by Baby Shaw 12 February 2023
About Kandnageet
Kandnageet is a form of a rare form of folk songs, originated and practiced by the inhabitants of rural Bengal which lies at the marginal portion of the South-West border of Bengal through which the Subarnarekha River is flowing towards the Bay of Bengal. The region lies on the border of Jhargram, Midnapore and Jharkhand. The people in this area speak a specific language which is a mixed breed of rural Bengali, Odia, Sambalpuri and Subarnaraikhik Language. For a long period, the inhabitant women of this area used to sing plaintive songs or songs of pathos to express their griefs, their unheard pains, and the pains caused the exploitation over them as women and on various social women issues. They used to sing those songs instantaneously and express the core of their hearts through it. This habit or ritual has existed for more than thousands of years and it is still a practiced culture of this area. The article is based on rigorous research I have conducted on the aboriginal folk songs of the people who reside at the marginal part of South-West Bengal. To collect the information or data for this research, I had to visit and take many interviews of the women of those areas who expressed their grief and pains and narrated their painful stories only in their instantly made songs. They sing those songs and a cathartic effect heals them. These songs, unfortunately, are going to be oblivious from our livelihood due to an extensive global cultural invasion. However, I have paraphrased those songs in contemporary Bengali and collected hundreds of songs already. There are more, and I have to work more on it.
KANDNAGEET, An introspective
It is an undoubted ambiguity that, though we strive for our origin, yet we forget them and we do not know how these origins, roots are gradually becoming oblivious from our culture. In the South–West part of Bengal, at the border areas of Midnapore and Purulia, on the both banks of Subarnarekha River, a specific colloquial language is usually spoken among the people. And this language is termed as Subarnaraikhik Language. This Language is a mixed breed and it is also gradually wiped away from the linguistic map of Bengal and India. However, both the governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand would not deny the existence of the language.
People on both sides of the Subarnarekha River, usually speak in that language. They express their merrier moments, their rage, their painful experiences and their culture in that language. Various songs and local poems have already been written in that language. The history of the language comprises a mixed evolution from the Aryan and the Dravidian language. People of that area are commonplace and downtrodden— not very much aware of the rich heritage they are carrying through their rituals, cultures and even through their lives.
A glimpse of the nature of the song and its summary are brought forward below. The narrative is for the ordinary livelihood of people of south-west Bengal.
Lok pocharibe jinis kai Babago
Ki boli uttar dimu mui Babago
Pathpora jhi mui jodi hiton Babago
Gohona uttar ghurai diton Babago
Through this kind of song, we come to know about the dowry system of the south-west border areas of Bengal. This song is all about the dowry system. The poor parents have let their daughter marry, but the father has become unable to collect all the things necessary for the dowry system. For this, the girl is regularly being abused in her in-law’s house. She is tortured. The girl, too, silently endures all the harassment. Hence, the girl urges her father that if she were literate, then she could tell everyone that taking dowry is a criminal offense.
Though beyond the power of translation, there are the culture of expressing griefs by the women after a sad demise of their near and dear ones, or during their journey to the in-law’s house or due to a pathos due to a mal-function of a marriage or an unjust exploitation of patriarchy over the women. Women, who do not even get the power and self-reliance of expressing the rage and pain in front of everyone, they express within themselves in a sad tone and note of their songs. These songs are termed ‘Kandnageet’, which in English, means ‘songs of crying’.
Another rhythmic livelihood is mentioned in the serene lyricism:
Pepuri chali thay dharike dhari kakigo
Mui chali thauo ghorike ghori kakigo
Ghori ghori asa osukh pawa kakigo
Eba to tumar nishchoye rohoo kakigo
This song was sung when the girl went to her in-law’s house. At the time of departure, when she goes to the neighbor aunty, she weeps in front of her remembering the by-gone days. It can be compared with the ants who always continue to walk in a line. The girl comes to the aunty in a regular interval every day because it relieves her pains to some extent. It might be the case that the people of her home don’t like her to go to the aunty. Consequently, the days of this regular visit have ended. Hence, she is crying.
The examples are given to let you know the wealth hidden in these songs. I have done extensive research on the songs and tried to know the importance of these in the light of cultural history.
