Namita Waikar

PARI GSP Team

Samyukta Shastri

Photos and Video

Subuhi Jiwani

Editor

Sharmila Joshi

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Anjana
Gadhave of Pune district recalls ovi from a memory storehouse, and sings of the saint-poets Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram,
of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini, and tulsi&#39;s marriage, for the Grindmill Songs
Project

“Yes, I
remember the ovya
we sang many years ago. They are all here, in my heart,” says Anjanabai
Gadhave, indicating it with her palm. 

Anjanabai
lives in Savindane village of Shirur taluka in Pune district with her two sons and
their wives. Her late mother-in-law Dhondabai Gadhave also sang grindmill songs
and they have both been featured on PARI. (See <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/when-the-daily-grind-is-done">When the daily grind is done</a>) The family belongs
to the Kumbhar (potter) community and outside their home is a shrine of the
12th century Bhakti poet Sant Janabai, sculpted by Anjanabai’s father-in-law Fakira
Gadhave. On October 8, 2017, we went to Savindane but were dismayed to learn that Dhondabai had passed away in 2008. We met Anjanabai that day and recorded her songs on video. When the PARI team visits villages to meet the singers of the <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-grindmill-songs-recording-a-national-treasure">Grindmill Songs Project</a> (GSP), we find that many women can’t easily remember the songs. So we try to jog their memory by reciting some couplets. But Anjanabai remembered almost every ovi of the 17 she had contributed to the <a href="https://grindmill.org/">grindmill songs database</a> in 1995. She sang 16 for us in a voice that has retained its sweet intonation even 22 years after she performed them for the previous GSP team. She was slightly breathless by the time she finished. After a moment’s pause, rather endearingly she told us, “I am a heart patient, I have a pace maker.”

Songs of devotion and discord 

The
first eight ovi
are about the lives of Bhakti saint-poets Sant Dnyaneshwar (also called Dnyanoba
or Dnyanba) and Sant Tukaram (Tuka or Tukoba). Couplets nine to eleven are about
the domestic discord between Lord Vitthal and his wife Rukmini. The five couplets
at the end of this medley are about tulsi or the
holy basil plant, the idealised ‘pativrata’ or wife selflessly devoted to Lord
Vitthal (Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu). 

Some
Hindu communities celebrate this devotion by solemnising the tulsi vivah or the marriage of the tulsi plant and Lord Krishna. It
is held within a fortnight of the festival of Diwali in the month of Kartik of
the Hindu lunar calendar. The wedding feast includes some sour and sweet
seasonal fruits like tamarind, bor or ber (Indian jujube) and pieces of sugarcane,
all of which are a treat for children.

In the
first ovi,
Anjanabai asks: Who is the king of Alandi? It is Dnyaneshwar, who resides in
the temple on the bank of the Indrayani river, she replies. The second couplet
tells us that the town of Alandi where a five-year-old boy took samadhi (a
permanent state of meditation; the final resting place) was plastered with silt
from the river. His age is not accurate in the song, but Dnyaneshwar was very
young when he renounced life. He was born in 1275 AD and was 21 years old at
the time of his samadhi
in 1296 AD. During his short lifespan, he achieved such literary feats as the Dnyaneshwari*
and the Amrutanubhav*,
besides composing several ovi and abhang (devotional and mystical poetry).In the third ovi, the singer tells us about the golden peepal tree with gem-studded leaves that symbolise the spiritual enlightenment attained by Dnyanoba, who took samadhi below the idol of Nandi, the bull, the vehicle of Lord Shiva. This refers to the underground vault below the Siddheshwar temple in Alandi, Pune district, where Dnyaneshwar is believed to have ended his worldly life.In the fourth ovi, Anjanabai compares the phenomenon of the fish from Alandi swimming upstream in the Indrayani river to Dehu to the steadfast devotion of Dnyanoba and Tukaram to Lord Vitthal.

