MUSIC
The Himachal folk music is the greatest solace to the poor people living in
the remote areas. The Junju Sukrat Bhunkh and Roopshu songs of the Chamba valley, the Mohna of
Bilaspur, the Jhoori or Sirmaur, the Laman of Kulu are all rooted
in the daily life and rich folk tradition of the area and each has notable
features of its own.
Most of the songs require no instrumental accompaniment. The themes are
usually common ones like human love and separation of lovers. Some songs are
about rituals. Chhinj, Laman, Jhoori, Gangi, Mohana and Tappe are love songs.
Dholru is a seasonal song. Bare-Haren are ballads about warriors, Soohadiyan
are songs sung at Childbirth. Losi and Pakkahad and Suhaag songs are all family
songs, Karak are songs of praise in honour of the deities and Alhaini is a song
of mourning. All these songs follow a specific style of singing and the
geographical facts have a deep effect on these.
The songs are sung in unison and the singer decides how and which way the
notes and syllables are to be pronounced. They make changes in lines and
substitute or replace words.
Jhoori
The word means a lover or a beloved and is said to be connected with
Jhoomar.
Jhoomar is a female dance form. Both men and women sing and dance to Jhoori. It
is a dance performed in the open and describes extra-marital love. It is very
popular in Sirmaur and Mahasu areas and has a special rhythm of its own. Each
piece has four lines and the last syllable in the first line is pronounced in a drawn-out
fashion. The Jhoori songs place a great importance on the rhyming pattern within
the song.
Laman
Laman singing is popular in the Kulu valley. These songs sing of the romantic
love between men and women. The first line is only for rhyming with the
second and it is the second line which furthers the theme. Syllables like Oa, Aa
form the 'Tek' or the note which is prolonged at the end of the line. These
syllables help the singers establish a certain resonance and a definite rhythmic
pattern.
The Samskara songs (sung at family festivals and other such occasions) are
based upon classical Ragas. These songs are sung by women from the higher castes
in the morning and at night time. Some of the morning songs have traces of Raga
Asa in them. The songs sung at wedding are set in old Ragas like Durga, Malkauns
and Bhoopali.
The Jhanjhotis are based on Ragas like Bindrabani
Sarang, Durga, Tilang and
Des. The martial songs have combined traces of Asa and Durga. The Gidda
songs are in Raga Durga. The songs
sung by professional singers have very attractive classical overtones.
The famous love-lyrics in Himachal areas are
Phulmu-Ranjhu, Kunju-Chanchalo
and Raja-Gaddan. the Phulmu-Ranjhu lyric tells of a tragic episode. In
Kunju-Chanchalo the song takes the form of a conversation between the lover and
his sweetheart. The Raja-Gadden song records the wooing of gaddan Nokhu by Raja
Sansar Chand of Kangra.
There are also songs which recall some important historical events like the
sacrifice of Rani Suhi for a public cause, like bringing drinking water to Chamba
town. The song called Sukrat is soulfully rendered and depicts the great story
of the sacrifice of the Rani, famous for her feeling of love for the people and
her deep human sympathy for them. Another tragic story telling the love of a
brother who takes upon himself the blame for the murder his brother committed
and thereby goes to the gallows in Bilaspur is depicted in one of the saddest
song called Mohana.
Ceremonial lyrics such as Bhayi,
Suhag, Suhagare and Vidayi are sung on
special occasions like birth, betrothal and marriage. Seasonal song like Chhinj
are sung only in Chaitra (March).
Ainchaliyan
Ainchali
is a religious ballad. The customs of singing Ainchali in the house of the bride is common among the
farming communities. In this the men-folk go to the houses of the married
couples and sing these romantic Ainchali songs to the beat of drums or platters
of pictures. The women sing these songs in the house of the unmarried girl. In
these songs, incidents from the marriage of gods like Shiva and Rama are sung
with great gusto.
In
the Chamba-Pangi areas, the professional singers go from village to village with
a khanjari (tambourine) and play on these as they sing. They also use string
puppets. They sing traditional songs from Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the month
of Chaitra, the Doms and Domanis go from house to house and sing Dholaru songs
to the people.
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