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DYING SOUNDS of tradition
From music created by clapping hands and hitting stones to blowing into
conches and hollow gourd; from the sound of the dhol and shehnai to that of
the trumpet and trombone, the quintessential sounds of folk instruments are
going silent, notes
Paul Fernandes
The mellifluous sounds that provided colourful accompaniment to our
festivals and religious ceremonies and rituals are fading. Folk music which
shaped the musical preferences of generations in the past is on the verge of
extinction.
Take the windblown sounds of the shenai and surpavno or the percussion
delights of the mhadalem and naksher for instance, important sounds of Goa's
ethnomusicological heritage they are being heard less and less today.
Folklorist Vinayak Khedekar attributes the fading of the glorious tradition
to the advent of electronic instruments. "One needs skill and stamina to
play some of the folk music instruments such as the surpanvo (shepherd's
flute that has a central mouthpiece). If today, one instrument can produce
diverse sounds, who will think of the harder options?" he asks.
Events that occasion the use of folk instruments too, are showing signs of
decline, adds musician Nolvert Cota. "The ghumot (potshaped percussion
instrument) is used to accompany mandos and today, mandos are a rare
performance. The mando festival for instance, is a once-a-year event," says
Cota, who plays the idiophonic trumpet.
It is not only the blowing sounds of change, but the unavailability of raw
material that has contributed to the waning sound of folk instruments. "It
isn't as easy as it was in the past to get the (monitor lizard) skin
required for instruments such as the dhol and ghumot," says Khedekar. If
folk music has managed to survive the ravages of modernism it is because
cultural traditions are still alive, though minus the old fervour, feel folk
experts.
"Socio-cultural and socio-economic changes have created a huge impact on
folk music and its instruments," says folk writer and author Pandurang
Phaldesai, "We should be thankful that our traditional practices such as
pujas, zatras and folk dances have survived because with them the folk
musical performances associated with them have also survived."
The palki procession, a temple ritual where the deity is taken around in a
palanquin to the accompaniment of folk music, is one such tradition.
However, while in the past, the temple orchestra's vazontri (musicians)
played the shenai, surt, dhol and taso. Today, most orchestras are reduced
to just two players. "In some cases, the priest comes, presses the button to
play recorded electronic music and himself switches it off when the puja is
over," adds Phaldesai.
However, folk music can still be heard at village mands (meeting ground for
villagers) and in temple and church precincts during zatra and feasts.
"Every season, some ritual or the other is performed and folk music is a
part of it, though nowadays, it is with some innovation or adjustment," says
Phaldesai.
Agrees Cota, "The clarinet is not as common today, but there are a few
players who play at church feasts and classical music concerts." Though the
viola as an instrument has almost disappeared, it is still used on rare
occasions. Other fading sounds are from instruments such as the trombone,
double bass and cello, he says.
Phaldesai adds, "The ghumot and violin are also used less and less, but
without them the mando is unthinkable."
OUT OF SYNC
Surpanvo
A shepherd's flute, used mostly by the dhangars (hill tribes), its
mouthpiece is at its centre and requires some skill to play. Its variant the
konnpao is easier to play and has takers. Surpanvo enlivens the chepoi
(tribal dance)
Surta/Soor
This double-reeded instrument, about 60 to 70 cm in lenght, with two or
three holes, is not played independently and is the perfect combination to
the shenai as a drone. It has almost disappeared today.
Shehnai
Ranging from 45 to 60 cm, the shenai, a black-wood perforated tube-like
instrument has been popularised by Bismillah Khan. Every village in Goa once
had a musician playing it, today, it is rarely heard except during temple
celebrations
Naksher
Also used by the dhangars, it is made of a hollowed out bottleshaped gourd
fitted on either side with cane reeds. In the past, this windblown
instrument was activated through the nostrils. Hence, the name nasayantra,
later corrupted to naksher
Damaru
An hourglass shaped drum that has braces in the centre that can be adjusted
to produce varying staccato sounds, it is mostly used by the gosavis (temple
mendicants) as they sing.
Maddalem
A cylindrical percussion instrument, 50 to 70 cm in length and 25 to 30 cm
in diameter, it is popular among Christian gavdas who use it for zagors
(dances). Sounds to the right pitch are produced by hitting the lizard skin
surface with the fingers or the hand.
Kall
A simple conical tube with a length of about 30 to 40 cm, the kunbi
community in remote Cotigao still use it, especially for hunting. In the
olden days, it served as a signal or a means to communicate or to call
people together
Banjo
A stringed western instrument with variants of four or five strings, it
blended well with Goan folk music and was often used in tiatrs (folk
theatre) in the place of the guitar
Mandolin
The soprano member of the lute family, it was previously a common feature of
church festivities and mando music before the guitar gained popularity.
Clarinet
A wind instrument which blended well in the symphony of the trumpet,
saxophone and trombone, it set a distinctive timbre during tiatrs and was a
must to highlight traffic scenes
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