Folk music originates in religious acts of diverse nature from nativity rituals to funeral rites; accordingly performance of folk music is invariably linked to these rites and rituals. The folk songs/music of Agari community which populates the northern parts of Maharashtra’s coastline is no exception to this generalisation. ‘Dhavalā’, as the community terms these songs and their performances, accompany the community members right from their birth throughout the journey of their life. A new-born’s first exposure to music is that of the dhavalā sung on the third day (tijorā) of their birth and the grandest performance dedicated to them takes place on  three-day long celebration of their weddings. The Agari children grow up listening to these dhavalā on great many occasions to such an extent that these rustic songs become part of their consciousness and many of them become accomplished original contributors to this form without any rigorous training or even formal initiation into this art form. The most commendable aspect of these dhavalā is that they are performed exclusively by women who are called as dhavalārī and enjoy the status of a priest in the community. In the rites and rituals of Agari community, who happen to be Hindus by religion, Sanskrit mantras are replaced by the dhavalā and the Brahmin priest by the dhavalārī, presenting a fine example of resistance to the all-pervasive process of sanskritisation.

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Agari community is one of the aborigines of coastal Maharashtra, and as such they have contributed handsomely to every aspect of folk tradition of the region: be it folk literature, folk theatre, or folk music. Of these the most significant contribution is their dhavalā which hardly have an equivalent in Indian folk traditions. Being entirely in oral form, these songs have been passed down by generations of women composers to their successors in the most informal environs possible, which is what makes proper documentation of dhavalā an arduous task. However, it is this same feature that has made the repertoire of these songs superabundantly rich as generations after generations of composers have added their own compositions and are still enriching it. Consequently, one witnesses a great deal of variety in the performances of these dhavalā across the Agari region that encompasses length and breadth of Thane and Raigad districts of Maharashtra. Not only change the lyrics of these dhavalā every five miles, but with it also changes the range of tunes as well as the accompanying instruments used during these performances. Despite all these local variations, what remains unchanged all over is the gender of the performer. The dhavalārī can only be a woman: a sacred norm determined by the once matriarchal social set up of the Agari community.

 

A dhavalārī is an institution in herself with a community elder, a priest and a performer rolled into one body. As such, she is a living archive of so much of heritage of the community: socially, culturally and spiritually. Though adherents of Hindu religion, these dhavalārī are worshippers of the primitive supreme deity Nārāyaṇa, the Agari nomenclature for the Sun god who is the addressee of much of the dhavalā . These dhavalā evoke Nārāyaṇa, before every ritual, praising him for his blessings and benevolence towards the community which is primarily an agrarian society, reflected in songs such as:

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कैलाशीचा नारायन देवू कोकने उतरला

kailāśīcā nārāyaṇa dēvū kōkaṇē utaralā

(The Supreme Lord of the heavens has descended upon the Konkan region.)

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It is the masterful rendering of these simple words of Agari dialect of Marathi language that enchants the entire surroundings of the wedding mandap where these dhavalā are performed, making the entire assembly feel the very presence of the Lord right in the midst of the nuptial celebrations. The sonorous voice of the dhavalārī makes such a powerful impact that it keeps resonating in the ears of the entire marriage party days after the celebrations are over.

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Once Nārāyaṇa’s blessings are sought and secured at the beginning of the performance, there begins a string of odes to the various deities of the community. Of these deities the most revered are, unsurprisingly, the seven divine mother-goddesses, or Sātī Āsarā as the Agaris call them. These are the songs that are performed most zestfully as almost the entire audience joins in the chorus, praising their beloved deity whom they fondly address as Mhōṭyā Bāyā:

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मध्यान रात झाली बायांचं

ढोल कया वाजती बायांचं

madhyāna rāta jhālī bāyāñcaṃ

ḍhōla kayā vājatī bāyāñcaṃ

(The celebrations of the Mother Goddess have reached their pinnacle at the midnight;

so where are Her celebratory drums playing?)

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These simple words get loaded with primordial memories when the ḍholiyā (the drum-player) infuses them with such rhythms that there does not remain single hand that does not clap or a single head that does not swing to the beats of the song. What adds to this musical magic is the baritone engendered by the instrument called kāṇḍā, a stem of flax plant standing in the middle of a metal plate filled with water. The skilled hands of the dhavalārī slide down from the top of the stem and into the water in the plate repetitively to generate a monotonous but enchanting sound that keeps vibrating through the entire atmosphere taking the performer as well as her listeners onto a different plane of existence altogether.

