani haali chhori Hamali
Composer:
Deval Mehta
Singer:
Bhavna Bhil from Champar village in Bhachau
taluka
Instruments used:
Harmonium, drum
Recording year:
2005, KMVS studio
Gujarati translation:
Amad Sameja, Bharati Gor
English translation: Pratishtha Pandya
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.
