Shubha Mudgal

Sprawled across the ghats of the Varuna and Asi, the ancient city of Banaras or Varanasi watches as tradition and modernity wind themselves around the teeming masses that ebb and flow into and from the city. Pilgrims flock to the city, often swelling its population to twice the size of its resident populace.As the living and the dead seek salvation on the banks of the river, the sounds of the city form a massive, never-ceasing audio collage, profound at times, and downright incongruous at other times. In place of the music of the great exponents of the shehnai, sarangi, tabla, thumri and kajri nurtured by the city of Banaras, is a new musical repertoire produced, published and distributed by the Bhojpuri music industry. Dishing out a catalog dedicated to regionally oriented popular taste, it offers music that does not aspire to sophistication and is hybrid both in content and intent.

Some gems from this catalog include singers Dineshlal Yadav and Khusboo Raj’s offering ” Ae Raja Humke Banaras Ghumay Da” from an album with the rather sleazy title of ” Chirgana Pa Gail Maal Bada Dhansu”. Recorded as a duet with a raucous chorus belting out a refrain, the song is constructed around the said “raja’s” lady love exhorting him for an epicurean tour of Banaras. “Chal ke Godowlia ke panvaa khiyaya da..” or “Come, let’s go to Godowlia (a locality in Varanasi) for a paan“, she says, to which her “raja” replies gamely- “Chalaa, Chowkvaa pe cham-cham chikhaa di” or Come, let me give you a taste of the cham-cham (a spciality sweetmeat of Banaras) at Chowk. From Godowlia to Chowk, and thenceforth to the famous Kachauri Galli, the happy couple’s food-and-shopping-guide-in-a-song mentions different areas in the city known for speciality items like Daal Mandi’s glass bangles, Lahurabir’s lehnga shops, Kshir Sagar’s legendary rasagullas, Maidagin mehndi, Nichi Bagh’s nose-ring stores, Kanhaiyaa Saraaf’s anklets in Bulanala, Banarasi saris from Golghar, laung–lata sweets near the BHU gate, gol–gappas at bargain prices from Manas Mandir, and Dharmaraj’s lassi among the many delights of Banaras. For the full menu, check http://youtu.be/gXJQTM_bXl4

As the city gears up for the month of Sawan with pilgrims and kanwarias thronging the city in even greater numbers than usual, new Bhojpuri albums flood