Page 14 - Oct - Dec 2020

DID YOU KNOW?
WESTERN WONDERS Lavani is a combination of
traditional song and dance,
Music is integral to all cultures, while some give more particularly performed to
importance to the lyrics, others focus on the instruments, and the beats of Dholki. Lavani
yet others symbolise a beautiful syncretism. Let us look at was originally performed to
some of our western states! entertain and boost the morale
of tired soldiers by women.
Chirayu Belapurkar, Class 6, Modern School
WOMEN’S OWI Vasant Vihar New Delhi

MAHARASHTRA MANDO MAGIC!
Owi is a form of music sung by women to describe
their two homes - her parents’ home, and the home GOA
she shares with her spouse. These songs are often Mando is a song that accompanies dancing. It is believed
sung while women are busy working. It is believed that it evolved from ballroom dancing which was
that the Varkari saint, Dnyaneshwar, came up with prevalent in Goa in the 19th century. The major theme of
this form of poetry. However, this is perhaps because these songs is love, sometimes they also sing of historical
he was the fi rst to record it in text, before which it episodes and social issues. These are sung in a chorus. It
was oral. is a beautiful mix of Indian and Western cultures. The men
wear formal jackets, refl ecting their Portuguese history
Example of an owi from Dnyaneshwari
and the women wear pano bhaju.
Devā Tūchi Gaṇeshū |
Sakalārthamatiprakāshū |
Mhaṇe Nivṛtti Dāsū |
Avadhārijo ji ||2|| KARADE MAJALU
देवा तूंिच गणेशु | The main instrument
सकलाथर्मित प्रकाशु | in Karade Majalu from
म्हणे िनवृित्त दासु | Karnataka is the wooden
अवधािरजो जी ||2|| Karade. Other instruments
Dhun Malhotra, Class used are dimmu, tala,
8 B, The Indian School, shehnai, shruti box, etc. The
Sadiq Nagar, Delhi
focus is on the instruments,
Theme and often there is no
These songs are often protest songs more than work vocalist in the troupe.
Illustrtation by: Tamanna Gulati,
songs. Women sing about their hard work, unhappy Class 7 B, Modern School Vasant
marriages, husbands, patriarchy. They use sarcasm to Vihar, Delhi
sing about these problems faced by them on a daily
basis. Sometimes these songs are even devotional,
which is when the woman asks God for freedom BHONDLA BEATS
from this life.
Bhondla is celebrated
in Maharashtra. An el-
ephant is drawn on a
ACTIVITY: MY OWI! wooden board, a garland

of fl owers and vegeta-
Using the rhyme scheme of owi (fi rst three lines rhyme
bles is put on it, and the
and have 8 to 10 syllables, last line does not rhyme
women sing and dance
and has 4 to 6 syllables), come up with an owi of your Illustrtation by: Ritvik K Bhide,
around it to thank nature
own. You can write about how hard you work on your Class 7 B, Army Public School,
for the harvest. Shankar Vihar, Delhi
studies and school work! Your owi can be in English,
Hindi, your regional language, or even your mother Ritvik K Bhide, Class 7 B, Army Public School, Shankar Vihar, Delhi
tongue.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20