The Cultural Kaleidoscope of Murshidabad – Moumita Ghosh

Maksudabad aka Murshidabad, nestled on the banks of the Bhagirathi River in West Bengal, India, stands as an enthralling testament to Bengal’s sublime past, vibrant culture, and enduring artistic traditions. Once the opulent capital of Bengal under the Mughals and later the Nawabs, Murshidabad was a major hub of power, trade, and cultural exchange, attracting merchants and artisans from across the globe. We’re all familiar with how the city got its name and fame and how in 1704 Murshid Quli Khan shifted the capital of Bengal to Murshidabad. Under his administration, the city flourished as a pivotal administrative and commercial center, with its strategic location along the Bhagirathi River facilitating trade in goods like silk, muslin, spices, and precious stones. The Nawabs, including Murshid Quli Khan and his successors, were patrons of the arts, leading to a flourishing of literature, music, and architecture, reflected in grand structures like the Hazarduari Palace and the Katra Mosque.

These were all part of high culture but if we delve deep into its folk culture we will be stunned. How ‘Aalkaap’ (আলকাপ), ‘Jhapan song’ (ঝাপান গান) , ‘Ekdil song’ (একদিল পালা গান) , ‘Baul song’ (বাউল গান), Folk rhymes, Kirtan and many customs and beliefs used to be the part of the culture of Murshidabad, but all these are at the verge of extinction. Barely people talk about these, except for those who, being in the centre of the society, want to talk about the marginalized sections of the society.

Folklore or folk culture is something to be created by a group of people or a community. It refers to the traditional customs, stories, beliefs, and practices of a particular group of people, passed down through generations orally. How many of us are actually familiar with the term Alkap, in which ‘kap’ means to act? Basically it is a traditional folk theatre form prevalent in West Bengal, India, and also found in parts of Jharkhand, Bihar, and Bangladesh. More than just a form of entertainment, Alkap is a vibrant blend of music, dance, and theatrical presentation that carries significant cultural and social weight, especially within rural communities. Alkap’s roots are deeply intertwined with North Bengal. It traditionally emerged as a performative response to seasonal festivities and broader socio-political shifts in rural communities.

Some accounts suggest Alkap originated as a medium of the anti-British movement. While English has become a dominant language in many parts of the world, Alkap serves as a reminder of the rich tapestry of local languages and dialects. It primarily utilizes local Bengali dialects, acting as a crucial medium for preserving and transmitting oral histories, myths, and legends. At the beginning of it, they used to perform Saraswati Vandana ( সরস্বতী বন্দনা), following a question-answer segment in which one character will set the premise by framing questions another one will reply with reference to the context.

Alkap’s cultural impact extends beyond entertainment, serving as a powerful tool for social awareness and cohesion. Performances often include witty dialogue, satire, and parody to lampoon local authority figures, expose injustice, and address issues like land exploitation, caste discrimination, and gender inequality, fostering critical reflection and change. The inclusion of gaudy dressing or of cross-dressing, for instance, challenges traditional gender norms, while the use of bawdy humor and satire enables artists to address sensitive subjects in a palatable manner with their ‘Panchrasa’ ( পঞ্চরস ). Despite its cultural significance, Alkap became an obsolete form and it became extinct completely around 1970. One of the major proponents of Alkap were Syed Mustafa Siraj and Dyanchand Das. Here is an extract :

1st character || বসো ভাই আজ আসরে

বোল কাটিব দুজনা

2nd character || বোল কাটিব দুজনা

শুনবে বসে দশ জনা……

Another prevalent form of culture was Jhapan Gan in which ‘Jhapan’ means a box made of bamboo. This song was related to Manasa Devi. We can recall by memorizing how our Indian cinema was captivated by the idea of showing snakes, from the box snakes will come up and the snake charmer will play the instrument like flute. Sometimes people interpret this word Jhapan as an alternative for jumping.

