Paichhmahi, Birhain and laments of a young married woman

Paichhmahi
Imagine – a young married woman goes to her husband's house, she feels like visiting her parents but is not allowed to leave the place. I captured the feelings of a lass like her in the Paichhamahi sung by Bauwa Lal Thakur. Paichhamahi is a folk song sung during the night time by the Tharus and others in the Eastern Nepal districts. It is also sung during the Dhumra Naach shows.

In Nepal and many South Asian countries, a bride has to leave her parents' house forever after marriage. She becomes a permanent part of the groom's house. The couple visit the bride's house once or twice a year.

When I urged Bauwa Lal, in his late sixties, to sing the song, he enthusiastically started singing. Though I could not make out the meaning of most of the singing at the beginning, rewinding the recording several times, I was able to translate it into English.     

The young lady requests to let her visit her parents, laments and sings. 

Taihiya se piya mora ho
Ho daiba re delakai re sinurawa ho Ram
Taihaya se yaba ho piyawa
Ho piyawa nahira ho sapanama
Abe jaihaya se aba ho piyawa

She says, "Since you put sinur (vermillion), visiting my parents' house has turned into a dream." While marrying, the groom applies vermillion to the bride's forehead.

Are goraha ma lagiyo daiba re
Ho daiba re nanadi ke bhaiyaba ho din chari aba ho piyawa
Ho piyawa jaye de ho naiharawa abe din chari aba ho piyawa

"O my sister-in-law's brother, let me visit my parents' house for four days only," she adds.

Hai sawan bhadob ke daiba re
Ho dhani he umarlai Jamunawaba abe kaise didi aba he dhani
He dhani he jayeba he naiharawa abe kone didi aba he dhani

The groom says, "It's rainy season (August) and the river (Jamuna) is flooded. How will you be able to reach there?"

Abe sikiya me kirikiri
Ho daiba re bunalaho bakhariya wahi chari aba ho piyawa
Ho piyawa ho jaye deho naiharawa abe wohi chari aba ho piyawa

The bride replies, "I will weave a boat of siki (a wild grass used to weave baskets) and cross the river, please let me go."

Ha tuti jeto berawa saraki jeto batiya
Ha dhani he dubi marabau wohi majhadar abe dubi maraba he dhani

The groom says, "The boat will capsize and you will get drowned, you will die."

Ha abe Chaitaname tikala girahe
Paradesename piya baithi rahe
Paradesename piya baithi rahe
Hiya amuwa majare jamuwa gujare
Amuwa majare jamuwa gujare
Us baganame koiliya kuke
Us baganame koiliya kuke
Ha piyawa jaye deho naiharawa din chari aba ho piyawa

The bride then talks about the green mangoes in April, mango flowers, blackberries and the cuckoo singing in the orchard. She insists to let her visit her parents' home for at least four days.

Now listen to the song in Bauwa Lal's voice.



Birhain
Like Paichhmahi, Birhain is another folk song sung by Tharus during the day time. Though it is sung during the day time, I requested Bauwa Lal to sing it after he sang the Paichhmahi. This song also talks about the feelings of the bride. While the Paichhmahi is about her laments to visit the parents' house, this song is more about how she feels at the groom's house during the day time.    


Re khopawa ye banhala chikan dhani ho
Aba barahe jatan san
Ye wohi khopa lubu dal rasilba ho
Aa khopa ba re bayari bhelai

She talks about doing her hair, making a bun. She says that the same bun has turned into an outsider to her.

Ha re ye sinur
Ha ye pinhala chikan san ho
Aa barahe jatana san
He laye darapan surati niharbai ho
Amurukhi ye murukhi kahatai

She has applied vermillion carefully. Married women wear vermillion in their forehead as a part of make-up and letting people know that they are married. She talks about bringing a mirror and see how she looks so that others don't consider her as a fool.


Ha re ye sasura ke ya yelai ka hutiya ho
Aa dina mare sudin bhelai
Ye maye baap bhelai hai re nirmohiya ho
Aa dina mare firaye gelakai

Her days have changed. Her mother and father have been like outsiders since she came to her husband's house.

Ha re yada gam lage mora leke naihar ho
Aa yada gam ye sasura
Ye kaise kerakhabai duwo kula apan ho
Apa he sare umata bhelai

She remembers her parents' house and ponders how she will be able to keep relations with both the homes.

Hira ek samay ek phoola ke karan
Mai to gaye nandalal ke bari
Hira abe kach kali phoola toraliyai
Us phoola ke karan lakhan gari

Reminiscing the daily happenings, she talks about an incident when she went to her neighbour's garden to pick flowers. She picked a flower bud and had to listen to thousands of bad words for that. 

Now listen to Bauwa Lal rendering his voice to the lady's cause.

