Seasonal Bliss with Music
Far away there is a land where lives a group of people who travel from one place to another singing songs and dancing. The group practices the traditional Jhumar folk which used to be widely sung in the harvest season and people dance on this. The harvest season is usually accompanied by the monsoon season i.e. from August to September. It majorly describes the happy and joyous lives of the tribal folk of that region. The style and get up of the entire set up is always so beautiful that one feels it is a treat for the eyes and ears.
The group leader Kartik Koiri told us that now Jhumar can be performed at any time of the year, especially during the weddings, festivals or some other important functions and celebrations. It is a very popular folk form of the state of Jharkhand. The music instruments used during this time are Mandar, Dhol, Flute, Nagara, Dhak, Shehnai and Khatal. There are various forms of the Jhumar such as Khortha Jhumair, Nagpuri Jhumair and Kurmali Jhumair. Nagpuri Jhumair also has Mardana Jhumair and Janani Jhumair. At times females also take part in this dance. When females take part in this dance, Jhumar takes the new name of Janani Jhumar. Kartik is very focused on the songs and makes sure that he updates the songs with the going season and occasion, therefore he prefers to write the songs also on his own. Kartik himself is a fabulous flute player. He was very happy to meet the team of Anahad and to know their vision behind the work, as his vision to aligns with him and he feels and understands the necessity to preserve and conserve this and many other music forms. After saying this he started singing:
Aago maata bina paani tumhi maa jagat janni
Oh Goddess mother earth you are the live giver of this land
Gyaan hino achir tomar charne
The boy with no knowledge in on your feet