The inaugural ceremony of Sur Jahan 2018 held recently at Kala Academy was nothing like
Goans had ever seen before. Rich Goan folk art, usually hidden deep in Goa’s
interiors, was in full display and could be termed as perhaps Goa’s best
representation on an international forum, till date. As Goan folk music and
dance forms like Ghodemodni, Dhaalo, Ghumat, Goph, etc took centre
stage, the audience comprising folk musicians and artistes from across the
world were left awestruck.
While the condensed act that packed potent Goan folk fire power
lasted a mere 20 minutes, months went into the preparation of putting the act
together. The chief architect of this revolution, Amitava Bhattacharya, was
ably supported by Dr Pandurang Phaldessai, who has been working with Goan folk
artistes at the absolute grassroots level, instilling the very confidence in
them, that left the audience mesmerised at the opening ceremony.
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The duo of Bhattacharya and Phaldessai got on the duty of
recruiting the best from Goan folk art for the job and thus began the selection
process. In the end, Siddhivinayak Kala Sangh from Akar, Mardol were chosen for
performing Ghodemodni and Goph, Sateri Mahila Mandal from Maine,
Ponda for Dhaalo, Divya Dinesh Naik from Sanvordem was chosen for the
vocals, and Sai Damodar Ghumat Aarti Mandal’s (Margao) reputation of being one
of the best in Ghumat performance earned them a spot in the list.
The next challenge was to present the best of Goan folk art
forms in a concise, condensed manner, thereby making it palatable to an
international audience. Most of the folk art performances that can go on for
several hours had to be edited and trimmed down to shorter durations. These
multiple performances were then weaved in seamlessly, making for a crisp yet
scintillating performance ensemble.
It is important to note that a world music festival like Sur
Jahan attracts not only folk artistes but event managers and festival
organisers from across the world as well. In this context, inclusion of
traditional folk into the mainstream opens up another market for the artistes.
Amitava Bhattacharya, Founding Director of Banglanatak dot com –
the entity behind Sur Jahan – feels that the mingling of local artistes with
international artistes is extremely important. Bhattacharya says, “The rural
artistes should get a grasp of the presentation standards that need to be
achieved in order to be palatable for a mainstream audience. For example, the
performance by Tuuletar (Finland) left the audience spellbound! We aren’t used
to seeing folk performances of this calibre, where there is no place for the
minutest of errors. It is important to put in that level of professionalism.”
Bhattacharya
also acknowledges the big disconnect between the urban elite music and the
rural folk that has restricted the growth of folk art. He says, “Rural folk art
has been confined to the rural audience. The urban elite are not exposed to it.
It is unfortunate that the class and caste system has plagued folk art in
India. Folk art is on the brink of commercialisation. With time, folk art needs
to evolve and that has not happened. In olden days, folk art used to go on for
prolonged hours in the night. But now, the same treatment will attract fewer
takers. The idea is to edit the act and present it in shorter capsules, without
tampering with the tradition.”