Heritage & Psychology
It is to be noted that this culture of expressing pains in a tune or in a song is a proof of our aboriginal existence in the deep-rooted history. And these historical proofs are extensively existent in the various regions of India. The Austric, Dravid culture, the prehistoric behavioral cultural scenario of humankind, deals with a plaintive course which can be substantiated in the cultural totems. However, in the diversified historical places like India, no original culture can exist in the purest form. With time, it mingles in various cultures, totems, rituals and symbols. Perhaps, after a long gap, a historical symbol is expressed in a long-forgotten ritual. People residing on both the banks of Subarnarekha, are exemplary in this case, as, they unknowingly follow the age-old tradition of Kandnageet, express their griefs. More importantly, these songs are instantaneous, thus mostly nascent. No impurities or crafting art could put a darkened cover of craftsmanship over a spontaneous overflow of emotional expression.
We can also discuss the heritage of tragedy in this case whereas we know that in Greece, tragedy has originated where hubris and catharsis (pity and fear) were taken as the touchstone of tragedy. Hence, for relieving pain, cathartic art is popularly followed by various people and various sections of people all over the world. People love to cry psychologically, they love to feel pity and in order to do so, they relieve themselves from pain itself. They feel an extensive amount of joy in the expression of pain. However, in the case of Kandnageet, this psychological benefit of expressing relief takes the place of joy. As these songs are not part of a theater, nor a part of a special performing art, but a part of real life. People feel relieved from pain when they cry. In the case of the people residing on both the banks of Subarnarekha River, they compose songs instantaneously whenever they want to express their griefs in any form or for any reasons. Hence, the psychological reason for this expression lies in the hardship of life. This is mixed with unique uses of metaphors and narratives. Even poets and lyricists, especially women lyricists generally used the method of dramatic monologues in the pattern of kandnageet. The dramatic irony and the form of pathos are mixed with an easy style of narrative which have made those songs very much familiar to the audience.
Categories of songs
As discussed earlier, the songs originate from the core section of life. Hence, the women of the secluded margins of Bengal have nothing but their own songs to express their minds. Whenever they had faced their pain-stricken conditions, they took shelter in their songs. According to their modes of expression and reasons of grieves, we can categorize those songs in various ways—reasons for losing near and dear ones, reasons of marriage, reasons of leaving home and going to in-laws’ homes, reasons of husband-wife relationship turmoil, reasons of exploitation over a woman by the in-laws’ house, reasons of feeling pain in minds for love etc. Besides those reasons, normal livelihood is also a reason or a theme of Kandnageet. The structure reminds us of a plaintive anthem as used to be sung in Europe or among the dwellers of villages whose lives are stricken by pains due to some war, but it is clear that lamentation is the predominant effect which binds those songs in a common thread. However, this lamentation does not overburden those songs into the structure as was usually found in Rajasthan’s Rudali. In the case of Rudali, these are more professional, more job oriented as people are hired to cry or lament after the sad demise of someone in a family. But in the case of Bengal’s Kandnageet, women are not hired. They express their pains, their grief spontaneously through those songs. They instantaneously write this lamentation through a proper tone of expression.
Though the entire process is painful, yet they, by birth, possess the power of creating songs even in a precarious situation. Besides lamenting, hence, in various categories, through various types of songs, we can find out the voice of women through a dungeon of exploitation. We can find out a montage of their nostalgia, reflection of their dreams and breaking of their heart in the cruel hardships of lives through these songs.
Language and historicism
As there are hundreds of songs still there in Bengal, the language, symbols and rituals are the part of an unnoticed history. The history of the rural women, marginal women, the history of the hardship of women in the villages, far from the madding crowd and civilization of urbanity are clearly expressed in those folk songs reverberated among the grief-stricken women of these areas. The historicism of these songs not only depicts the marginalized women of Bengal, but also depicts the marginal culture of Bengal. Moreover, the culture is synced with the ethereal local colors of language, symbols, images, rhetoric and life-struggle. The intense but truthful agony mingled with pathos, creates a natural synchronized pain in those songs. Thus, these songs are not only an immortal proof of a lost art but also a living narrative of an age-old way of life. Those songs are sung in Subarnaraikhik language, closer to Bengali language, but not actually Bengali. In this local language, traces of Odia, Hindi, Maithili and local languages had been mixed.
