The current method of presenting Gajan songs in south twenty-four parganas (দক্ষিণ চব্বিশ পরগনার গাজন গান উপস্থাপনের চলতি রীতিপদ্ধতি)

Abstract

Gajan songs of South 24 Parganas flow in two streams. A stream runs throughout the month of Chaitra and Boishakh. Another stream of Ghajan songs runs throughout the year. My discussion in the article is the second trend which is becoming increasingly international. In the present time Gajan songs are performed without Shiva. Gajan songs centered around Lord Shiva flourished throughout Bengal, but Shiva has remaied hidden in modern times. Instead of Shiva came Radha Krishna centered ballads. Sometimes Shiva's name is only chanted through the chorus. No story centered on Har-Parvati is presented today. Although Gajan has its origin in Hinduism, it has crossed religious lines in modern times. Non-Hindu religious stories are presented on stage. People from all communities, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, are present here as audience. The day laborers and poor agricultural people of South 24 Parganas enjoy Gajan songs as an evening entertainment. At a superficial glance, it seems that the language of Gajan songs is full of obscenities. If understood with deep attention, it can be understood that the everyday language of the people of South 24 Parganas is reflected here. No fanciful profanity is used here. The stories performed in Gajan songs are full of folk cultural elements. Each chhak contains a proverbs rhymes and riddles. Also all rituals centered around birth, marriage, death and puja parvan are presented here. Many people make a living from this Gajan song. At present there are about 42 Gajan teams in this district. Each team has 20 to 22 members. Most of them came from poor families. They are contracted with the team owner for the whole year. The team was formed during the Rath Yatra of the month of Asadha. After naming the team and selecting the story, rehearsals continued for two months. The performance starts from the Janmashtami tithi of Bhadra month. This is how Gajan songs are presented, first 10 minutes of lighting and music, then the duet dance song goes on for five minutes. Then a fascinating social turn in the form of Yatra is presented for half an hour. After that there is a 15- 20 minute Radha Krishna centered ballad. After this ballad there are five to seven chhak. The song of request begins in the final episode.