Sant Tukaram was born in 1608 in Dehu in Pune district, and his collection of over 4,000 poems forms an important part of Marathi literature. He disappeared without a trace in 1650, and some of his followers believe that he left the earth for Vaikunth (heaven or the celestial abode of Lord Vishnu in Hindu mythology). Couplets five to eight are about this. The singer asks in ovi five: Who threw popped grain in the deep pools of Dehu (on the Indrayani river)? And answers: As Tuka went away to Vaikunth, his wife Jija was looking for him. In ovi six, the singer asks: Who threw bukka (a fragrant black powder offered by devotees) in the deep pools of Dehu when, cymbals and veena* in hand, Tuka disappeared from the earth? (The people of Dehu had tremendous faith in Tukaram and it is out of respect and devotion that they showered popped grain and bukka at the time of his farewell.). Ovi seven tells us that Tukaram’s strings of tulsi beads, which floated on the river after he left this world, made the deep waters of the river appear black. In ovi eight we learn that the devotion for Tukaram was so great that the tailor who made the pandal at Dehu wrote his abhang all over the fabric.In ovi nine, ten and eleven, Anjanabai sings of Rukmini’s anger towards Vitthal; it is so intense that she gives him cold water for his bath. She sits near a pond and is sulking. Her beloved Pandurang (Lord Vitthal) puts his arm around her neck and tries to pacify her. She is reluctant to sit beside him because she cannot bear the lingering dust of abir and bukka*, the fragrant powders that devotees offer Vitthal.The last five songs are about tulsi, and Anjanabai addresses her as a plant and a pativrata –  an idealised woman who worships her husband and is wholeheartedly devoted to him. (This idealisation is  socially and culturally rooted in patriarchy, with no parallel in a similarly devoted husband.)  She tells her not to wander in the forest and offers her a place in the courtyard of her spacious home, in a rectangular pot called vrindavan. Anjanabai sings that tulsi has no parents and she grows in black soil. Harichandra, the wind, the plant’s friend and brother-in-law, pushes her making her sway and when her leaves are blown away, Lord Vitthal fondly collects them. This couplet shows that Lord Vitthal cherishes her, and this is perhaps why tulsi leaves are offered to the deity during worship.

Which
king reigns over Alandi village? 
Dnyaneshwar’s temple is on the bank of the Indrayani Alandi
was plastered with silt from the Indrayani There,
a five-year-old boy took samadhiThe gold
pimpal
[peepal tree] has gem-studded leaves Dnyanoba
took samadhi
under Nandi [the bull, Lord Shiva’s vehicle]How did
the fish from Alandi swim upstream to Dehu? Much
the same as Dnyanoba-Tukaram are drawn to VitthalWho scattered
popped grain in the deep pools of Dehu? As Tuka
goes to Vaikunth, Jija [his wife] looks around [for him] Who scattered
bukka
in the deep pools at Dehu? Cymbals
and veena
in hand, Tuka disappearedHow did
the deep pools at Dehu become black? Tuka
has gone to Vaikunth, strings of tulsi beads
float on the riverWhich
tailor has stitched the pandal at Dehu? He has
written Tukaram’s abhang on itRukhmin
is upset, her anger is bad [She
gives] cold water for Lord Vitthal’s bathRukhmin
is sulking, she goes and sits near a pond Her
dear Pandurang [Vitthal] puts his arm around herRukhmin
is reluctant to sit near Itthal [Vitthal] She
cannot bear the abundant abir and bukkaTulsi pativrata, don’t wander in the forest and
jungle My
house is spacious, I will give you a place in the vrindavan*Tulsi pativrata, don’t wander in the jungle My
house is spacious, I will give you a place in the courtyardTulsi pativrata, you have no parents Your
plant grows in the black soilTulsi pativrata, who pushed her? Harichandra
[the wind], her friend, her brother-in-lawTulsi leaves were blown away by the
wind Lord
Vitthal fondly collected them    

Notes 

Abir
or gulal:
a fragrant orange powder that is offered by devotees to Lord Vitthal and to
Bhakti saints, also applied as a dot on the forehead by devotees

Amrutanubhav: Sant Dnyaneshwar’s unique
poetic work in the ovi form, consisting of 800 poems of four lines each. It is a meditation
on ‘Being’ or ‘the Self’ in the Kashmir Shaivagama tradition. It was translated
into contemporary Marathi by Vinda Karandikar and into English by Dilip Chitre as
Anubhavamrut
– The Immortal Experience Of Being.

Bukka: a fragrant black powder that
is offered by devotees to Lord Vitthal and to Bhakti saints, also applied as a
dot on the forehead by devotees

Dnyaneshwari: Sant Dnyaneshwar’s commentary
in 12th century Marathi on the Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita. It was originally called the Bhavarth Deepika (the light that illuminates the meaning) but is
popularly known as Dnyaneshwari, after its author.

Veena: A stringed musical
instrument. The veena mentioned in the sixth ovi has a single string.<hr/>

Performer/Singer: Anjanabai Gadhave

Village: Savindane

Taluka: Shirur

District: Pune

Caste: Kumbhar (potter)     

Age: 56

Children: Two sons and three daughters

Occupation: Potter and agricultural labourer    

These
songs were recorded and the photographs were taken on October 8, 2017.

Poster: Sinchita Maji

Anjanabai’s songs from the heart

Savindane

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Anjanabai’s songs from the heart

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