Watch Simit Bhagat’s 'In Search of Bidesia' to learn about Uttar Pradesh, Bihar's migrant songs

Folk singer Gopal Maurya (centre) performs with musicians in the film

If you are a millennial urban reader, a memory or mention of Bhojpuri music might feel unrefined at the start. Sadly, the loud, brash, electronically manipulated sounds that make up for the commercial form are a misrepresentation of a culture that is far more subtle, poetic and contextual in history. Simit Bhagat's In Search of Bidesia seeks to archive and preserve a culture behind that was majorly passed down as an oral tradition, before it vanishes from popular memory.

Bhagat's documentary film that was released in 2019 has since gone on to win the Best Music Documentary at the recently concluded Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) Film Festival in the UK. Screening in the city tomorrow, the film documents the tradition of migrant songs (bidesia songs) from the regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Bhagat reveals that they date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when Indians from the regions were transported as indentured labourers to British colonies. "The songs are connected to indentured migration. They reflect the emotions of women whose husbands have migrated to far-off lands, and who are awaiting their return," he says.

Beginning 2017, Bhagat recorded, translated and met folk artistes and singers who carry on this oral tradition - the only safekeepers of these songs. The filmmaker tells us that these songs became a mode of expression, particularly for women in the communities. The genre took on different forms like kajri (sung in the monsoon), ropni (sung during the planting of seeds) and jatsar (sung while working on the grind mill). "They form the barahmasa - songs for every month of the year - and were passed down as a tradition from mother to daughter and the daughter-in-law in the household," he describes.

Besides the Indian heartland, the influence of this folk music extends to Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Mauritius and Fiji, where the fourth and fifth generations of the early migrants reside. Bhagat explains, "In Suriname, they speak Sarnami which has Hindi and Bhojpuri words. Reggae was assimilated into Bhojpuri music to create Chutney music in the Caribbean." Time is slowly eroding the tradition of these folk songs. With a new generation moving away from the farms, or traditional grind mills, this music is fading away. This led to Bhagat's new venture, The Bidesia Project, which documents the rare songs that capture the migrant culture through its lyrical and poetic form. "There is so much history to the folk forms. While there is an interest, the number of artistes who are familiar with this art form is reducing with every generation," he says.

The tradition has continued in a different form. With migration still a major part of the heartland's social life, new songs have emerged that capture similar themes of longing, separation and heartbreak. For now, Bhagat's project seeks to find more of this subculture to archive it for posterity. "A lot more is yet to be discovered. I hope we can give these artistes a platform to rekindle memories of people through such music," he adds.

On: Today; 7 pm
At: Veda Factory, Bungalow No. 120, Aram Nagar Part 2, Versova.
Log on to: @thebidesiaproject on Twitter or Facebook
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