by Pandey Kapil
A ferocious wave had forced its way into the lawn and swept off the champak tree. The phoolsunghi that lived on the tree hastily flew away.
1 Ramnath Pandey’s Mahendar Misir (1990) and Jauhar Safiybadi’s Poorvi Ke Dhah (2012) and Anamika’s Dus Dwareka Pinjara (2007).
2 Bhojouri Sammelan Patrika, Year 28, Vol. 12, December 2018, p 11.
3 Named such after Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi (1864–1938), who steered the progress of Hindi language and literature after the era of Bharatendu Harishchandra (1850–1885).
4 See Suresh Kumar Mishra. 2012. Mahendra Mishra Ki Pratinidhi Kavitayen. Mekhla Prakashna: Delhi, p8.
5 Humra neeko na lage Ram, goran ke karani (I do not quite like O Ram, the deeds of the British). Quoted in Dharmendra Sushant. 2019. ‘Mahendar Misir: Lat Uljhi Suljha Ja Balam’ Raj: Chhapra.
6 See Jaikant Sing. 2013. Bhojpuri Gadya Sahitya: Swaroop, Samagri, Samalochna. Rajarshri Prakashan, Muzaffarpur. p 67.
7 See Janki Bakhle. Two Men and Music: Nationalism and the making of an Indian Classical Tradition. Permanent Black: New Delhi, The Other Song (2009). Dir. Saba Dewan.
8 I have used the name Chhapra for the city, Saran for the district, and Saran Division for the larger administrative unit.
9 Narayan’s ‘Batohiya’ (1911) or the traveler was the most popular anthem of anti-colonial sentiments in the Bhojpuri region, nearly as popular as ‘Vande Matram’ (1882).
10 See N.M.P. Shrivastava and Jayshri Dutta. 2001. Aazadi ki Jung: Bihar Ke Mashhoor Krantikari. Bihar Hindi Granth Akademi: Patna. p 96.
11 See Jonathan Gil Harris. 2015. The First Firangis. Aleph: New Delhi.
12 Anand A. Yang. 1989. The Limited Raj. University of California Press. Berkley. p 92.
13 See Shreedhar Narayan Pandey. 1975. Education and Social Changes in Bihar. Motilal Banarasidass: Varanasi. p 157.
14 Ibid.
15 See William Buyers. 1848. Recollections of Northern India. John Snow Paternoster Row: London. p 218.
16 Shreedhar Narayan Pandey. 1975. Education and Social Changes in Bihar. Motilal Banarasidass: Varanasi. p 147.
17 The Times of India (4 August 2017).
18 Krishnadev Upadhyay. 1957. Bhojpuri aur Uska Sahitya. Rajkamal: New Delhi. pp 15–16.
19 Udaynarayan Tiwar. 1954. Bhojpuri Bhasha Aur Sahitya. Bihar Rashtrabhasha Parishad: Patna p 25.
Glossary
Tawaif: loosely, a nautch girl; a courtesan accomplished in dance, music, poetry and etiquettes; embodies cultural sophistication.
Baraat: a groom’s marriage procession; in Bihar, the emphasis is more on pageantry than on procession; often associated with colourful marquee and nautch.
Poorvi: literally ‘of the east’, refers to both Bhojpuri songs and Hindustani classical tunes; Mahendar Misir is considered its greatest proponent in Bihar.
Birahin: Bhojpuri folk songs of love-in-separation; often addressed to an absent husband who toils away in a faraway city.
Kathak: an Indian classical dance form associated with the story tellers of north India and Mughal courts.
Kotwal: police officer in colonial India; as the immediate representative of a distant government, a source of disciplining terror in rural areas.
Sarkar: an administrative dispensation, in rural parlance, a gender-neutral term that refers to someone in a position authority; someone people supplicate to.
Aanchal: the flowing end of a sari, linked with modesty as it is used by women to cover their head; in popular imagination, a metaphor for a woman’s affection.
Khoencha: an auspicious gift of rice, vermillion, money, etc. bundled in aanchal or a piece of cloth; generally given when a married woman is about to embark on a journey.
Mujra: a soirée centred on a tawaif, meant for male patricians and held inside a nautch house; involves singing, dance routines, poetry recitation etc.
Mehfil: a festive gathering, necessarily with a musical performance, preferably with dance recitals, too; sometime involves drinking.
Darshan: the ritual of beholding the face of deity; ideally, in a manner that the eyes of the idol meet those of the devotee.
Thumri: North Indian classical songs, combines romantic and devotional sentiments; usually rendered in a feminine voice; associated with the court of Wajid Ali Shah in nineteenth century Lucknow.
Dadar: North Indian semi-classical vocal style; draws upon folk and household themes, sung by women.
Tappa: North Indian folk songs.