I am fascinated with soulful plaintive songs capturing the moods and feelings of a married young woman. I requested Bauwa Lal to sing a Parati which is sung in the morning time. But he said that he can't sing that song during the night as the feel and mood of the song can be captured only in the morning.

Till I catch up with him and record another beautiful song, listen to the Paichhmahi and Birhain, and spread the word.
 

Dhumra Naach – the Tharu dance with soulful songs

Men, women and chirpy children wait for the troupe of dancers to arrive. The surrounding is slumbering in pitch darkness – it's a new moon day and the load-shedding is on – the electricity will dazzle only at ten o'clock. Not even a single firefly shows up to light the environs. It is Shukrati or Deepawali, the festival of lights but you can feel the irony. The oil lamps have absorbed all the oil and even the candles have burnt down to the last strand of their wicks. As the clock strikes nine, a beating of mirdang (drum) is heard at a distance. The sleepy eyes of the spectators gleam with delight. Their wait is over – the artistes are coming to perform the Dhumra Naach.

Last year, the baby in the house had fallen ill. He was blue with cold, cough and fever. The couple went to the village community medical assistant (CMA); he administered some medicines but nothing happened. Then they made a vow to the Chora Devta, the mischievous God – if the baby gets well, they would organise a Dhumra Naach show to appease Him. Within hours, the baby started recuperating and returned to normalcy in few days.

In the earlier days, Dhumra Naach was the one and only form of entertainment during marriage, Ghar Dekh (literally observing the house, family and connections – of both the bride and groom – a marriage was consummated only after this ritual) and other occasions of merrymaking. Five to six members comprising a Nyak (leader), Natuwa (dancer), Chugla (clown), and others joining as chorus and musical instrument (Jhail – the cymbals, Mirdang – the drum and harmonium) players form the team. These days even a two membered team including a Natuwa and Mirdang player is rare to be seen. 

The troupe had performed the Naach at three other places before coming to the couple's place. "It is rare to find the Dhumra Naach troupes these days," says Sukhair Chaudhary, the Chairperson of Shani Community Forest Users Group in Saptary district of Eastern Nepal. The young generation enjoy listening to Hindi and Nepali songs and dance to the tunes of Bollywood rather than practising the varying pitches of singing.

The singing is an arduous task with the variations in pitch and long spells of singing dries off the voice of the lead singer, Nyak here. Even the songs for morning, daytime and evening differ in pitch, wordings and feeling.  

Long spells, deep meaning – that’s the special thing about the songs sung during the Dhumra Naach. "The one sung in the morning is called Parati, one sung in the daytime is called Birhain and the ones sung during the night are called Pachhimaihi and Shabad," says Bauwa Lal Thakur, a former Natuwa and an avid singer.

The Nyak starts singing and other members join him. All the members are male, including the Natuwa who has disguised himself as a female. If you are a first timer, you won't be able to differentiate – whether the dancer is a male or a female. The make-up, dress, ornaments and appearance of a Natuwa is so real that you will think he is a girl.

Now-a-days men feel shy to disguise as a girl. Earlier the Natuwa used to wear long hair and even pretended like a female – had all ornaments and dresses of a lady kept carefully in sandook, a wooden box.

While the troupe is singing and dancing, the clown is busy entertaining the crowd with his antics and messing around. The spectators are enjoying the show, however, I am not able to make out what they are singing. I am only enjoying the pitch variations and soulful singing.

All of sudden the whole environment is bathed in light – the much awaited electricity arrives. The artistes get excited and start singing more loudly. It's interesting, almost every adult has a mobile in his hand and many have mobiles with camera. Few start taking pictures and some start filming the show. Unfortunately, I don't have a mobile with high resolution camera. I miss the chance to capture the Dhumra Naach.

In the crowd I once again locate Bauwa Lal, the former Natuwa and singer. He narrates to me the meaning of the song. I am overwhelmed by the profound meaning. I take him to a silent corner and request him to sing few lines for me. He is singing with his soulful voice; I am enjoying and recording the song.     

Till I jot down the next post with the songs Birhain, Pachhimaihi and Shabad, enjoy the below video on Dhumra Naach posted by Subash Chandra Chaudhary in Youtube.

Three delicious Tharu cuisines

Ghonghi (water snails)
Ghonghi is eaten throughout the Terai by Tharus and other indigenous people as a delicacy. It is found in abundance in the ponds, rivers, paddy fields and ditches. It's easy to cook and delicious to eat.  

This is how you can prepare the dish.

Collect the snails from water sources.

Leave the collected snails overnight in a vessel containing water to get rid of the soil and waste inside the snail shells. Sprinkle rice (the broken pieces during milling which are not eaten – called khudi). The snails eat the rice pieces and throw away the waste.