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Like any other ancient culture, Agaris lay a great emphasis on the worship of the ancestors. They are remembered and honoured with equal reverence, if not more, as other deities. Something as grand as a wedding, of course, cannot take place without the sacred presence and blessings of the ancestors is what the Agaris believe. Consequently, an invocation of the ancestral deities is an important part of the performance of a dhavalārī who renders these songs with gusto especially reserved for them. Dhavalā invoking and praising ancestors are peculiarly different from ones sung for other deities as they happen to be conversational: a dialogue between the ancestors invoked and the dhavalārī as evident in this song:

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स्वर्गीशी ड्यावरा या निसनी

हो तुमी पीतर द्यावा

आमी बा कशानी यावा गो

स्वर्गिच्या निसनी कुराकल्या

svargīśī ḍyāvarā yā nisanī

ho tumī pītara dyāvā

āmī bā kaśānī yāvā gō

svargicyā nisanī kurākalyā

(Descend from heavens,

O divine forefathers.

The ladders have become too weak,

how should we get down? )

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This conversational aspect is brought out masterfully in the performance by the dhavalārī who seamlessly alters her voice to signify the shift between the speakers of the dialogue. She becomes the forefathers incarnate when she renders the lines ascribed to them as if possessed by the spirits with her voice exhibiting an other-worldly quality. However, the very next moment she manages to shift to the supplications of the devotee who is all immersed in earnestness and eagerness to seek the blessings. No wonder, that owing to such a sublime performance the ancestors relent, refraining from their initial hesitation, and bless their progeny with their presence and blessings during the ceremony.

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Occasions of birth celebrations call for seeking special blessings from the Mother-goddess Saṭavāī worshipped on the fifth day from the child’s birth known as pācavī. Dhavalā performed on these occasions are entirely devoted to the Mother-goddess who receives the ceremonial gifts just like the mother of the baby.  The dhavalārī pictures these offerings vividly through her songs as in this:

 

ये बनी उब्या बाया माज्या ते बनी उब्या

नारला बनाखाली उभ्या गो बाया माज्या

खुरखुरा नारला भरा बायांच्या वट्या

नारला खाती माज्या बाया

कवट्या का झुगारूनि देती बाया

yē banī ubyā bāyā mājyā tē banī ubyā

nāralā banākhālī ubhyā gō bāyā mājyā

khurakhurā nāralā bharā bāyāñcyā vaṭyā

nāralā khātī mājyā bāyā

kavaṭyā kā jhugārūni dētī bāyā

(The Mother-goddess is standing among the orchards.

She is standing among the coconut trees;

offer her the ceremonial gift of coconuts.

The Mother-goddess eats the flesh of the fruits,

throwing away the shells.)

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The art of the dhavalārī reaches its pinnacle while performing these songs as the audience also comprises a new-born who normally would be wailing its heart out. However, surprisingly, throughout the rendering of the dhavalā, the child hardly breaks into cries even once — despite being moved in and out of his mother’s lap during the ceremony as if the dhavalārī's voice keeps it spellbound through and through. No wonder everyone else present during the performance feels themselves being blessed, along with the baby and its mother, by the Mother-goddess herself though dhavalārī's songs which narrate fabulous stories of the benevolence of the deity:

                   

सईच्या अंगनी आला लाविला कारेल्याचा

आला लाविला कारेल्याचा; रोप उगावला फनसाचा

फनसा, फनसा, तुज्या सर्वे अंगी काटा

फोरुनि पाहिला आत अमृताचा साठा

saīcyā aṅganī ālā lāvilā kārēlyācā

ālā lāvilā kārēlyācā; rōpa ugāvalā phanasācā

phanasā, phanasā, tujyā sarvē aṅgī kāṭā

phōruni pāhilā āta amṛtācā sāṭhā

(A bitter gourd creeper was planted in Saee’s courtyard.

However, it grew into a jackfruit tree.

O jackfruit, though you’ve got thorns all over your body;

on cutting open, you have got nothing but ambrosia inside.)

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Dhavalā have been an integral part of life of the Agari community from times immemorial, enriching every experience worth celebrating through the soulful performances of the dhavalārī. In the course of time, they have also enriched the cultural diversity of Maharashtra’s coastal region as the vastness of the region inhabited by the Agari community has rendered interesting characteristics to these performances like the ingenuous instrumentation accompanying the vocals of the dhavalārī. The straightforward simplicity of the Agari dialect and the raw ‘unprocessed’ voices of the performers attribute a charm of its own to the dhavalā. There is no doubt about the significance of this art form and its contribution in the cultural heritage of our country, what is needed is critical academic interest in the study of  the dhavalā that would bestow upon this humble art form the rightful place, that it deserves, among performing arts of India.

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Originally published in Muse India (2014). This revised edition adds the original Agari verses in Devanagari and transliterations following the National Library at Kolkata romanisation system. Apart from these editorial additions, the text of the essay is reproduced without alteration.

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Also discoverable through EBSCOhost academic library systems.

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