Exhibitions showcasing the heritage of Indian musical instruments are now a part of Delhi’s cultural calendar. The latest focus is on tribal music traditions, says Shrabasti Mallik
There were once seven brothers who lived with their sister. One day the girl cut her hand while making vegetables and a few drops of blood tricked down to the food. The brothers enjoyed the meal and thought that if a few drops of their sister’s blood made the food so delicious then her flesh would be even tastier. They decided to kill her and eat her.
The youngest brother, however, was too fond of his sister and therefore, hid his portion in a termite hill instead. With time, a white scented blossom grew in the place and the tree made a wonderful sound in the breeze. One day a wandering yogi heard the sound and marvelled at it.
He cut a branch of the tree and carved out a musical instrument. The instrument carved out of the Champak tree came to be called Banam, one of the many musical instruments of the Santhal tribes in the country.
The Banam is one of the few unique and traditional musical instruments of the Santhal communities, mostly found in West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, on display in an exhibition titled Cadence and Counterpoint at the National Museum. One will be surprised at the sheer amount of ideas on which the Banam was crafted. From carved figures of a woman and man to a motor carriage and horse to monkeys and elephants, one will come across at least 10 different designs of the instrument at the exhibition.
The one-of-its-kind exhibition marks a new trend in the city. In the last few years, there has been a focus on displaying the classical Indian musical heritage and now tribal traditions form an important part of the exhibits. Curator Ruchira Ghose explained that the exhibition was triggered by the Rietberg Museum in Zurich where they displayed 92 Indian Santhal musical instruments donated to the museum by Bengt Fosshag, a collector by passion and graphics designer by profession.
“After that exhibition the museum felt that they had tangible cultural objects but they knew very little of them. They wanted to know the people, the art and also the aesthetics of the craft. So they got in touch with the Crafts Museum in Delhi and we started a project which ultimately resulted in this exhibition,” said Ghose, one of the curators.
“The Santhals are known for their unique song and dance rituals which form an integral part of their culture. Most often they are specific to the seasons and festivals. It is said that amongst a Santhal community, there is no woman who cannot dance and no man who cannot carve instruments and play them. The exhibition is just an attempt to familiarise the people about these traditions which are so less heard of and so less documented,” added Ghose.
Alongside Banam, one will also come across Madal, a popular two-sided drum, which was originally used by the Santhal communities during festivals and joyous occasions. There is another instrument which looks like a smaller version of a Nagara but is actually Tamak or the kettle drum made of iron, leather and wood. Then there is also the Tirio, a flute with seven holes. Ghose shared, “Banam has a fascinating story behind it but there are no such documented stories about the rest of these instruments.”
The curators had a difficult time tracing these instruments because most Santhal communities do not make them anymore. “There used to be musical instruments made from an entire tree or the bone of a vulture but these are not available. The less number of instruments that are being made are not made the way they should be and that is largely affecting the sound they produce,” said Ghose.
The exhibition is a collaboration among the National Museum, Crafts Museum, Delhi, Rietberg Museum, Zurich and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal. “The IGRMS has the most amazing collection of these tribal instruments and they agreed to join hands with us. And the Rietberg Museum sent us two objects, a Banam and Chadar Badar,” informed Ghose.
One of the most intriguing objects of the exhibit is Chadar Badar, the folk and puppetry of tribal India. It is made of wood, bamboo, fabric and works on a simple mechanism similar to the string toys of the Harappan civilisation. The name often referred to as chadar bandhani, may have been derived from the tradition of bandhani (tying) or covering a chadar (cloth) around the lower part of the set.
It is popular among the Santhals of Bihar and West Bengal and is accompanied by musicians, who wear ghungroos in their feet and tap them while they play the Tirio, Tamak and the Madal. “The movement of little wooden figures depicts the dance rituals of tribal women. It is not related to any myth or legend. The songs accompanying the puppet show are the ones that women sing on their way back home from work,” shared Ghose.
One can experience the sound of tribal beats and songs with a few recordings which have been taken from The linguistic Survey of India. The exhibition will continue till May 17.
photos Pankaj Kumar