Next morning, cut the tails so that when cooked it is easier to suck the meat out of the shell.

Wash and rinse the snails thoroughly.

Boil the snails for almost half an hour.

Rinse the water and cook the snails like other regular curries (Fry onions, chillis and other spices in mustard oil, add the boiled snails and finally add water).

Add ground linseed which not only makes the gravy thicker but also enhances the taste.
Now eat delicacy with rice.

If you want to get rid of sucking the meat out of the shells, take out the meat from the shell after boiling with the help of forceps or a toothpick. Fry the meat in mustard oil, add onions, spices and your dish is ready to be eaten with puffed rice.

For more information on snail and its nutritional value read the below article.
http://tharuculture.blogspot.com/2011/12/excuse-me-its-escargot.html

Bagiya (rice flour dumplings)
Bagiya is a healthy and delicious dish eaten during the Shukrati (Deepawali) festival in eastern Terai of Nepal. You don't need to wait for the festival of lights to savour the taste of bagiya. You will just need some rice flour, lentils, spices and a pot of boiling water to prepare it. Follow the steps below and your dish is ready.  

Soak the rice is soaked in water and mill it in a dheki, the traditional rice milling machine. The taste of the flour ground in a dheki is many times better than the one ground in a rice mill.

Sift the flour and fry it in an iron cauldron (Don't add oil and keep in mind not to burn the flour).

Mix warm water to the flour and knead enough to prepare a tender dough.

Steam lentils and add spices, ginger, mustard oil and salt to it.

Make round dumplings out of the dough. Bore a hole, put the mixture of lentils and spice and flatten it with the palms at the middle and leave both the ends protruding out.

Steam the dumplings over a clay pot of boiling water.

Serve the steamed bagiya with chutney or vegetable curry.

While Tharus in the Eastern Nepal prefer flat bagiya with lentils, the Tharus in the Western Nepal prepare bagiya of tubular shape, without lentils in it. To read more about bagiya, click the link below.
http://www.tharuculture.blogspot.com/2012/12/bagiya-rice-flour-dumplings-made-tharu.html
  
Sidhara (taro, turmeric and dried fishes)
Sidhara is prepared from taro stem, turmeric, and dried fishes. The aroma is pungent, the taste is bitter and still it is one of the delicacies eaten by the Terai dwellers especially indigenous peoples like the Tharus, Danuwars, Musahars and others.

This is how you can prepare the dish.

Gather the Dedhna and Ponthi varieties of fish. Both the varieties are found in abundance in the paddy fields and public water sources.

Dry the fishes on sun. It will take few days to dry perfectly.

Gather Kachu (taro – Colocasia) stems and cut them into small pieces. Wash them thoroughly.

Grind or mill the dried fishes, together with the colocasia stem and turmeric, and make small cakes.

Leave the cakes to dry on the sun for 10-15 days and after that store it in a dry place for future use. Your sidhara is then ready to cook and eat. 

To cook the sidhara, crumple and break the cakes into tiny crumbs. Fry the pieces of sidhara in mustard oil together with onion, green chillies, radish and spices. Add water and salt to taste.

Garnish the dish with green coriander leaves and serve with puffed and beaten rice. 

If you want to know more about sidhara, read the below article.
http://tharuculture.blogspot.com/2011/12/sidhara-colocasia-concoction.html

Three mouth-watering Tharu dishes

Kakhod ke chutney (crab chutney)
Crabs can be found crawling in paddy fields during the June-September period. They are also found in ponds, rivers and canals. While the crab is filled with protein, you will need to take care while eating it. Firstly, look whether the crab is from a clean water source or not. And if you want to catch the crab on your own, make sure that you grab the pincers first. Otherwise, the crab can bite you and you might end up hurting your fingers and hand.


(c) Vivek Chaudhary

Secondly, clean the crab and nail it so that it doesn't bite. For that break one if its limbs and use it as a nail to lock the pincer. Once you put it like a peg, the crab won't be able to move its pincer. Do the same with the second pincer. Now, the crab is at your mercy. Open its abdomen and look for any parasites. If you find any, then remove them and clean it. It's better to rip off the abdomen.

Thirdly, break all the limbs. If you want to munch the legs, keep it aside and wash them properly. Then break the pincers and wash them properly. Now you can remove the locking pegs. The pincers are juicy and tasty, so put it aside to roast them separately.

Thirdly, prepare a fire to roast the crab. If possible fetch goitha (dung cake). A crab gets roasted uniformly on a burning goitha. If it is not available, go for coals or logs. Put the crab and pincers in the embers. In case of burning goitha, put the crab and pincers on it and cover them with another piece of goitha.       

Keep on checking so that they don't get burnt. After few minutes of roasting, take them out from the fire and wash off the burnt parts and charcoals. Remove the crust off the crab and set aside the roasted flesh. Add minced onions, chillies, turmeric powder, salt to taste and mustard oil, and mix well.

Now your dish is ready to be eaten with puffed rice, beaten rice or chapatis. The Tharus call it kankhod ke chutney and make sure they have it during the paddy season. You can munch the roasted pincer without further processing. It's juicy and delicious.

Chita roti (Tharu pancake)
Pancakes are a common dish among communities throughout Nepal. However, the Tharus have their own unique pancakes – they call it chita roti.

To prepare it you will need wheat flour, mustard oil and salt or sugar to your taste. The preparing process is very simple. Mix water to the flour and make a watery mixture. According to your taste, add either salt or sugar to the mixture. If you are adding salt, then make sure to add a pinch of turmeric powder to it.

Now spread mustard oil on a frying pan. You can also use a cauldron. Once the oil is hot, pour the mixture on the pan slowly and make the shape of a roti. With the help of spatula, spread the flour mixture.

After few minutes, turn over the roti and let the other side also cook well. Now you can serve the roti with chutney or curry. It's not mandatory to use mustard oil. You can try using clarified butter as well.

Airkanchan (Taro leaf cakes)
Taro is generally considered a second grade vegetable. However, if you cook it well and your cookery is innovative, you can prepare a mouth-watering dish out of it. The Tharus in the eastern Nepal love eating taro leaves (kachu) and they have their own method of cooking it. They call it airkanchan. If you haven't eaten it, try next time you are in the Terai or cook it in your own kitchen following the below steps.

Pick broad taro leaves and wash them. Put it on sun for half an hour, so that the leaves become softer. Prepare a paste of rice flour adding turmeric powder and salt to taste. Spread the leaves on the back of a Nanglo (sifter) or any other flat surface. Now apply a thin layer of the turmeric powder and rice flour paste to it. Put another layer of taro leaves and again apply the paste. Spread another layer of leaves on it and apply the paste. You can go for two or three layers.

Now fold the spread of leaves into a tubular shape. While folding, apply the paste to keep the leaves intact, so that you get the desired shape. Now cut it into pieces – you will get round shaped leaf cakes.

Spread mustard oil or clarified butter on a cauldron and fry the leaf cakes, turning over and frying both sides. Once your leaf cakes are fried, prepare a mixture of curd and water. Fry the sliced onions, chillies and spices along with turmeric powder in mustard oil and pour the curd-water mixture. Cook it for a while and once it starts boiling, add the fried leaf cakes. Leave the cakes to be cooked well, but make sure that the leaves don't peel off. Now your dish is ready and you can serve it with rice and other curries. 

गुमनाम शहिद गुम्रा थारु: (आज ५४ औ गुम्रा स्मृति दिवस )

Republished from Facebook page of Tharu Community with Mr Dilli Malla's permission.

Written by Dilli Malla (dillimalla@gmail.com) 2010.

(c) Facebook/Tharu Community and Dilli Malla

‘यस्तै-यस्तै बेला थियो’- उनले एकपटक पश्चिम आकाशतिर हेरे । सूर्य बिस्तारै पश्चिमी क्षितिजतिर ओरालो झर्दै थियो ।

आज बिहानैदेखि उनी सिस्नेखोलाको किनारमा छन् दुइटा गोरुका साथमा । उसो त जीवनका झण्डै आठ दशक यही खोलाको किनारमा गोठालो र खेतीपाती गर्दागर्दै बितिसकेको छ उनको । छेउमै सिस्ने खोला बगिरहेछ, सँगसँगै बगिरहेछ उनको जीवन पनि सिस्ने खोलाजस्तै- कहिले उर्लिदै, गड्गडाउँदै त कहिले सुस्त-सुस्त सुस्साउँदै ।

उनी अर्थात् कालुप्रसाद चौधरी । दाङ वेलुवा बञ्जाडी हत्याकाण्डका घाइतेमध्ये हालसम्म जीवित एकमात्र योद्धा ।