Ji: a common gender-neutral honorific, suffixed to a name
Bai: an honorific for Indian women; in Hindi heartland, suffixed to a tawaif’s name; Bai-ji is a common double honorific for tawaifs.
Baba: a form of salutation suffixed to someone’s name; reserved for monks, elderly, experienced and Brahmins.
Ustaad: a maestro or an expert; in the Indian subcontinent, refers to a highly skilled musician or an connoisseur of wrestling.
Acknowledgements
Translating Phoolsunghi made me realize the ethos of the vernacular cultures. This wasn’t just another academic exercise, of the kind where a scholar indulges in a dreary, solitary pursuit, vying for recognition from peers; it brought a community of Bhojpuri enthusiasts together, making the project a truly collective enterprise.
I feel a deep sense of gratitude to the late author’s family—his wife Susheela Pandey, his daughter Ambuja Sinha and his son-in-law, Rajeshwar Prasad Sinha—for sharing their insights into his craft, and also books from his vast collection. Vinay Mishra, Mahendar Misir’s great grandson, was forthcoming with facts, documents and anecdotes about his illustrious ancestor. I am truly indebted to Dr Munna Pandey who put his own copy of the book into my hands, prodding me constantly to translate it. Dr Brijbhushan Mishra, a doyen of Bhojpuri literature, was patient with all my queries, and allowed me to lean on his scholarship. I benefited greatly from the pioneering work done by Vishwanath Sharma, Ranjan Vikas and Ranjan Prakash—three dedicated bibliophiles—who have put together a sizeable library of Bhojpuri works. Gratitude is also due to Anand-ji, the translator of several Hindi classics, for alerting me to the errors of my style. I have to thank Chandrahas Choudhury, who volunteered to look into my draft and shared valuable inputs. My long conversations with Dharmendra Sushant, easily one of the best scholars of Bhojpuri and everything else, shaped my introduction, in ways only the two of us can understand. With Animesh Mohapatra and Lalit Kumar, my oldest allies in the city, I exchanged daily notes on the progress of translation, reading out each chapter to them as soon as it was rendered into English. This translation would not have been possible without inputs from Prof Devendra Choubey, Dr. Prithviraj Singh, Dr Bhagwatiprasad Dwivedi, Dr Jaikant Singh, Dr. Santosh Patel, Prof. Jyotirmaya Tripathy, Dr Baidik Bhattacharya, Dr V.M. Jha, Dr T.N. Ojha, S.N. Dubey, Mihir Jha, Dr I.M. Jha, Dr Dilip Choubey and Dr G.K. Jha, the principal of my college. Sashwat Panda, a young scholar with remarkable perspicacity, helped wholeheartedly with revision. I wish to thank my friends—Prabhat Ranjan, Abhaas, Chandrima Chatterjee, Umashankar Patra and Aruni Mahapatra—for all the support and help they have extended. My brother Pankaj Chaubey, Rajeev Pathak, Pawan Chaturvedi, Namrata Chaubey, Vidhshree, Indrajeet Jha, Khushboo and Anushri, with their deep interest in folk cultures kept me motivated, reminding me constantly of the significance of this project. I was extremely fortunate to have Ananya Bhatia as my editor; her enlightened approach to translation as well as her work ethics, both deserve special praise. Rajnikant Pathak, Neeta Pathak and Aadya Pathak—my family in Patna—helped me procure books, documents and prioritised my engagements whenever I happened to be in the city. Prabhas Upadhyay, Asha Upadhyay and Divyani showered much warmth and care during this past winter, as I sat in their quiet sunbathed garden, finalizing the first draft of the manuscript. I wish to thank my father, Madhusudan Choubey, for being who he is—understanding, compassionate and protective. My wife, Indrani Nilima, deserves to be thanked for stepping into multiple roles for my sake, all very different and dema
nding. She shared my fatigue, frustrations and exhilaration, right from the afternoon I translated the first page of Phoolsunghi. Finally, I can’t help thinking of my mother, who was responsible for my earliest encounter with Bhojpuri literature; years ago, she read out to me a short story in Bhojpuri, which was written by her father.
Gautam Choubey
Mayur Vihar, New Delhi
27 September 2020
THE BEGINNING
Let the conversation begin…
Follow the Penguin Twitter.com@penguinbooks
Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube.com/penguinbooks
Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest
Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook.com/penguinbooks
Find out more about the author and
discover more stories like this at Penguin.co.in
HAMISH HAMILTON
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia
New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
Hamish Hamilton is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
This collection published 2020
Copyright © Legal Heirs of pandey Kapil 2020
English translation copyright © Gautam choubey 2020
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Jacket images © Ahlawat Gunjan
This digital edition published in 2020.
e-ISBN: 978-9-353-05999-6
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.