In Mahabharata or in Ramayana there is no evidence of the goddess Manasa, thus we can conclude that the word Manasa has been derived from some languages of Non- Aryans. This folklore is really engaging as this particular tradition was not only celebrated by Hindus rather by a group of Muslim women, who used to perform Manasa Puja by chanting all the mantras. There is ample evidence that Muslim snake charmer used to intertwine Islamic tradition for their performances: বিসমিল্লা বলিয়া বিষ করিব স্মরণ-

ধরিগো সর্পদেবী মনসার চরণ-
নবিজিরে আমি মাথায় ধরি
মুখে আমি আল্লার নাম করি
পদ্মার নাম ধরে আমি বিষ করি ঝাড়ন
তার আজ্ঞায় বিষের হয়গো পতন।
আল্লার দোয়ায় রোগী নব প্রাণ ধরি
মুখে সবে বলুন শ্রীহরি ।।

‘Ekdil song’ was one of the prevailing forms of folk culture of Murshidabad. Islamic followers used to perform this in their communities. There was a saint in the name of Ekdil Shah , who used to pray for the betterment of people regardless of any religion. After his death people started to commemorate his death in the form of a song. People used to believe that this song brings prosperity and happiness in their houses.

Here is an interesting part in this tradition; altogether there would be six people in the group, one of them would be the main singer but there wouldn’t be any master as they used to think all are equal. The main singer used to be in black dress with a fly – whisk and people used to come nearby to seek blessings. Male members were not so fascinated regarding their dresses but female ( they used to call ছুকরী) members were allowed to do makeups in order to make their performance vibrant: দীনের নবী গো

দয়াল নবী গো
কোথা রইলি মা সরস্বতী
এ-আসরে হওগো উদয়।
তোমা ছাড়া জানিনা অন্য মা
ও মা তোমায় সত্য জানি
তুমি যার হও গো সদয়
জুবানে বসিয়া কথা জোগাও
এ কথা সত্য জানি।
ও মা সরস্বতী তোমা ছাড়া জানি না অন্য মা।

As we’re exchanging memories, it will be a sin if we forget to discuss Baul. Baul is a widely spoken and discussed name in the cultural life of Murshidabad. Some critics emphasize that the word ‘Baul’ comes from Bengali word -‘বাতুল’ which means an insane person, a mad. Some believed that Buddhist literary traditions are being concealed within Baul songs. This song is one of them which has saved itself from being extinct :

বাউলকে কইছে আউল,
যে বুঝছে সেই তো বাউল
সাজ পোষাকে হয় না বাউল
রাগ অনুরাগ থাকা চাই।।
কৃষ্ণে অনুরাগী যারা, তারাই জানেন বাউলের ধারা হয়ে থাকে জ্যান্ত মড়া পাগলপারা সর্বদায়।।

Have you ever heard of Bengali ‘ইঁটে কুমোর পুজো’? This folk tradition used to be performed by people from pre-independent Bengal. This puja used to be performed by all the village women throughout the whole Bengali month ফাল্গুন। They used to make ‘ইঁটে কুমোর’ with clay and perform all the rituals with bare minimum things available in their houses along with songs: ইটে কুমোরের মা লো তুই বিট্যা বান্দে দে, বিট্যা বান্দে দে

তোর ছাওয়ালে করলো বিয়্যা সোনার মুকুট দিয়‍্যা, সোনার মুকুট দিয়্যা
সোনার মুকুট দিতে দিতে পথে পড়ল খ্যাওয়া, পথে পড়লো খ্যাওয়া
সেও খ্যাওয়া ধুয়ে নিল চোত্যান পুরের দেওয়্যা রে, চোত্যান পুরের দেওয়‍্যা
চোত্যানপুরের দেওয়্যা না রে লম্বা লম্বা কুচা, লম্বা লম্বা কুচা
দুই গালে দুই ঠুকনা দিয়ে বউ করল বুচা বুচা রে, বউ করল বুচা।

There is no end to this as Murshidabad is a culturally rich place and we can explore its every single alley till our last breath. After independence, we are almost neglecting our own cultural identity under the pressure of neocolonialism. There is a hidden history of every single race in every society. They had captured their contemporary society with their own folk tradition and there is a need for both high and low culture in order to maintain our own identity: Bollywood and Hollywood movies are not the only mediums of representatives. Our true identity lies in accepting our original roots. Hence, we can conclude by remembering Tagore’s lines: “সেই নিম্নে নেমে এসো, নহিলে নাই রে পরিত্রাণ, অপমানে হতে হবে আজি তোরে সবার সমান।’ ‘এই সব মূঢ় ম্লান মুখে দিতে হবে ভাষা – এই সব শ্রান্ত শুষ্ক ভগ্ন বুকে, ধ্বনিয়া তুলিতে হবে আশা।”

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Moumita Ghosh is a teacher at St Joseph’s school, Murshidabad. She loves to learn new languages. She has been associated with Convergence right from its inception, and has been an extremely committed teacher of German at Convergence. She teaches the language at different levels here.