ठीक ५० वर्षअघि, सत्र साल साउन छ गते कुन बार थियो उनलाई याद भएन । बर्खामास भएपनि पानी परेको थिएन त्यतिबेला । ‘जम्मै गाउँलेहरु खेतमा काम गरिरहेका थिए । कोही जोत्दै थिए, कोही खेतमा आली लगाउँदै त कोही खन्दै थिए ।’ उनले लामो सास फेरे एकपटक । ‘दिउँसो त्यस्तै दुई तीन बजेको हुँदो हो जमिन्दारले पुलिस ल्याएर खेतमै आइपुगे ।’ फेरि आकाशतिर हेरे उनले । सायद उनको घडी त्यही आकाश हो । उमेरसँगै आँखालाई पनि बुढेसकाल लागिसकेछ क्यारे । ‘नजिक मात्र देख्छु, टाढा त तिरीमिरी मात्रै । त्यस्तै चार/साढे चार बीस नाघे हुँला’- उनलाई आफ्नै उमेरको पनि एकिन छैन । नागरिकता ? ‘हाम्रा जमाना किन चाहियो नागरिकता ? के जन्म दर्ता, के नागरिकता, के पढाइ लेखाइ ? जमिन्दारको जग्गा जोते पो अन्न आउँथ्यो ।’ बुढेसकाले आँखामा बाह्य संसार धुमिल-धुमिल जस्तो लागेपनि जवान छँदाको सत्र साले काण्ड भने अझैँ झल्झली देखिन्छ रे भर्खरजस्तै । भन्छन्- ‘वर्गद्ववा, बञ्जाडी हुँदै खेतमै आएका पुलिस र जमिन्दारसँग केहीछिन भनाभन भयो किसानहरुको । एकैछिनपछि पुलिसले भटाभट गोली चलायो । अनि त खैँ के भन्नु र ?”मामा (गुम्रा) खेतमै ढले, त्यसपछि रत्नलाई गोली लाग्यो, म भर्खर भाग्न खोज्दै थिए मेरो खुट्टामा पनि लागिहाल्यो ।’ गोली लागेको कालो खत अझैँ प्रष्टै चिनिदो रहेछ उनको देब्रे खुट्टामा । कालुप्रसाद गुम्राका भाञ्जा रहेछन् साइनोले ।

दिउँसो गाउँमा मान्छे नै भेटिन्नन् सबै खोला र खेततिर । किसानहरु खेतीपातीमा कसिएका छन् । खनजोत, रोपाई, गोडमेल शुरु भइसकेको छ । ‘यस्तै रमाइलो थियो त्यतिबेला पनि । विगत कोट्याउँछन् उनी ।
‘गाउँलेभरि सबै सँगसँगै खेतमै थियौँ । अहिलेका मानिसहरु एक्लाएक्लै काम गर्छन्, हामी त गाउँभरिका सबैले सबैको काम पालैपालो गथ्र्यौँ । तर, खैँ के भो ? जुन दिन मामा (गुम्रा) मारिए, त्यसदिनदेखि खेतमा काम गरिरहेका मान्छे देख्नेबित्तिकै त्यही घटनाको याद आउन थाल्छ । आँखा वरिपरि उही तस्वीर नाच्न थाल्छ ।’गुम्रा थारु, नाम सम्झिने बित्तिकै मन झसङ्ग हुन्छ । एकपछि अर्को सबै घटनाक्रमहरु दोहोरिन्छन् उनको बुढो दिमागमा । मन चरक्क चिरिएर आउँछ । दुःख, पीडा, आक्रोश, घृणा र वदलाभाव सबैले एकैपटक थिचेर ल्याउँछ । ‘खैँ कहिले पाउला र उनको आत्माले न्याय ?’ उनी भन्छन्- ‘जबसम्म जोत्नेकै नाममा जमीन हुँदैन् तबसम्म गुम्राको आत्माले न्याय पाउने छैन ।’

कहिले जन्मिए होलान् गुम्रा ? तिथिमिति कसैलाई थाहा छैन । गुम्राका भतिजा ठाकुर भन्छन्- ‘म पन्ध्र वर्षको थिए त्यतिबेला उनी हाम्रै उमेरका जस्तो लाग्थ्यो, जतिबेला माइला काकालाई जमिन्दारहरुले मारे’- पचास वर्ष नाघिसकेका गुम्राका भतिजा ठाकुरप्रसादको कुराले त्यस्तै वि.सं.१९६५-१९७५ को बीचमा लालु चौधरीका माइला छोराको रुपमा जन्मिएका थिए गुम्रा थारु । विवाहपछि एकमात्र छोरी जन्मिएकी थिइन् उनकी- चेर्र्या चौधरी । अहिले उनी जीवित छिन् वा छैनन् थाहा छैन । सानैमा उनको ब्रुहान (बर्दिया)तिर विवाह भएको थियो । ’माइला काका (गुम्रा) कति रमाइला मान्छे थिए’- बाल्यकालको यादले मन रोमाञ्चित हुन्छ ठाकुरप्रसादको । ‘केटाकेटीमा हामीलाई उनले कत्ति माया गर्थे कत्ति ? सायद मायाको मापन गर्ने कुनै त्यस्तो साधन हुन्थ्यो भने उनले नापेर नै देखाइदिन्थे गुम्राको माया । कुरा गर्दागर्दै उनी मलीन देखिए- बादलले छोपेको जुनेली रातजस्तो ।

