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Jeewan Ram and Group

By May 28, 2021January 27th, 2024Uttar Pradesh

“Emanating a vibrant and vivid performance.”

Purvanchal is one of the most cultural regions of India in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. It is the home to the cultural capital of the country, Banaras, and has seen many cultures come and go over the centuries that have passed. This place has become the hub for a mixed bag of every culture that stems from different parts of the country and is one of the most accepting places in the world.

Only about eighty kilometres from Banaras is a city known as Ghazipur. This city is famous because of its high-quality production of opium poppy, among other things. Ghazipur was once a very important riverport for the British empire and its alluvial soil traversed from the Ganges makes this place all the more valuable in terms of crop production, but between all that lies the cultural part of this place that consists of various folk art forms. One such art form found here on our journey through the region is known as the Dhobiya dance.

This dance has its music played by talented artists from multiple villages within the district. Meeting one of the leading groups was an honour as we got in touch with Jeewan Ram, who was born and brought up in a village and began his journey as a cultural artist at a very young age.

As we drove through the highway that leads to his village, we could see large fields of various crops grown on a single piece of land, which showed us how efficient the village people are with using the fertile soil to its best. On narrow roads, we drove, and there was always a thin line between driving and off-roading. Finding Jeewan Ram, dressed in his traditional attire, riding through the villages on his bike was quite relieving as well.

He guided us through the beautiful fields, enriched with green crops that were getting ready for harvest within a few weeks. It was a magnificent sight to watch. We eventually stopped at a small temple on the edge of the village, next to a large groundwater pool, filled with kids taking turns to dive. They were so excited to see a car drive in their village for recording that they began tailing us until we stopped. Once we opened our cameras to capture their expression, they would smile and slowly start to flee the frame.

Besides all, the smiling kids were the real artists, getting ready to give us their best performance within a small hut next to the temple. The makeup was uncanny as men were dressed as women, and yet it represented the idea of being an equal so well. The whole ensemble was quite diverse in terms of age. From artists in their mid-twenties to Ram Janam Ji, who claims to be ninety-nine years old and says he’s been performing since the late 1960s. As they began their dance, we could see their acrobatic ability taking their performances to a different level. Four dancers danced in the centre, and two wore the suit of a horse and acted as riders. They were surrounded by an 8 piece band of folk musicians playing traditional musical instruments. The song they started with was – Azaadi ke Godanwa, which goes like – 

“Godai sakhiya hum ajadi ke godanwa,

(All the women of the country are getting tattoos)

Godanwa par Gandhi baba, rashtra pita shubh namwa,

(Tattoo of Gandhi’s name- the respected father of the nation)

Lilra pe Lakshmibai, Jin lad gaye british sangwa,

(Tattoo of Lakshmibai’s name on forehead- the one who fearlessly fought the British) 

Dushman bhaagele paranwa godai sakhiya”

(The tattoo about how they claimed their victory)

Watching them perform the Dhobiya dance, and sing traditional songs in their village right by the temple, was simply distinguished. Being in the home of the origin of these art forms made it more complete, and looking at these artists mesmerize everyone in the village, let alone the people recording them was simply an outstanding experience of a lifetime.

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