Showing posts with label Dhaka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dhaka. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Monday, March 29, 2010
Gambhira
At times, Gambhira Dance is also performed in duet or in-group, depending upon the number of participants. The characters of the dance represent Puranic deities like Shiva, Parvati, Kali, etc. The big drum Dhak is primarily used as the principal accompanying instrument and the song, sung in eulogy of Lord Shiva and the tunes are loud and coarse, giving an added glory to its form. Gambhira songs are assumed to have originated from the worship of the god Shiva, since he is also known as `Gambhir`. In ancient times, Gambhira used to be celebrated as Puja,but in the medieval period, most Hindu communities started celebrating the Puja of `Dharma thakur` (a popular god of the Hindus) on the last three days of the Bengali year. This later on, was known as the `gajan of Shiva`. In the past, Shiva was imagined to be present at the time of actual performance.
The songs of Gambhira originated among the Hindu community of Maldah in West Bengal, completely in its theme formation. With time, Gambhira songs have undergone many changes in terms of theme and style of its presentation. Later, Muslims became the custodians of these songs and made many changes in its form, as it was an integral part of their social life and their culture by the time.
At present, the main characters in the Gambhira are a maternal grandfather and his grandson. The performance is usually structured as a dialogue between them, interspersed with songs for fluent flow, where the dialogues consists of both prose and poetry. The Gambhira reflects contemporary social problems through witty dialogues, songs, dances and jokes. Sometimes it also reflects a generation contradiction in opinions & choices.
The costumes for this performance are very simple, since both the performers wear lungis. The gray-bearded grandfather wears a mathal i.e. straw hat on his head and holds a stick in his hand, whereas, the grandson wears a torn jersey and has a gamchha, a local checked towel that is tied around his waist.
In the past, Gambhira songs were sung in the measures of ektal, trital, dadra, khemta, kaharba but nowadays, the tunes are more influenced by songs from popular Bangla and Hindi movies in terms of music. The Gambhira songs were made popular by Kutubul Alam, Rakibuddin, Biren Ghosh and Mahbubul Alam in their regions. They tried to introduce many new subjects and characters as its content with interesting and witty dialogues.
The songs of Gambhira originated among the Hindu community of Maldah in West Bengal, completely in its theme formation. With time, Gambhira songs have undergone many changes in terms of theme and style of its presentation. Later, Muslims became the custodians of these songs and made many changes in its form, as it was an integral part of their social life and their culture by the time.
At present, the main characters in the Gambhira are a maternal grandfather and his grandson. The performance is usually structured as a dialogue between them, interspersed with songs for fluent flow, where the dialogues consists of both prose and poetry. The Gambhira reflects contemporary social problems through witty dialogues, songs, dances and jokes. Sometimes it also reflects a generation contradiction in opinions & choices.
The costumes for this performance are very simple, since both the performers wear lungis. The gray-bearded grandfather wears a mathal i.e. straw hat on his head and holds a stick in his hand, whereas, the grandson wears a torn jersey and has a gamchha, a local checked towel that is tied around his waist.
In the past, Gambhira songs were sung in the measures of ektal, trital, dadra, khemta, kaharba but nowadays, the tunes are more influenced by songs from popular Bangla and Hindi movies in terms of music. The Gambhira songs were made popular by Kutubul Alam, Rakibuddin, Biren Ghosh and Mahbubul Alam in their regions. They tried to introduce many new subjects and characters as its content with interesting and witty dialogues.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BeraUtsav/RaftFestival
Raft Festival a folk festival during which a raft is floated. In areas with rivers, canals and other water bodies, people float banana rafts or bhelas in the name of Khowaj Khizir, a water pir, to ward off ills from water. The festival, which is celebrated every year on the last Thursday of Bhadra, is observed at social or family levels or at the initiative of fakirs. At times of crises, the observance can be organised at any time of the year.
Khowaj Khizir was a Semitic water god who entered Bangladesh in the 13th century with the Turkish rulers. In due course Khowaj Khizir found a durable place in the hearts of the people here. The nawabs and nayeb-nazims of MURSHIDABAD and DHAKA were among his devotees. Mukarram Khan, Sirajuddowla and Mir Qasim used to float rafts with great fanfare on the BURIGANGA in Dhaka and the Bhagirathi in Murshidabad on the last Thursday of Bhadra.
Raft festivals or verabhasan are not dedicated to Khowaz Khizir alone. At Munshiganj, for example, Hindu women dedicate the festival to the goddess Ganga. The celebration at Panditbari in Sulakia, KISHOREGANJ, is named the 'Vera festival of Zinda pir and Paran Fakir'. On other occasions, he is honoured along with others. At Tamaltala in Kishoreganj, for example, eight sages and holy men are honoured, the first being Mahaguru and the second Khowaj Khizir.
The celebrations also unite the Muslim saint and the Hindu goddess. The banana plants needed to make a raft are collected by a fasting priest who goes to the plantation with his disciples after seeking the owner's permission. To the plants he says, 'We wish to take seven plants to make a raft for Mother Ganga and Khowaj Khizir'. Each plant is felled with a single stroke and then the raft is made. One vera bhasan song describes the marriage between Khowaj Khizir and Ganga.
Khowaj Khizir was a Semitic water god who entered Bangladesh in the 13th century with the Turkish rulers. In due course Khowaj Khizir found a durable place in the hearts of the people here. The nawabs and nayeb-nazims of MURSHIDABAD and DHAKA were among his devotees. Mukarram Khan, Sirajuddowla and Mir Qasim used to float rafts with great fanfare on the BURIGANGA in Dhaka and the Bhagirathi in Murshidabad on the last Thursday of Bhadra.
Raft festivals or verabhasan are not dedicated to Khowaz Khizir alone. At Munshiganj, for example, Hindu women dedicate the festival to the goddess Ganga. The celebration at Panditbari in Sulakia, KISHOREGANJ, is named the 'Vera festival of Zinda pir and Paran Fakir'. On other occasions, he is honoured along with others. At Tamaltala in Kishoreganj, for example, eight sages and holy men are honoured, the first being Mahaguru and the second Khowaj Khizir.
The celebrations also unite the Muslim saint and the Hindu goddess. The banana plants needed to make a raft are collected by a fasting priest who goes to the plantation with his disciples after seeking the owner's permission. To the plants he says, 'We wish to take seven plants to make a raft for Mother Ganga and Khowaj Khizir'. Each plant is felled with a single stroke and then the raft is made. One vera bhasan song describes the marriage between Khowaj Khizir and Ganga.
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