ठाकुरप्रसाद गुम्राका दाजु प्रदेशी थारुका माइला छोरा हुन् । गुम्राको आफ्नै सन्तान नभएपनि उनका दाजु प्रदेशी र भाई ढाँठुका सन्तानहरु अहिले पनि त्यही खेत जोतिरहेका छन् अधियाँमा- जहाँ गुम्रा ढलेका थिए । ‘जमिन्दार भने पहिलेका छैनन्’- ठाकुरले बताए ।

आखिर किन मारियो गुम्रालाई ? उनले जमिन्दारको के बिगारेका थिए ? प्रहरी प्रशासनले किसानहरुलाई किन दमन गर्यो सत्र सालमा ? के किसानहरु नै दोषी थिए उक्त घटनामा ? के थियो घटनाको निहुँ ?

त्यसबेला थारु किसानहरुले जोत्दै आएको जमीनका मालिक बासुदेव घिमिरे, भागु, मेदिनीलगायतका जमिन्दारहरुले २०१६ साल माघमा तोरी भित्र्याउने बेला परम्परादेखि चल्दै आएको चौकुर प्रथा (उत्पादनको ३ भाग किसान र १ भाग जमिन्दारलाई बुझाउने नियम) लाई बदलेर अधियाँ (आधा-आधा) हुनुपर्ने प्रस्ताव राखे तर त्यो प्रस्ताव किसानहरुलाई मान्य भएन । त्यही निहुँबाट विवाद शुरु भयो । घटनाका प्रत्यक्षदर्शी/पीडित कालु, कुनुवा र ठाकुरका अनुसार विवाद बढ्न थालेपछि जमिन्दारले कहिले हलो जुवा काटिदिने, कहिले गोरु चुट्ने, कहिले जोत्न नदिनेजस्ता क्रियाकलाप गर्दै किसानहरुलाई दिनहुँ दुःख दिन थाले । जमिन्दारहरु चाहन्थे- पुस्तौदेखि चलि आएको चौकुर प्रथा बदलेर अधियाँ लागू गर्न र किसानहरुको श्रममा रजाई गर्न । तर, सोझा इमान्दार र स्वाभीमानी थारु किसानहरुलाई जमिन्दारको अत्याचार सह्य भएन र विरोध गरे । परिणामतः गुम्रा मारिए, कालु र रत्नप्रसाद घाइते बनाइए र तीन चार महिनासम्म उपचारको अभावमा अस्पतालकै शैयामा छट्पटाउनु पर्यो । थुप्रै किसानहरुले तत्कालिन ‘प्रजातान्त्रिक’ काँग्रेसी सरकार र प्रहरी प्रशासनको हिरासत र जेलका चिसा छिडीमा महिनौँसम्म यातना भोग्नुपर्यो । अन्ततः जमिन्दारकै पक्षमा फैसला भयो र सोझा किसानहरुले काम नगर्ने जमिन्दारलाई अधियाँ बुझाउनुपर्ने भयो ।

गुम्रा मारिएको ठीक ५० वर्ष पूरा भएछ अहिले । यो बीचमा पञ्चायत, बहुदल हुँदै देशमा राजतन्त्रको अन्त्य र गणतन्त्रको घोषणा समेत भइसकेको छ । तर, जमिन्दार र किसानहरु बीचको लडाई सकिएको छैन बरु अझैँ चर्किदैछ । जमिन्दारहरु कहिल्यै पनि जमीन जोत्दैनन् तर उनीहरु नै दिन दुगुणा रात चौगुणा धनी हुँदैछन्, तिनै बनेका छन् दशौँ विघा जग्गाका मालिक । जो पुस्तौँ पुस्तादेखि आँसु, पसिना र रगत बगाएर दिन रात जमीनसँग कठोर संघर्ष गरिरहेछन्, तिनै थारु किसानहरु खाना नपाएर भोकभोकै मरिरहेछन् । यहाँसम्म कि बाँचुञ्जेल पाइला टेक्ने र मरेपछि लास गाड्ने एक टुक्रा जमीनसमेत उनीहरुसँग छैन । आखिर यो विभेद कहिलेसम्म ? राज्यले यसको जवाफ खोज्ने दिन कहिले आउला ?

