Bhawaiya

Bhawaiya is a musical form or a popular folk music that originated in Northern Bengal, especially the Rangpur Division in Bangladesh, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India, and the Undivided Goalpara district of Assam, India. It has recurrent themes of the "working class", ''mahouts'', ''mahishals'' (buffalo herders), and ''gariyals'' (cart drivers). Lyrics express pangs of separation and loneliness of their womenfolk, with elongated tones accentuating pain, longing and "deep emotion". Bhawaiya is generally believed to have originated in the 16th century under Biswa Singha, and has evolved into stage performances since the 1950s. The lyrics of Bhawaiya songs are non-denominational.

Etymology

There are various explanations of the meaning of ''Bhawaiya''. Low-lying land with shrubs and other vegetables are called ''bhawa''. According to some researchers,'' Bhawaiya'' is derived from the word ''Bawaiya,'' which is subsequently derived from the word ''bao'' (breeze). The derivative of the word ''Bhawaiya'' is ''Bhav'' > ''Bhao'' + ''Iya'' = ''Bhawaiya''; the meaning of this word is ''emotionally charged''. According to Abbasuddin Ahmed, this music is like the random and pleasant wind blowing from North Bengal called Bhawaiya. According to a survey taken of performers of Bhawaiya (conducted by the Folk Cultural and Tribal Cultural Centre, Government of West Bengal), the name is derived from the word ''Bhao'', which was transformed into ''Bhav''. These songs carry a deep emotion of ''biraha'' or separation and loneliness." en ''mahouts'' went away (often to Bhutan, which was close to Goalpara and is sometimes mentioned in the songs) to catch the elephants, they were unable to return home for six months to a year. Their wives, who stayed at home, would express the pangs of separation and loneliness through these lokageet. Hence, the element of biraha, 'deep emotion', comes out very strongly through such songs."

Film

Bangladeshi film director Shahnewaz Kakoli's movie ''Uttarer Sur'' (Northern Symphony) is based on the life of a Bhawaiya singer and tells the story about the gradual demise of this music in the northern part of Bangladesh due to poverty. The movie was screened in the 18th Kolkata International Film Festival.

Singers

* Abbasuddin Ahmed, credited with popularising Bhawaiya songs throughout Bangladesh.
* Pratima Barua Pandey, credited with popularizing Bhawaiya in Assam and the rest of India.
* Papon, credited with adapting Bhawaiya in popular music.
*Zubeen Garg, credited with adapting Bhawaiya in popular music.
*Kalpana Patowary, credited with adapting Bhawaiya in popular music.
*Rathindranath Roy, Bhawaiya singer of Bangladesh.
* Mahesh Chandra Roy, Bhawaiya singer of Bangladesh.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Documentary on Bhawaiya.
{{Folk music

Indian folk music
Bengali folk songs
Bangladeshi folk music