in bits and pieces
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View from a Shikara floating on Dal Lake.
Photograph taken by me in June 2008.
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Cross posted at my other blog
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Garmiyon may Kashmir jannat hai
In summer Kashmir is a paradise
– from “A dictionary of Hindustani proverbs: including many Marwari, Panjabi, Maggah, Bhojpuri, and Tirhuti proverbs, sayings, emblems, aphorisms, maxims, and similes” by S. W. Fallon, Richard Carnac Temple, Dihlavi Fakir Chand. Originally published: Benares : E.J. Lazarus & Co., 1886.
Gyav Tchot – Roti made in Ghee. Naturally, best when had fresh.
The back side reveals its oven origin.
Mummy iskay peechay kala kala hai!
These Hindu bakehouses, usually operating from rented shop spaces near localities with sizable population of Kashmiri Pandits, are mostly run by Hindus of Kistawar.
Often near the oven, you can find a sketch of a pooch-bellied woman, Lal Ded. Pooch belly a cover for her nakedness.
Kashmiris tell a strange story in which this woman dived into a burning oven of a Kandur on seeing a ‘man’. Some say it wasn’t like that. Nonsense! Bring the baker to the witness stand.
Don but such apparel as will cause the cold to flee.
Eat but so much food as will cause hunger to cease.
O Mind! devote thyself to discernment of the Self and of the Supreme,
And recognize thy body as but food for forest crows.
– Lal Ded
Another bakery at night.
All breads, and kashmiris have variety of breads, have shrunk in size. Lavaasa now come in size of Girda and size of Girda is inching towards kulcha. And all of them seem to have too much baking soda.
Count the number of times Dil is mentioned, you can tell it’s a love long.
Notice Chakkar pirouettes, round spins, somewhat like Chakar of Kathak and the fast footwork meant to produce music from ghungroos ankle bells, somewhat like tatkar of Kathak.
Here’s something interesting:
Tatkar is also mentioned in a 13th century AD work on music called Sangeeta Ratnakara (The Ocean of Music) composed by one Sarangadeva, a Kashmiri Pandit, son of one Sodhaladeva of Kashmir.
“ A monumental work came to be written in 13th century AD. This was the Sangeeta Ratnakara(The Ocean of Music) penned by Sarangadeva, an emigrant from Kashmir, who became the Chief Accountant of Raja Sodhala, a Yadava king of Devgiri in South India. A work so stupendous in depth and extent is it that it is difficult to believe that it could have been scribed by the one man. The Ratnakara gives in great detail description of scales, raga, talas, musical forms, instruments, and many other subjects. Of greater significance is the fact that it is, perhaps, the first major work dealing with Northern and Southern musical systems. It is opined by many scholars…that it was during this period Indian music got bifurcated into the two systems of North [Hindustani] and South [Karnatak.]”
– Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva, An Introduction to Indian Music (1973), p.74.
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proponents of “Jewish origin of Kashmiri people” can have a field day looking at the image.
It looks like some sort of Star of David and some sort of Tree of life.
After the bridal shower, the Devgon havan – a fire ritual, is performed.
To the left of the fire, drawn in sendir vermilion sindurah on a rectangular cardboard, can be found a Kapavriksha wishing tree, celestial tree of life, spurting out of two interjecting but oppositely inverted equilateral triangles, a figure having only four corners.
To the right of the fire are kept two bricks, up-right, side-by-side, in front of which burns an oil lamp.
Don’t let anyone say we didn’t sing for Matamal, the bride’s maternal family. Look we are singing the old songs. He is from the Matamal side. So what did we say! Bless him! May he get his sacred thread soon, may we sing for him. Here comes the bride’s mamaji. Sing for him. Singing. These Uncle and Nephew/Niece relations are very delicate. One must have brains. Singing. singing. Singing. Not that passage right now, we haven’t reached there yet. Reading (the girl has had her bridal shower on the rock…). singing. Singing.
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Previous evening.
The booklet of Wanwun lyrics costs around Rs.60. The old women talked with respect about women, women, who could still sing these songs from memory. I tried to read. It’s Kashmiri written in Devnagri. I couldn’t. My grandmother breezed through the text.
The dancer is known as Bacha, the Kid – usually a lithesome (at times, effeminate) boy/man who dances, sometimes comically, always attired like a woman in a multi-colored frock-like dress. The song-dance proceeding are known as Bach Nagma Jashan – Kid Dancer’s Celebration. Presently, the most popular song-dance for marriage celebrations.
