Kishan Kumar is a 50 year old folk musician who belongs to a remote village called ‘Matte Ka Tala’ adjacent to the Pakistan border region. The village has 500 to 700 inhabitants. Kishanji has three sons and four daughters. His children are involved in farming but he finds himself fully devoted to music. He plays tandoora (veena) with his group. His family and group members belong to the Meghwal tribe. Their ancestors came from Pakistan after partition and settled in that village. His father and grandfather inspired him to perform ‘bhajans’ in ‘Satsanga’ and ‘Jaagrans’. He was as young as 12 years when he started performing with his father’s group. He used to memorize songs by writing them down in a note book. He realized the importance of proper guidance and learnt more about this genre of music from his Guru Dhorimna. His hymns comprise of tales of Raadha-Krishna, Meerabai, those inspired from Saint Kabir’s couplets and poems, and bhajans about Guru Mahima and Guru Ravidas. Kishan Kumar also writes his own bhajans, mostly about Ram Devji, and has performed his original creations in many shows. He finds himself immersed in ‘Bhakti Bhaav’ and enjoys performing at ‘Satsanga’ even when the whole show goes on for the entire night, till the next morning. He feels that it is his duty to make people aware about their sins, to steer clear of addiction, and focus on good deeds.
Kishan Kumar’s group has six other musicians: Limba Ram, Bhikha Ram, Kumbha Ram, Aamba Ram, Peetha Ram and Rugga Ram. They chant together melodious ‘bhajans’ in the name of God with the help of tandoora (veena), gharha, khartal, thali and manjira, and present a dance snippet too using ‘thaali’. With the proper attire, which is a flared skirt-like dress, the thaali dance looks spectacular. Their bhajans exhibit a sense of authenticity. Their music is about the miracles of Lord Krishna, Saint Kabir, Guru Ravidas and other bhajans of ‘Guru bhaav’. The number of shows that they are able to get is not fixed, it varies with the season. Sometimes they are able to get 5 shows in a month, sometimes it increases to 12 shows. The money earned from each show is not adequate to support them financially. It is a huge matter of concern for them. They mostly perform at ‘Satsanga’ in temples, for the entire night starting from 9 pm till dawn in the morning. They also perform at ‘Jamma Jagran’ for Rajput and Jaat families of Rajasthan. Some of their most cherished ‘bhajans’ are,
Mai Jogan Ban Jaungi aj Pia milan…
Mira naache re…
Gori gori gayiaan gore gore… chhoto so mero madan Gopal
