Lots of music, conversations and overwhelm

Dear reader,

Hello! I haven’t written here for a long time, I went off for the Malwa Mahila Kabir Yatra which started in the end of Feb and went on till March 2. Before I went, my therapist told me - You are going to meet a lot of people, your body will constantly tell you how it feels in their presence, see if you can tap into it.

Though I had a lot of fun, made new friends, I was also overwhelmed. The Yatra meant a lot of travelling, a lot of music and very little sleep. I realised I no more function well when I haven’t slept well.

What I’m trying to say, this is not a review of the Yatra but my experience and some fab songs. I should also share something my lover says about me: “ Subah tere pass kitna energy hota hai, 10 baje battery tera poor discharge hota hai, bas band kar type ka energy hota hai.” That’s the truest thing about me, I may not have not slept in the night but I will super energetic in the mornings, I may have slept through the day but by 10, I need peace, I can’t socialize, I shut down. You get it, right?

Moving on, we travelled through the Malwa region that falls in MP, a part of Malwa also falls in Rajasthan. I reached Bhopal on the night the Invest MP event had concluded. My flight was late and because I had thought of taking an Uber or Ola, I had not asked that I be picked up. When I got there, there were no cabs and I had to just get into a random car at 11 in the night and get to my destination. I was a bit scared, so I texted a friend in Bhopal to check on me after 40 mins, eventually I relaxed. I also reached.

In Bhopal, I had signed up to work on an art piece for Yatra’s stage. This is how I interpreted the logo designed by Kanak Shashi and this is what we made. If you are wondering what the Heli in Heliyon ko Zubaani means, it is the word used for women in the Malwa region.

After spending a day in Bhopal woking on the piece till 9 in the night, we got on a bus to our first stop on our Yatra — Sonkatch. The roads were lined with Tesu or Palash — Flame of the Forest.

I have often heard references of this flower, in whatever little I know of Hindustani music and Kathak, and it has always something to do with the coming home of a lover, soft was lovely to see it bloom everywhere.

The first set of performances were in a place called Manjekhedi in Dewas. I had barely slept the past two nights, so I was struggling to keep my eyes open. But even with all the sleep deficit, I noticed the young person who played the Dholak. He was so energetic and had so much charisma, and every time he felt the audience was enjoying his music, he would get into an import jugalbandi with the person playing the harmonium. He also smiled through his performance. His name was Vikas and I met him off stage. He was all of 22, his hands were full of callouses from playing the Dholak but that didn’t stop him giving his full and more while playing on the stage again.

In Manjekhedi I also chatted up someone who was a Thanjavur Maharashtrian. They told me how their community migrated to Thanjavur in the 13th century. On insistence, they talked to me in Thanjavur Marathi, which they said sounds like Tamizh, which it did. I’d keep talking to them in Marathi whenever possible. When I told them how mornings in Dewas was गार or cold for me, they said they had never heard of the word, their word for cold was हिमस्| They also told me their family still make Pitla. Meeting them was fascinating, always fascinating to see what communities take with them, their influences and assimilations in another land.

Anyway after the performance in Manjikhedi, we travelled back to Sonkatch, I couldn’t sleep much in the night because I don’t sleep well in new places. And by the time I am sleepy, everyone’s snoring but despite that early in the morning I went to walk in the fields and it was lovely.

During the day there was singing and catching up but I was ready to go back to sleep, especially because the big room where we had slept was quiet. And I need that after meeting a lot of people. I slept and that’s how I could enjoy the night in Bhaukhedi.

Now Bhaukhedi is not too far from Bhopal. I registered most of the singers who sang in Bhaukhedi. In Bhaukhedi I was most awake and I also danced because my friend Bala pushed me to and I am glad he did.

In Bhaukhedi, Saloni who had a bad throat but still went up on stage and sang, gave me a my new break-up song —- Saiyyan Nikas Gaye, Mein Na Ladi Thi. I don’t have her rendition of the song but please listen to this one.

Another song that I heard in one of the Baithaks, went with the same theme — the lover leaving + sadness. This came from Mehdi who played this on a flute.

In Bhaukhedi, I become a fan of Arav of Muskaan, just hear them sing - dhikkat dhikkat dhikkat

Also, in Bhaukhedi, I would hear Jamnabai sing, unlike other artists, she wouldn’t start slow but would launch herself like a rocket and would completely own the stage. When Bala and I spoke to her and told her how much we enjoyed her singing, she said — it would have been better had I played with my own musicians. I can sing like this through the night. She immediately became my icon. I’d like to someday occupy space just like her. I don’t have a video of her singing but here’s something from last year.

We stayed in Bhaukhedi that night, I was a bit worried if I would fall asleep but I slept well and next morning we went for a walk in the fields. Those pipes you see are to make sure the river Narmada can reach cities in pipes.

After lunch, I lead my embroidery workshop where people embroidered their experiences of the Yatra. This is my Dhai Akhar Prem Ke.

Usually I would have had people sit in circles and move around and teach them but I didn’t move this time because people kept coming to me and I was tired but people made beautiful things in different languages and there was so much singing. Please listen to Bala and Safvan joyously singing Kanmani Anbodu.

People’s responses to the session was heartwarming, many felt they back to their childhoods when they had learned to embroider, they talked about connections with close folks who have passed on. At the session someone told me that I had taught them 6 years ages ago when they were a kid and I had got to work at the non-profit. It was one of the most heartwarming parts of the trip for me.

(embroidery by Madhuri)

That evening we went to Nasrullaganj. In Nasrullaganj, I danced a lot and really enjoyed Deepanjalili’s singing.

The highlight of the evening was WeBhor inviting Radhika Sood to sing Bulleh Shah with them. At the beginning of the Yatra, the organisers had shared that when they went from village to village campaigning for the Yatra, both Hindus and Muslims were apprehensive about sharing space. But when these 5 women started singing Bulleh Shah — होरी खेलुँगी कह कर बिस्मिल्लाह
नाम नबी की रतन चढ़ी बूँद पड़ी अल्लाह अल्लाह
रंग-रंगीली ओही खिलावे जो सखी होवे फ़ना-फ़िल्लाह
होरी खेलुँगी कह कर बिस्मिल्लाह

.. everyone in the audience was singing and dancing Bismillah. The village was in a trance. It almost felt like this can be a possibility:

That night we came back to Bhopal, I realised I needed to go back into my cocoon and got just that — some alone time. Like my therapist had said, I found out, I am a small group person, I like talking to fewer people and can’t speak in groups, I also need a lot of time alone and for a change I wasn’t comparing why I wasn’t like the others.

The last day of the Yatra was in Bhopal and for me the highlight was dancing with my student.

I stayed another day after the Yatra and in the evening, us Malabaris went for Iftar in old Bhopal. We sang Malayalam songs in our cab and chatted. It was a lot of fun!

That’s it! I will be organising an Iftar meet in Mumbai this week and shall email you’ll soon. Till then be well and enjoy the music.
<3
Indu