wikipedia defines Bhojpuri as:

Bhojpuri is a regional language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as an adjoining area of southern plains of Nepal. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius. The language of the Surinamese Hindus, however, is seldom referred to as Bhojpuri but usually as Sarnami Hindi or just Sarnami.
According to an article published in Times of India, an estimated 70 million people of Uttar Pradesh and a further 80 million people in Bihar speak Bhojpuri as their first or second language. There are 6 million Bhojpuri speaking people are living outside the Bhojpuri heartlands of Bihar and Purvanchal. These areas include Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Uganda, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago, Great Britain, and United States. This makes the total Bhojpuri speaking population in the world close to 150 million.

Jatsaar

The song finds its genesis in the heart felt melancholy of the soul which is pining/longing for the love to return to her. Its the crisis which is felt by the married woman who has come to her in laws but her main stay- her husband.. is far off working in some foreign state or country.
Jatsaar ( Jaata+ Saar ) Jaata means the stone plank on which the grains are aground to convert into flour. The song depicts a newly married woman at her Sasuraal ( In law’s house) and in process of rendering out her distress for a husband who has gone offshore for work and has not sent any message of his well being or where abouts.


Ae samiji javna june bhail sumangali
Ta janali je bhaag jaagal o raama.
Oh Husband ! with a stroke of chance I got fortunate
And my luck has proven to be very good for me…


Ae Samiji nahiyar se naata toori dihala..
Ta sasura sohawan laagal ho rama
Oh Husband! you severed my relaition with my family
Now the Inlaws house feels pleasant to me..O lord//

Ae Samiji, Gharawa- Bhitarawa bithai kar gaiyl
Kavna do mulukwa bhaagal ho rama.
Oh husband! You have made me sit inside the house
And do not know which country you have eloped.

Ae samiji,Khatawa se patawaa pethiiat
Ta suni ke agaraiti paagal ho rama.
Oh husband! If you could send your whereabouts in the letter
I would have gone berserk out of happiness

Ae samiji haath gor chauwari ke,lohawa laal kaike
Iihe hawe dehiya daahal ho rama
Oh husband it feels as if you have manacled me
And stubbed me with red hot iron


Ae samiji ,Susuki susuki lorawa pochat baani
Kehu nahike sunat raagal ho rama.
Oh Dear! I am sobbing and wiping my tears.
No one to hear my plight.

…its purely an effort, an attempt to keep alive whatever we sisters have inherited as a part of the family tradition…. Our Music .Music which was spoon fed to us since childhood …but in all its richness was re-introduced to me at a much later stage of life… for me its like getting back to the roots…but I want to make it sure that the world is also with me… since it is like love, the more you give all the more it grows….

Bhojpuri per se rings bell the moment it is spelled but for sure its depth is yet to be measured up . Firstly, Bhojpuri is not a language but it is a common noun for the all the dialects being spoken by the natives of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh ( Purvanchal). The folk repertoire of Bhojpuri, thus is very rich and varied. And its dominantly spoken in some or the other form in countries like Mauritius, Fiji Islands, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad n Tobago.

Not withstanding the statisitics I would like to take a few miutes of your reading to let you know what I exactly do. I am a trained Kathak dancer and apart from my profession of being in the canopy of olive green …in all my spare time ( which I can gather) I research in Bhojpuri folk and add to the exisisting repertoire. My mother Dr Pushpa Prasad is a folk singer herself and our Guru. As a tribute to her genre we the three sisters and one brother in our capacity best is trying to take the legacy ahead. My younger two sisters Nimisha and Piyusha Shankar and brother Aditya Shankar are the lead singers and I am the lead dancer. The troupe is called Surangama and our aim is to make the traditional songs and dances more colorful and aesthetically sound so that it has a global appeal. Nimisha also experiments to infuse new and creative sounds like jamming up with different bands and other international folk singers.

As a stage performer I in particular is very careful that the real essence is not tampered and the aura of the rustic beauty is transferred . I try to describe the song and narrate its meaning for a better understanding. What I have realized it that while performing if the audience is made understood the grammar of the music…it makes the entire sojourn more mesmerizing.

Let me give you an eg. Purvi is a particular form of folk song…now I on its genesis it has two meaning … first since it originated from the octaves each and every time it is called so. Secondly, during the era gone by, natives of Bihar and UP use to go to the eastern sides in search of work …and often forced to as bonded labours. so these songs were sung by the women folk to relieve themselves from the anxiety of the waiting period.

Thus every song has a particular rhythm and a meaning to it and my visualization is to become a narrator to let every discerning listener who is searching for this kind of song. And I have seen the pain of being uprooted and the relentless search the people of Indian origin are undergoing to find out their roots.

I think I understand my culture and would like to make it appear as stylish as what I think I am myself. My bhojpuri connectin is not only related to the fact that i am a born bihari. I was initiated intoit mch later in my life and career.For me its lie getting back to the roots.Its so colorful and heavenly hat i feel that i am the chosen one.

The article was published in the April edition of the magazine ME ..

Surangama epitomises a confluence of the like minded to create music sans boundaries spanning across cultures and surmounting the divides of language and religion. Surangama creates magic and casts a musical spell on a canvas of traditional ethnic music with a fusion of notes from across continents.

It is about harmony of Ying and Yang and the fusion of varying energy of which; is born a vibrant yet mellow symphony. A moment when every individual musical note has been sublimed to a level where barriers cease to exist. Where the bounds fuse and the resultant mosaic lends itself to uninhibited fusion of energy. Which at its pinnacle resonates the ether around into a crescendo as our inner being delves deep into the uncharted boundaries to experience the divine…the ultimate… that we mortals know as …….music.

We come back again and yet again …with every feat to attempt the ultimate …..to surrender ourselves …...to imbibe the bliss.

We invite you live the moments offered by this priceless treasure of melody and music.

The Canvas

The rich Indian classical and folk opens doors to immense possibilities. From classical Ragas to Kajaris - we cover it all. The underlying concept being nurturiing the base matrix flavoured with Surangama signature.