Bhawaiya is a famous folk music of Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. It is performed both as solo and in chorus. The origin of this genre of songs is quite controversial. The word Bhawaiya originated from 'Bhawa', which means low lying land of shrubs and vegetables. The songs were initially sung by the buffalo keepers while ploughing the lands. Another research has furnished that Bhawaiya has been derived from the word 'bao', meaning breeze. Thus the name signifies a song that is pleasant and random like the wind that blows in the northern Bengal. . It is also believed that Bhawaiya comes from 'Bhava' which refers to emotions. Bhawaiya songs are characterized by deep feelings of love and melancholy.
Types of Bhawaiya
Bhawaiya can be categorized as two types where one uses melancholic notes and the other uses skipping tone or chatka. The first type of Bhawaiya depicts tender feelings of a woman about love and separation. The second category is fast paced and comic in nature. The songs convey ambitions, expectations and conflicts in a family life. Kshirol refers to the third category which is an amalgamation of previous two tunes. Dotara serves as the ideal accompaniment in Bhawaiya songs.
Features of Bhawaiya
The most prominent feature of Bhawaiya songs are its typical tonal structure in which the reflection of topographical condition, phonetic and ethnic characteristics of the region can be found. The musical notes of this genre of songs usually stay within the middle octave. However, in some of the songs upper octave is also reached. These songs are generally sung in high pitched voice. Voice modulation and use of numerous microtunes are very prominent in Bhawaiya.
Bhawaiya songs have now been also adopted in Bengali Cinemas. Eminent singers of this genre of music are Abbasuddin Ahmed, who popularized these songs in Bangladesh, Firdousi Rahman and Mustafa Zaman Abbasi.
This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com
(Last Updated on : 28-12-2013)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recently Updated Articles in Indian Music
|
|
|
• | Folk Music of Northern India Folk Music of Northern India showcases the diverse cultural heritage of India. A variety of songs have been composed in this genre of music that narrates numerous themes.
| | • | Types of Odissi Music Types of Odissi music cover a rather wide range of styles. There are six major types of Odissi music.
| | • | Rabindra Sangeet Originated by Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Sangeet still reverberates the distinct aura of Indian classical music. In the arena of Indian classical music, Rabindra Sangeet with its entire classical aura and distinct romanticism stands as one of the primary music of India.
| | • | Qawwali This is a traditional form of Islamic music usually found in India and Pakistan. Qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition of India, which dates back to more than 700 years and is still a surviving art of music today.
| | • | Folk Music of South India Folk Music of South India runs in the blood of every South Indian. The children are encouraged by their elders to learn folk music. Folk Music of South India has a number of forms and their variations can be found in other parts of India as well.
| | |
|
|
|
|