As an example, we can discuss this song:
Lok pocharibe jinis kai Babago
Ki boli uttar dimu mui Babago
Pathpora jhi mui jodi hiton Babago
Gohona uttar ghurai diton Babago
This song is sung when the girl comes to his father to bid a farewell before going to the in-law’s house. The affectionate father does not want to bid her a farewell. But he knows there is a society the rule of which is you have to bid a farewell to your girl and let her marry to a stranger. But during the time of this departure, the father cannot hold his patience. He is in pain and he cries. But the girl, seeing his father cry in this way, assumes the role of his mother. She is convincing him that ‘Oh father, please do not cry. Girls have to go to the in-law’s house. Please don’t be anxious. Just bless me and I will be alright.’
There were traces of old languages and old accentuation and also traces of old meanings of words. Hence, if we wish to depict the history of language through those songs and cults, we must dig out the world which is still hidden.
Preservation of history and subaltern studies
As is said earlier, these songs and culture are about to be wiped out gradually, hence, it is our duty to preserve the history by thoroughly keeping them collected and taking the crux of the historicism out of it. The subaltern studies of Bengal and India are never fully completed exploring these songs, these cultures of marginalized Bengal. The people whose life and culture are dealt with in exploration of these songs, are so marginalized that their lives would not be in our discussion for several periods in history. But that part of history is a gone by chapter and now is the time to look into the underrated things carefully. The postmodern era looks into digging out the aboriginal and marginal culture and historicism. In this context, the exploration of Kandnageet is surely a study of subaltern studies as it is truly a hidden treasure of livelihood of marginalized people. Women are the prime factors of these songs as they create those songs and depict their lives, pathos, pains and griefs within those songs for centuries. Hence, this study and this work are not only a collection of those hidden kandnageet collections, but also, are a study of marginalized women of Bengal. The painful life is inscribed in the lyrics:
Nodi dhare dhare paka panas dadare
Mor shashu ghore kala bongsho dadare
Kuti kuti khabe mor mangso dadare
Sijai khabe mor mangso dadare
Usually, in these areas, people live in a joint family. Grandparents, uncles, parents, cousins all live together. The girl also lives together with all. Naturally, people of the family love this girl very much, since they know that after a certain period, the girl will go to the in-law’s house. The girl, after talking to his family, has already created a picture of the in-law’s house. The reality is known to her. The atrocities in in-law’s house, domestic violence— she knows everything. Hence, she is afraid of going there. Through this song, in the areas of south-west Bengal border, the picture of domestic violence is depicted.
Concluding Remarks
In the progression of a globalized economy, local cultural aspects are generally diminishing. The monolithic structure of the globalized economy generally owns the trends of economic and cultural progress. But whether it is a progress or not, is the most ambiguous question we are facing today. Because in the name of progression, if we miss the power of local cultural nuances, we shall be in a barren and wasteland. Hence, it is the time we should preserve the lyrics of Kandnageet and spread the history of it. It is not only a part and parcel of our culture, but also a treasure which we must dig more.
The Indian Government has a policy to promote all Indian Languages including endangered languages. The languages spoken by less than 10,000 people are being defined as endangered languages. The Government of India has introduced a Scheme known as “Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India” (SPPEL). Under this Scheme, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother tongues/languages. In the first phase of the scheme, 117 endangered languages/mother tongues have been chosen from all over India for study and documentation on a priority basis (Ministry of Culture, India. Downloaded on 31 Jan, 2023).
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also introduced two schemes for the protection of endangered languages, which are ‘Funding Support to the State Universities for Study and Research in Indigenous and Endangered languages in India’ and ‘Establishment of centers for Endangered Languages in Central Universities’ (Ministry of Culture, India. Downloaded on 31 Jan, 2023).
Inquisitive researchers and the people in general have to be conscious about this hidden treasure and must value it; otherwise, researchers will not submit research proposals with a view to rescuing it, and without people’s support, these schemes will bring no positive outcomes.