Ramdayal Rakesh

Maithili is the language of songs and music. Vidyapati is the pioneer poet in making Maithili a prominent language of music and song. Vidyapati (1360-1448) is the foremost poet who made it so popular. Vidyapati Nanyadev (1097) of Karnat dynasty, who made Simraungarh his capital, was well versed in music. He wrote ‘Sarswati Hridyalankar’, which is the testimony of his musical knowledge and taste.

Dominant Role
Music has its dominant and important role in the local life of Mithila and Vidyapati made it more fertile and flourishing. That’s why the music of Vidyapati has its own ancient and original place in making it more melodious by composing songs suitable on all auspicious occasions- from birth to death. This passionate and poignant poet of Mithila of the 14th century composed thousands of songs which are sung today also by womenfolk of Mithila and are still alive in the tongue of locals.

Maithili songs are full of Ragas and Raginis also. For example, Raga Megha is sung during rainy season and is loved by many people. This Raga is heard in the monsoon season when thunderbolts rock the sky and soft raindrops fall on the thirsty ground. Raga Megh and Raga Malhar have very similar ecstatic properties. According to the Janak ragas, Raga Deepak came to burn and enflame people during the summer. When the summer season ends and the monsoon season starts, Raga Megh extinguished the flames and fire causes by Raga Deepak. It is truly the raga to extinguish fires of the heart.

There is a song for every month, for every season. The month of Chait has the Chaiti songs and the rains have Kajri. The Baramasa: The songs of twelve months are sung almost everywhere in North India. The songs describe the clouds of Asadh, the rains of Sawan, the lighting of the lamps of Kartik, the spring buds of Magh, the festivals of colours of Phalgun. (B. Chaitnya Deva: An Introduction of Indian Music. P. 60)
Its importance has been mentioned in the Yagyavalkya Smriti in the following lines:

Dharm (religion), money, karm and Moksha(salvation) can be achieved only through music. In the development of music the Vedic tradition, Puranic tradition and Sagic tradition have contributed a lot. Several sages have advanced these three traditions by their own continued contributions.
These sages are Nandikeshwar, Narad,Swati, Tumbru,Bharat, Dattil,Kohal, Vishakhil,Kashya,Yastic, Aajney,Hanumanamat, Shardul, Matang,Sudhakalash,Abhinavgupta, Bhoj, Nanyadev, Someshwar, jagdek Malla,Shartatanay, Somraj, Jaydev,Sharangdev Pt. , Damodar, Pt. Ahobal,Pt. Lochan Jha etc.

The first king of Karnat dynasty Nanyadev was the great scholar of music. He revived andrejuvanated the almost lost tradition of music in Mithila. According to some scholars there was a living tradition of music in MITHILA from the Vedic period. The Maithil priests popularized this tradition to a great extent,These scholarly Brahmin priests used to recite verbally these Vedic hymns on various auspicious occasions. It is believed that music is the offshoot of SAMVEDA.

All the members of Brahmnic family were supposed to be the knower of the Samveda. Today also Maithil Brahmins used to recite Vedic hymns on several auspicious occasions from birth to sacred thread ceremonies. Thus there is no exaggeration to say that the tradition of music has been prevalent from the Vedic period.
Local tradition of music also started in Mithila alongwith the hymns of Samveda. There was no strict rule and regulation in such type of music. Actually speaking people who had no easy approach to the hymns of Samveda, they started this tradition who were not Brahmins. All the activities of life were used to be described in it. Folklife replaced this classical style of music. These two streams of music continued in the Mithila region for quite some time.

“The demarcation of folk art or classical music in India is really vague. The kind of music which finds a place in village gatherings, temple services, rural theatres as well as in concerts has a niche of its own, and it is sung and played, very often in definable ragas and talas. ”(B. Chaitnya:An Introduction to Indian Music. P. 63.)
In the longrun folk ballads took place of it. Salhes. Loric,Naina-Banjara,DinaBhadri ,Alha Udal,Dulara-Dayal, Karikh Panjiar, Mira Sultan,Sati Behula are prevalent in the Mithila region today also. A new tradition of musical and metrical of Maithili song started replacing the old and ancient tradition. Harsinghdev was the last king of the Karnat dynasty who was the propounder of this musical tradition. The Royal priest of Harisinghdev, Jyotirishwor Thakur who wrote Varna ratnakar, the first Maithili language prosaic book in which singing and dancing alongwith folksongs included.

Even world poet Ravindra Nath Tagore regarded him a permanent and perennial source of inspiration. Those singer-poets from West India such as Sumati, Uday and Jayat also popularized his melodious poems and songs. They are popular like Ravindra Sangit (music). Every poetic song of Vidyapati turned and transformed into folksongs and they are in the people’s tounge. That’s why Mithila’s season songs, sacramental songs and Sugam Sangeet(ordinary music) are still found singing. Even Vidyapat dance is very popular in the whole Mithilanchal region, which we call Vidyapati legend.

Mithilanchal is steeped in Vdyapati’s love lyrics. It means that he was wellversed in Sangit Shastra(Music classics) and a versatile singer. His one of the titles Kavikokil (poet nightingale) certifies that he was a famous singer of Maithili songs. His voice was sweet as cuckoo’s voice. That’s why ordinary people also like to sing his songs.

After the downfall of Shiva Singh, attack of Yavan and dominance of East India Company in India these singers and musicians fled away to save their lives but some of them did not like to run away from their soil. Therefore there are four musical establishments (Gharana) still in existence and they are Amata gharana, Madhurani gharana,Panchgachhiya gharana and Panichov gharana.
But the Vidyapati gharana is the most popular and still prevelant. In this gharana classical and modern songs are sung with gusto. Chhitipal Malik, Mansa Mishra, Mangan Jha, Ramchandra etc. are the founders of these different groups. They have their own special qualities but Vidyapatian style of music is vibrant in these groups. Royal singer Jayat who used to sing with Vidyapati is the founder of Amata establishment, which is specialised in raga Dhrupad Raga.

Rich Tradition
“Ballads are a very important section of a peoples music. They do not generally have the lyrical qualities of folk poetry as in songs. But ballads are more concerned with advancing the settlement of fact, and to help the narrative. They are the unwritten history of the community, naturally, every people have their own heroes and heroines. ”

Mithila is very rich in its culture and musical tradition. Now some Delhi educated music masters like Lalit Kamat,Pravesh Mallik and Ramesh Mallik have started Alap Music School in Janakpur which is contributing in the field of music a lot. The Master Musician of Mithila Gurudev Kamat has an old music establishment called Pathshala in Kathmandu which is helping in preserving the old tradition of Mithila music . (B. Chaitnya:An Introduction To Indian Music. 63)

(The writer is an expert on Mithila culture)