Baahar Kyon Bhatke? Parthiv and Vidya Shah beautifully capture the age-old customs of the Meghwals in their documentary

Chidiya Choch Bhar Le Gayi Nadi Ko Ghatyo Naa Neer Daan Diye Dhan Naa Ghaate Kaha Gaye Daas Kabir (A sparrow flies away with a beakful of water. A river does not have any depletion of its water due to this. Similarly one does not decrease his wealth by giving donation.)

This verse of Kabir quoted by Arjun Ram Meghwal, is just a glimpse into the rich lives of Meghwals, one of India’s oldest nomadic tribes captured in a new documentary Baahar Kyon Bhatke?

The documentary is one of the five planned by artist couple Parthiv and Vidya Shah. It is produced by CMAC (Centre for media and alternative communication) and Bhooma Trust and directed by Neelansh Mittra. Tracing and recording ancient Indian classical styles and musical instruments, this initiative aims to record these rich cultural lineages for posterity.

As the music community found itself in the cold due to the pandemic, Vidya with her inimitable style decided not to be a bystander. In July 2020, she set up the Bhooma Trust to help artistes deal with Covid both materially and mentally. While the Trust provided medicines and doctor consultations, it helped artistes to envision the future by training young artistes on using the online space.

The Trust has also backed another project that has kept the artist busy in capturing art in documentation. Through crowdsourcing, Vidya decided to bring out small films which capture the social history of cultural practices. “It is a humbling experience to see how integrated artists are with their art and how integrated they are with their traditions. It is an attempt to ensure that our musical legacy lives on.” she adds.

Parthiv Shah, a visual communications professional who teaches at Jamia and NID (amongst others) has produced the documentary as a part of his Bharat ke kaladharmi project. He outlines the idea and says, “It started off from the larger premise of helping out people during Covid when everything came to a stop. We wanted to document traditions which are slowly fading away with the passage of time.”

Baahar Kyon Bhatke? was shot in Barmer, Rajasthan earlier this year over a month and a half. In 28-minutes, the documentary catches the age-old customs of the Meghwals, the hard and arid, but beautiful landscape of the region and the many challenges involved in keeping a tradition alive. Capturing the visual beauty of India’s hinterland, it is full of montages seeped in old world charm; men in colorful saafas, mud houses and women in swaying ghoonghats.

The Meghwal community – Steeped in Tradition

Meghwals are a community that lives in parts of north and western India. For centuries they have sung devotional music while practicing weaving, tanning and agriculture as primary sources of India.

They sing the songs of the giants of the Bhakti movement of the 15th century – Kabir and Meerabai. Known for their ecstatic expression of love and spirituality, both these poets questioned the existing hierarchies of caste and gender.

Parthiv says, “Everyone knows the Manganiayars but Meghwals, are animal herders who are majorly farmers but also sing songs. Their journey is very philosophical as they internalize spirituality and sing about it.”

Meghwals follow the oral tradition in which people learn songs from their forefathers as a part of their daily routine. A performance involves 4-5 people and couple of instruments; usually dholak and tambura/ektara. Even a few decades ago, there were the staples of entertainment in rural Rajasthan.

The community lives in a sparse environment and their songs reflect bhakti and journey of life, Parthiv says that they are rooted to their music and adds, “Meghwals talk about journey from the outside to inside, hence they ask Baahar Kyon Bhatke? when the God lives inside you.”

The documentary captures this basic tenet of the community’s philosophy; that everything is within you, the idea of God is within you, the belief of good is within you. It is not necessary to do ritualic practices, until you realize what is inside you.

What is very reflective in the documentary is how rooted the folk musicians are to Earth. They are farmers who create a great eco-system around them of belonging to the place in a manner similar to our forefathers.

Vidya says that the documentary highlights how culture is intrinsically linked to our lives. “The way culture has become now is that there is a straitjacketed way of looking at things. We don’t look at how it impacts everyone including the performer and the receiver. The film highlights this impact on the ground.”

The songs of the Meghwals

The message shared by the Meghwal community is universal. Their repertoire, the way they interpret music and speak about the world around them is all incidental. “It speaks of a journey into oneself and rooted in the environment around them.” notes Vidya.

Music is integrated in ways seen and unseen in their day to day lives. The present seems far away as they are deeply connected to the ways of the past. Musicians play Tambur, children flit in and out organically taking in the music and time seems to slow down soothed by the notes of Kabir and Meera.

Vidya says that the music of the Meghwals transcends worlds and falls into the nirgun realm that which sans form. She quotes,

Is Ghat Antar Baag-bageeche, Isee Mein Sirajanahaaraan Is Ghat Antar Saat Samundar, Isee Mein Nau Lakh Taara Is Ghat Antar Paaras Motee, Isee Mein Parakhanahaara Is Ghat Antar Anahad Garajai, Isee Mein Uthat Phuhaara Kahat Kabeer Suno Bhaee Saadho, Isee Mein Saeen Hamaara

“Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator. Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars. The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser are within. And within this vessel, the Eternal soundeth and the spring wells up. Kabir says: “Listen to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within.”

“The medieval poets believed in transcending the idea of worshipping a form because that was a powerful way of transgressing the obstacles which did not allow people to worship based on their caste, gender or economic limitations.” the versatile singer notes adding that she has always been connected to the music of the Meghwals because of the message they share.

The idiom of the community is in its melodious and mesmerizing quality of bhakti. The Meghwals meditate through their music and become an instrument of communication to reach the supreme being.

The community is so rooted in the metaphor that they live their music and have integrated its essence into their very being. Their songs are deeply authentic experiences and there is a constant reference to this world and that world. This being the materialistic world and That, a spiritual realm.

The future of oral traditions

The big idea behind the documentary is to create opportunities for communities losing their livelihoods. Parthiv shares, “These are not artists who have trained in a college. For folk art to become popular, one has to endeavor to make it popular, say like the madhubani painting.”

Next on his lens is a documentary to capture the subtle magic of the sarangi, which is not a popular instrument to play because it is tough to learn and tune. A feature on the ritualistic songs of Chaharikata village of Assam is also in the offing.

Shooting at remote locations is not easy, especially given the shoestring budgets and technical challenges. Parthiv says that though its tough, documentaries such as Baahar Kyon Bhakte? are important as they impart a deeply social message. “It’s disheartening that we don’t know our own rich musical heritage and traditions. These rituals have been a part of our lives for 5000 years and now they are slowly vanishing. The least we can do is document them.”

Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .