Folk Unlimited
Kobigaan:
Kobigaan is a very interesting folk form of performing art from the Bengali culture, wherein, two persons known as the Kobiaals who are lyricists plus composers along with their troupes known as Dohars, answer each other by way of songs. So a kobiaal has to attain mastery in both music as well as poetry. The kobiaals had to compose questions and answers extempore during their performance. They depended on ready wit and skills in versification to defeat their rivals in these poetic contests. Kobigaan was an urban reincarnation of a popular rural folk form in 19th century Kolkata, though its arrival in the city can be traced back to the middle of eighteenth century. Incorporating elements from the mythological themes of torja as well as the erotic themes of Kheyur.
The ROOTS :
Kavigan evolved around the 18th or 19th century from the padavali as well as syama song and the kheud. The kobiaals were not educated, but they knew the Vedas, the Puranas, the Quran and political history. These poets were, no doubt, born among the lower class people, lived with the people and understood perfectly their ways of thinking and feeling; hence their direct hold upon the masses of whom many a modern writer is contentedly ignorant. Sajani Kanta Das in his Banglar Kavigaan, said, ‘Kobigaan was born out of a synthesis of various art forms prevalent in different parts of Bengal at different times having peculiar names such as tarja, panchali, kheur, akhrai, half akhrai, full akhrai, danra kobigaan, basa kobigaan, dhap kirtan, tappa, Krishna jatra, tukkagiti, etc.’ Various literary researchers such as Ishwar Chandra Gupta and Dr Harekrishna Mukhopadhyay have dwelt at length on the origins and development of kavigaan. Regarding the origin of kobigaan, Rabindranath Tagore said: ‘In the new capital created by the English there was neither the old court nor the old ideals. At that time the mentor of the poets was an immature, corpulent figure named the masses and suddenly the song of the kobiaals became the ideal song for the court of that king’.
Eventhough the existence of kavi songs may be traced to the beginning of the 18th century or even beyond it to the 17th; but the flourishing period of the kobiaals and kobigaan was between 1760 and 1830. As the religious and ritualistic content in Bengali poetry wore out, there was a tendency to break away from the traditional Vaishnava poetry but the real breakthrough came only with the introduction of the printing press in the mid-18th century. From the close of the 18th century for more than half-a-century, the new kavi-poetry and panchali reigned supreme in the Kolkata region and almost threatened to sweep everything else in literature. However, while kobigaan lost its supremacy in Kolkata, it retained its position in rural Bengal.
The Lyrics / Composition :
These songs, which were created to entertain the common people, were mainly songs about Radha and Krishna. Quite often the lyrics were satirical in nature. Each group has a lead singer called kabiyal. The accompanying singers called dohars often repeat what the leader says. A kavigaan programme starts with bandana (evocation) or gurudeber geet (song of the sect patron). The bandana can be directed to or be in praise of Saraswati, Ganesh, the people, or the audience, as deemed fit by a particular kabiyal. This is followed by a Radha-Krishna-related song; some call it agamani. Then songs on four subjects are sung: sakhi sambad, biraha, lahar and kheur. And then finally, the competitive part starts. The noise and tempo of drums, kansi, bells, or mandira rose up or went down in tune with the debate. Doing all this together on the spot is very challenging and demands a lot of poetic as well and musical vocabulary. It’s one of the most unique and difficult folk forms of this world.
The Performance:
A number of kabiyals attained popularity and fame. In Birbhum district alone there were about three hundred kabiyals from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Amongst the earliest were Gonjla Guin, born in the 18th century and his contemporaries: Lalu Nandalal, Raghu and Ramji. The famous 19th-century kabiyals of Kolkata were Haru Thakur, Nitai Vairagi, Ram Basu, Bhola Maira and Anthony Firinghee. Some of the kabiyals in other parts of Bengal were Balahari Roy (1743-1849), Sambhunath Mondal (1773-1833), Tarakchandra Sarker (1845-1914), Haricharan Acharya (1861-1941), Ramesh Chandra Shil (1877-1967), Rajendranath Sarkar (1892-1974), Bijaykrishna Adhikari (1903-1985) and Nishikanto Raysarkar. Bhola Moira (19th century) kabiyal was a popular and entertaining singer who could keep his audience mesmerised. Realising the importance of popular entertainment, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar complimented Bhola Moira and said, "To awaken the society of Bengal, it is necessary to have orators like Ramgopal Ghosh, amusing men like Hutom Pyancha and folk singers like Bhola Moira". Bhola Moira was also a biographical film.
Baul Today:
Almost extinct, the spirit of kavigaan in Bengal has been restored to an extent by a film-maker Srijit Mukherji, who themed his film Jaatishwar on Hensman Antony, better known as Antony Firingee. Seamlessly merging 2013 with 19th-century Bengal through time travel, Mukherji brings to the celluloid the utterly fascinating story of an outsider's struggle to fit in, find love and acceptance. One hopes that films like these will rekindle the passion for folk music among the new generation Bengalis.
Even today all the Bengali grandmothers and grandfathers remember enjoying Kobigaan by the in the adjoining Bazaar field in one wonderful day or night in early fifties. The kobigaan is now nearly extinct - but what a loss for our rich heritage - it was the beacon of education, enlightenment, upliftment of common people, as well as pure enjoyment.
Saurav Manna
KM Music Conservatory