The politics of the rustic folk song

Sambhaji Bhagat
Folk Singer, Maharashtra                                                                                                 

I was born in a village in Maharashtra, where there wasn’t much opportunity for classical music to flourish. It was caste- ridden, and our only source of entertainment were the vagabonds who came now and then to sing to us. This is what I grew up with in a community that celebrated simplicity. 

I spent a lot of time trying to understand this genre and today I look at folk songs as the means to an end. Folk music is protest music and the history of our country is testament to this. The songs during Shivaji’s time were as mighty as his sword against the Mughals. Then came the Bhakti movement, and it brought to the limelight some gems like Meera, Kabir and Ravidas, who told us that we could worship our God any way we pleased, regardless of birth. 

To me, the Bhakti movement was also a Mukti movement of sorts — emancipation of the lower castes and women. Then our country was colonised by the British and nationalist protest music was born and made available to the people. 

The Prati Sarkar, which coupled the bullet with song, was formed against the British. We are the children of these greats. I am the son of Shivaji and Ambedkar and Phule — what I do is protest. My job is to give a voice to the kisans (farmers) and the Dalits and the women of my village, and I sing for and on behalf of these people. Of course, this comes with risks. I’ve been to jail a couple of times for my outspokenness as have been many of my brothers. 

They didn’t throw bombs or kill people — all they did was sing. Our government is a fascist one, and the tyranny is rampant. They’re TV people, using technology to stifle us. Why would they want to keep people like me alive?

I have no weapons or police protection on my side. All I have are my people. They want to make gulaams (slaves) out of us but I am not afraid. I will always be supported by my ideals, and this is reflected in my music. My brothers have been in jail for singing about the adivasis. A large segment of Indian society is in trouble, the Dalits and farmers are in trouble, and this is what I sing about. I am not alone, though. We’re a country of protest singers with a mission to tell the story that is not being told by the mainstream  media. The tradition of shayari (a form of Urdu poetry) cannot die, and I’ve been lucky to have overwhelming responses to my programmes. But the media is controlled by the rich. Why would they write about lower caste women being attacked and their husbands killed? My voice may be small, but slowly but surely, I want to make a difference for these communities.

One of my favourite songs is Is surat ko pehchano bhai (recognise this face, brother) to warn people who the enemy really is.The ruling classes want to sanitise my songs, but I’m not the man who sings about parties and fun –– that’s Honey Singh you’re thinking about.

The author is a Dailt activist and revolutionary.