Abhangs of Maharashtra

 Abhang - अभंग

जे का रा़ंजले गांजले, त्यासी म्हणें जो आपुले 

तोचि साधु ओळखावा , देव तेथेंची जाणावा ।।१।।

मृदु सबाह्य नवनीत, तैसे सज्जनांचे चित्त

ज्यासी अपंगिता नाही , त्यासी धरी जो हृदयी ।।२।।

दया करणें जे पुत्रासी, तेची दासा आणि दासी

तुका म्हणे सांगु किती , त्याची भगवंताच्या मूर्ति ।।३।।

English translation by Mahatma Gandhi while imprisoned in Yerwada jail, 1930

Know him to be a true man, who takes to his bosom

Those who are in distress, know that God resides in the heart of such a one.

His heart is saturated with gentleness through and through

He receives as his only those who are forsaken

He bestows on his man servants and maidservants the same affection he shows to his children

Tukaram says ; what need is there to describe him further ? He is the very incarnation of divinity.

That which Mahatma Gandhi has translated from Marathi to English is an Abhang of 

Sant Tukaram.

                                                    Sant Namdeo

Abhang ( अभंग ) literally means that which cannot be broken ( अ / भंग ); that which is a flawless, non-ending , continuous, non-interrupting process of poetry. Abhangs are devotional poetry in praise of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur. 

This is a form of Marathi poetry developed by the Varkari Saints from the 13th Century onwards in rural Maharashtra.

These abhangs were composed in Marathi, it's various dialects, khandeshi. 

Abhangs taught the people the path to reach God was through personal devotion and not through rigid rituals, worship or traditions.

Worship of God was a personal interaction between the devotee and the Lord. 

The Abhangs strove to bring the path of salvation within the grasp of each and every individual. 

It made worship of the Lord attainable by even the illiterate,ignorant rural population who were previously unable to understand Sanskrit shlokas, mantras or books due to lack of literacy and access.

These were sung by devotees on the way to pilgrimage to Pandharpur for a darshan of Lord Vitthal.

They referred to Lord Vitthal as Vithoba, Panduranga and Mauli ( Mother )

These originated from Paithan, Pandharpur, Mangal Veda, Alandi and spread through entire Maharashtra due to the Varkari movement.

Varkari Saints in the forefront of this revolutionary movement included Sant Eknath, Sant Tukaram, Sant Dnyaneshwar,Sant Namdeo, Sant Eknath, Samarth Ramdas, Sant Nivruttinath, Sant Sopandeo, Sant Muktabai.

Sant Dnyaneshwar

Each and every Sant down the centuries carried forward the Varkari tradition.

Abhangs  made the common folk believe in the power of personal worship , without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, class, race, sex.

They sought to emphasize the path of bhakti, devotion and love towards the Lord without following any blind rituals, religious practices prevalent in those times.

Samarth Ramdas took this tradition of Namsankirtan to Thanjavur, in the South of India.

Abhangs were so integrated in the culture there  that they became an integral part of Carnatic and bhajan concerts.

Sant Tukaram Ganapathi Maharaj  used to give his discourses on Lord Vitthal  in the local Tamil language followed by the  singing of Abhangs in Marathi.

Tukaram Ganpathi Maharaj

Some of the modern day artists who are carrying forward the legacy of the Abhangs across the country include -

• Pandit Bhimsen Joshi 

• Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi

• Hariharan

• Shankar Mahadevan

• Aruna Sairam

• Ranjani and Gayatri

• Manjusha Patil Kulkarni

• Lata Mangeshkar

• Suresh Wadkar

• Kavasam Bakthi

• Mahesh Kale

• Sudhir Phadke

• Jitendra Abhisheki

Abhangs are easily accessible nowadays on various platforms like youtube, online digital music platforms like gaana.com, spotify etc.

( Pictures courtesy - wikipedia  and the hindu.com )

Folk dances of Maharashtra - Lavani ( Part 1 )

 

The State of Maharashtra has a rich and varied culture going back centuries.There is an abundance of folk music , songs and dance.

The main folk dances originating in Maharashtra are :-

1. Powada

2. Lezim

3. Koli dance

4. Dindi 

5. Kala

6. Tamasha

7. Dhangari Gaja

8. Ghondal

9. Lavani

Each of the above dances have their own purpose , theme and topic, be it religious,sensual, seasonal etc.

Of these, one of the most popular, mesmerising, sensual, erotic, invigorating is Lavani.

The word Lavani ( लावणी ) literally means beauty as it is derived from the word Lavanya  ( लावण्या ) meaning Grace and Beauty.

It is a song and dance performance with a female dancer or dancers as the main lead with male supporting dancers who are called Nat  ( नट ) or kinnars. 

The songs are written by males. 

The dance has a very powerful and vigorous rhythm with topics ranging from religious, devotional , sexual, sensual , erotic , social & political satire with a mix of dance and double meaning dialogues between the lead and her back up troupe.

Though its history goes back to the 14 th century , it however gained popularity and came into prominence due to the patronage of the ruling Brahman Peshwas of Pune in the 16 th century.

Previously it was localised to the Dhangars / Shepherd community in rural regions of Sholapur, Maharashtra. 

With time it spread to much of Maharashtra, South Madhya Pradesh and North Karnataka.

It started as a form of tales of nature and devotion to the deity Biruba by the Dhangars and went on to encompass a myriad of themes , though it's base being a romantic,sexually explicit, erotic , titillating performance for a predominantly male audience.

In the olden days it was performed mostly for the Maratha warriors / soldiers engaged in the many wars of those times.

With the patronage of the ruling class , affluent Peshwas, it became more embedded in the Maratha society and culture. 

The common themes would be romantic yearning of a wife / woman separated from her husband / lover due to the wars. She would long for his love and physical intimacy. It would be in the form of erotic songs and dialogue.

Musical instruments used are the dholak, manjeera, tuntuni, Daf, Harmonium and the ghungroos tied up to the dancer's ankles. 

The female dancers wear a nine yard sari called the Nauvari, in the khasta style of draping.

It is much like a dhoti as compared to the regular sari draping as it allows for more freedom in movement. 

The leading ladies are beautifully made up with the Navari, a judaa or Ambada ( Hair Bun ) decorated with jewels and gajra, a big round red Bindi , nath, kamarpatta, Thushi ( necklaces ) , Bormaal, Pohe Haar, heavy jhumkas, bangles, and make-up.

….. Continued