Ballad of the community broth

 

 

 Set in rural Karnataka, around the time of Vijayanagar

Composed in blank verse quatrains

 

Continued from the valleys of the Western Ghats

Grazed by the charioted eastern Sun

Lies the village of Divyapeta - In the land of

The rural Kannadas   - Dakhani plateau south

 

Dawns the day of Ugadi , Ammavasya¹ crossed

Cracks the roosters voice - amidst patterns of

Cow-dung and rice², the women welcome

Auspiciousness, the form of Lakshmi

 

Sheltered by Shiva's great Banyan tree

Meet the village elders - men and women

From every quarter - A celebration

Unto itself, A song to be sung

 

While in Kannada houses are cooked

Pachadi, the six flavoured delight

Beholding us to accept come year

All possible states of mind

 

The Ganachari³, soothsayer of Durgamma⁴

Says, In these times of communal strife⁵

Our dothing mother demands, a sacrifice

A meal of Earthen nature - homage inwards

 

Thus, the turbaned leader nodded

A Cuckoo couple too coed

Prancing about in agreement

The village children danced

 

Amidst sun rising - heat scorched workmen

Placed a large cauldron with a ladle to match

The women folk carried Tungabhadra water

Flowing eastwards from their Andhra cousins 

 

The simple farm hands were called first

For from the ground rises life

Pour they did pearly Millet grains

Fruits of their hard toil and sweat

 

Next were the priestly Brahmans

Chanting as they poured - Sanctified Basil

and clear ghee, Fed to the deities of lore

But now to this Village broth

 

Not to offend them, barber-surgeons

Culled their demands for meat

Offered they did some rare herbs

Usually reserved for the Lords

 

Thankful too for the lack of meat

And wishing there be no onions

Jain bankers poured slowly

Cut tomatoes, potatoes and more

 

When some Betel was brought to fore

The Muslims expressed anguish

Haram it is for us, because

It churns our minds too much ⁶

 

Expressing assent to their request,

The ladle stirring Village Lord

Mixed in their offerings of

Persian spices and herbs

 

Ladies of the farmer lands

Lined up the bowls to be served

One for all and all for one

For the spirit is present in all

 

Finally, fanning the flames below

Fed by straw from the stables

The maiden Ganachari, sung

Hymns of Kannada, songs of spirited lore

 

Boiling above the bountiful broth

Homage to the Earth through herself

Scented Aroma floats around the air

And the first drop is fed to a cow

 

Thus, a festival goes, but one of many

The dish of our land is peppered -

With songs of such days and more

Lost to books, but engraved in hearts

 

Subtext

Although such a scene might not have transpired in reality, medieval India was a period of marked synthesis and compromise; it is this spirit that this ballad tries to capture. Two marked inspirations are the Kashmiri Wazwan and the Sikh Langar. One can also see a subtle subversion of the theoretical dynamics between communities, this too was characteristic of Indian traditions, examined critically and cherished by its people. A few points to be noted are, the order and the roles in which communities participate, the use of vernacular hymns, the participation of all religious denominations and the participation of animals as well .

Notes

1. New moon day, Ugadi marks the waxing of the moon

2. Symbols of auspiciousness

3. Unmarried women from the intermediate castes were often chosen as soothsayers of village deities

4. A village goddess in the Deccan, a form of Parvati

5. The introduction of Islam in South India as well as the rise and fall of many regional empires, produced a period of instability; the Lingayats, an iconoclastic religious reform sect also brought about social change

6. While it unclear as to whether Betel is actually Haram, this specific group of Muslims might have found it so, for its stimulant properties