In older times, another kind of celebration was more popular – Hafiz Nagma, ‘Female Dancer’s Song’.
In this performance, just like in case of Bach Nagma, songs were usually set to Sufi lyrics or Sufiana Kalam, but the dancer who performed on these songs was always female and known as – Hafiza. These dancers were much celebrated at weddings and festivals.
In 1920s, Hafiz Nagma was banned in Kashmir by the ruling Dogra Maharaja. The Ruler felt this dance was losing its sufi touch and was becoming too sensual, de-based and hence amoral for the society. Now, songs being the same, in an odd parody, female Muslim dancers were replaced by young Muslim boys who dressed like women. It came to be known as bacha nagma and remains a popular for of celebration at Kashmiri weddings. Hafiz Nagma also survived but in an increasingly Islamic going society, kept losing ground.
This wasn’t the first time that Kashmiri people had a brush with effeminacy. Kashmiris believe that Mughal Emperor Akbar, after his conquest of Kashmir, in an attempt to counter manly valour of its people and remove any possible future trouble, decree-forced Kashmiri men to were feminine gown like dresses – pheran.
Kashmiris love their pheran. Kashmiris love Bach Nagma.
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Bach Nagma Jashan on the night of Maenzraath
in swirls
Like a singing woman
Hands up- Hands down. Shoulder up-Shoulder down. On his knees.
thumka thumka
Even some Punjabi bhangra with young guys.
More people he manages to get on the dance floor, the more he is showered with money. When I got dragged to the dance floor, he started doing something like Kathak with his feet, really working those ghungroos. Only problem, his feet were hidden under his frock, and I had no idea what he was doing. What was I supposed to do. Made a fool of myself. I just followed his step.
Around 11:30 and already a sleepy audience.
Time to get them ladies dancing.
That what the bacha does, he is supposed to get everyone to dance. Someone from the family secretly and often overtly points him in the right direction.
In between folk song, a funny song to wake up people, it starts something like this:
Aav ai Aav ai Rajesh Khanna/Syeeth-Syeeth Dimpul Khanna (Chorus)
Aav ai Aav ai Rajesh Khanna/Syeeth-Syeeth Tinkle Khanna (Chorus)
Here comes Rajesh Khanna, Here comes Rajesh Khanna, along comes Dimple and Twinkle Khanna.
(Then the singer say’s that he has seen many beautiful woman. All of the beautiful woman, ladies and girls. But…)
Korayv kor kissai tamaan/ Korayv kar’e bhumaye fanah
Girls put an end to the tale/ All girls purged their brows away.
(Then the singer sings about Men and purged turbans, Daughter-in-law and purged Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law and purged Daughter-in-law, and so on. and so forth. What’s Rajesh Khanna and his family doing in it all? Don’t ask me! )
Hikat.
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Video to be posted soon.
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Update
Videos of Bach Nagma dance:
Rabaab is believed to have come to Kashmir from Central Asia. In Kashmiri folk singing, it is mostly used for Sufiyana kalam.
The sound of this stringed instrument is also part of folk music from Afghanistan and Punjab (in Bow variation?).
Side view of the wonderful instrument.
Hatsa tulba Photo’ha Go ahead, take a photo.
The musicians name is Bashir, it’s written on the instrument in ball-pen ink.
Musical Troupe for Maenzraath prepare for Bach Nagma Jashan
Old instruments mix with new.
From left to right:
Stage is set.
Just after dinner, around 10 pm., the troupe start the celebration, always with a Kashimiri Bhajan. Those who want to leave start to leave and those who can stay and have to stay, the close relatives – stay. A few more Bhajans, some devotional songs later, the real singing and dancing starts with Bacha taking the lead. Bacha is always a Muslim. The only other Muslim in this musical troupe comprising of Pandits-Hindus, is the Rabaab player.
The dancing and singing goes on till 5 in the moring and always ends with songs for gods.
Hikat Mikat on the night of Maenzraath, Night of Henna.
Hikat, the Kashmiri folk dance in which two young girls hold each other’s hand in a cross and try to swirl the other girl round in circles. First slowly and then as the beat of the music gets faster and as the laws of physics come into effect, a momentum, their feet come closer and body weight moves to the back , an orbit, now their toes almost touch, for a brief moment, laws of nature completely take over, no need to move, and in that perfect brief moment the two girls swirl around together in pure joy.