उसो त साँचो श्रद्धाको रुपमा भन्दा लोकपि्रयताको आसमा गुम्रालाई सहिदको उपमा दिएको पाइयो कतै-कतै । घोराहीमै उनको प्रतिमा पनि बनाइएको छ तर प्रतिमा निर्माणको सवालमा भतिजा ठाकुरप्रसादले असन्तुष्टि जनाए- ‘जे बनाए पनि इतिहास राख्नु छ भने जहाँ काका मारिए र गाडिए त्यही ठाउँमा बनाउनुपर्छ भन्ने मेरो विचार हो तर नेताहरुले मानेनन्, पहिला चौघेरा भन्थे पछि घोराही बनाएछन् ।’

जमिन्दारको असह्य अत्याचार, थारु किसानहरुको अथाह पीडा र राज्यको चरम उदासिनताले उब्जाएका प्रश्नै प्रश्नले पिरोलिदै म सिस्नेखोलाबाट घटना भएको खेततिर लागे, जहाँ ५० वर्ष पहिले गुम्राको रगतले जुन माटो भिजेको थियो । मैले त्यहाँ देखे, वरपरको जमीनमा खेतीपाती गरिएको छ । तर, जहाँ उनी ढले र उनको शवलाई गाडियो त्यो जमीन अझैँ पनि बाँझो थियो ।

बिहानैदेखि लागेको बादल अझैँ पनि फाटेको थिएन । खोलामा धमिलो बाढी उर्लिरहेकै थियो । म भने सिस्नेखोला र वेलुवा बञ्जाडी छोडेर गन्तव्यतिर लागिसकेको थिए । तर, पछि-पछिसम्म एउटा बुढो-पाको आवाज भने कानमा गुञ्जिरह्यो- ‘बाबु हो, जबसम्म जमीन जोत्नेहरुको हातमा आउँदैन् तबसम्म गुम्राको आत्माले न्याय पाउनेछैन ।’

२०६७ साउन

Shukrati – the festival of lights

The evolution, devolution and oblivion of cultures, rites, and rituals depend upon their popularity, the followers and their willingness to follow. I wonder how within a span of a decade the “Shukrati” has transformed into “Tihar” and “Deepawali”.

As globalisation is making roads to even the remotest villages through the ubiquitous television sets, radios and newly introduced mobile phones, many festivals are being transformed into a homogenous set of rites and rituals being practised alike in different parts of the globe. In a way it is creating a similarity in the thinking, but in the meantime some of the interesting facets of the festivals are losing face to the new found amazement in celebrations.

When I was a kid, almost 25 years ago, we had a kind of excitement to celebrate “Shukrati” and not the “Tihar” or “Deepawali”.

Santhi is used to make hunka pati.

Days before the start of the festival we were busy collecting jute stalks (santhi), sabai (Eulaliopsis binata) and bamboo barks. Meanwhile our mothers were busy cleaning small bottles (to use as lamps), making clay lamps, grinding rice flour for the cakes (bagiya), and collecting and crushing castor oil beans to extract oil for lighting lamps.

The herders were busy locating dulfi (Leucas indica) in the fields so that they can feed its juice to their cattle. They in advance bought the red and green colours from the market to adorn their cattle with.

On the day of Shukrati or Diya Bati that’s what the Tharus in the Eastern Nepal call it, they make staffs (hunka pati) out of santhi, sabai and barhni (broom). The houses and surroundings are cleaned and tamped with cow dung and white clay.

As the dusk nears, the house and its surrounding are illuminated with oil lamps. These days the oil lamps have been replaced by candles in the cities. In some rural places still castor oil is used to light the lamps but mustard oil is used most commonly. The darkness of the new moon day is tore apart by the little lamps brightening the environs.

The male members of the house collect their individual staffs at the sacred corner of the devta ghar (the house of Gods), put a paste of rice flour and vermillion on them in order to purify them and pay obeisance to their Gods.

The staffs are then lit with the fire from the oil lamps offered to the Gods and the male members chant “Dhan Laxmi bhitar yaa, bhoot dalidar bahar jo (May the wealth come to us and the evil spirits leave the place)”.

After lighting the staff, they run to a nearby open field. Generally, in this season the farmers ready the fields to sow mustard and wheat. Gathering at a place, the men and children start playing with the staffs in flames. The sight is a delight to watch. As they play with the fire, they chant “Aai hunke hunkar bihan bagiya (Today is the festival lights and tomorrow the day to eat rice dumplings)”.      

As the staffs burn, they collect them at a place and take their turns to jump over the burning fire. While returning home, they bring back the leftovers (jute sticks and broom grass untouched by fire) and put them at the roots of vegetables and on the thatched roofs of the houses. It is believed that the vegetables bear more fruit after that. 

The next day female members are busy preparing bagiya (the rice flour dumplings) from early morning. The bagiya are of various shapes and sizes, with and without lentils and potatoes inside. The morning is spent eating bagiya and cleaning the tools and equipment. (Read about bagiya by clicking the link  http://www.tharuculture.blogspot.com/2012/12/bagiya-rice-flour-dumplings-made-tharu.html)

Har, kodair, tarju (the plough, spade and scales) and other agriculture tools are washed in a nearby pond or well and displayed in the yard. Even the doors are detached and washed thoroughly. Then mustard oil is applied on them and rice flour paste and vermillion are applied to purify them. This is done to pay respect and homage to the tools and equipment which help them till the land and grow food to eat throughout the year.

Then as the day advances, the herders go from house to house with a bale of grass called hurra collecting rice and money. The herders and the cattle owners wash their cattle, decorate them by painting with red, green and other colours, putting oil and vermillion on their horns and adorning them with bells. They prepare juice of dulfi and make the cattle drink the sweet smelling drink. It is believed to intoxicate the cattle and provide strength to fight.

The cows, buffaloes and goats – all are taken to the grazing plot (generally a river bank) and then starts the real competition between the strongest ones. The herders organise fights between the bulls and the strongest one takes the hurra home. In earlier days, the men too used to wrestle and declare the strongest man in the whole village.  

Then in the evening, they make godaha/godahaini (of human form) from the cow dung and leave it for the night in the gahli, the cowshed. The next day, the godaha/godahaini is made into a chipri (dung cake), dried and stored in a safe place.

The same chipri is used to light fire and cook the first grain harvested from the field and offered to the home deity. The ritual is called Neman. It is celebrated in honour of the new harvest and is celebrated in the month of November. Only after celebrating Neman, the Tharus consume the newly harvested grain. (Read about the significance of dung cakes in Tharu culture by clicking the link http://tharuculture.blogspot.com/2012/01/gorha-dung-cake-and-its-significance.html )

These days I long to see and play hunke hukar and hurra. The modernisation and amalgamation of cultures has brought with it some good practices. However, some exciting and entertaining rites and rituals are vanishing. It is the need of the moment to conserve the unique traditions and the young generation must take the responsibility.   

Sun re Siyaram! – Ode to the Kamlaris by Shrawan Mukarung

While the kamlaris were fighting for their rights on the streets of Kathmandu, Shrawan Mukarung’s ode dedicated to the kamlaris gained popularity in the mainstream media. Shrawan is famous for his creations, revealing the inequalities in the society and supporting the underdogs. His Bise Nagarchiko Bayan earned him laurels for his empathy towards the Dalits.

In his poem Sun re Siyaram, a kamlari sets off for a city leaving behind her love Siyaram. She says, “Listen Siyaram, I won’t wait for you now, I won’t return to the countryside again.”

“When I urged to follow me to the city, you wept and didn’t listen to me,” she says. “You never had an idea to elope together to a far-away place.”     

He describes the moment when the kamlari is boarding the cart. She complains that Siyaram didn’t pull her back when she gave her hand for the last time, because the peepal (a religious tree) in the village was dearer to him. In her anguish she tells him to plough the fields and fish alone, without her.

He describes her grief by using the metaphor “a well of tears” collected to show her true love. She is still happy in spite of being pregnant with her master’s baby. Here, the poet has illustrated how the kamlaris are sexually exploited by their masters.     

She is naive and innocent. “Now I will go to the police station, now I will appear in the court,” she says. “This is the city where government dwells, I’m confident I will win.” However, she doesn’t know the ways of the city and its treatment towards the unprivileged. 

She tells Siyaram to collect water snails and celebrate Maghi (the biggest festival of Tharus) all by himself. She repeats she won’t wait for him anymore; she won’t return to the countryside again.

If you know Nepali, you can savour the rhythm and melody of the poem in its original form. 

सुन रे सियाराम !
सुन रे सियाराम !
सुन रे सियाराम !!
अब म तँलाई पर्खन्न
अब म देहात फर्कन्न
सुन रे सियाराम !
सुन रे सियाराम !!
 
सँगै सहर जाउँ भन्दा
रोएर मान्दै मानिनस् ।
भगाई दूर देश लैजान
तैंले कहिल्यै जानिनस् । 
 
जब म चढेँ गाडामा
अन्तिम पल्ट दिएँ हात ।
तँलाई पिपल प्यारो भो
मलाई तान्दै तानिनस् ।

अब तँ एक्लै खेत खन्
अब तँ एक्लै माछा मार् । 
अब म तँलाई पर्खन्न
अब म देहात फर्कन्न ।

आँसुको इनार जमे नि
प्यार मेरो सच्चा छ ।
जीवन मेरो अच्छा छ
पेटमेँ मालिकको बच्चा छ ।
अब म जान्छु थानामा
अब म जान्छु अदालत ।
सरकार बस्ने सहर हो यो
मैल्यै जित्ने पक्का छ ।
अब तँ एक्लै घुँघी टिप्
अब तँ एक्लै माघी मान् ।
अब म तँलाई पर्खन्न
अब म देहात पर्खन्न ।
सुन रे सियाराम !
सुन रे सियाराम !!

(Poem courtesy: Nagarik and Setopati)

Watch the poet reciting the poem “Sun re Siyaram”.