An Eternal Song : short story

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An Eternal Song

Santali festival of Spring

The Santals are an ethnic group, native to Nepal and the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Santals are the largest indigenous tribe in India in terms of population. Their life-style is very simple. They struggle against poverty and sometimes this struggle lead them to starvation. They worship 'Marang buru' or 'Bonga' as the Supreme Deity. 'Sohrai' is the principal festival of Santali community. Besides that Baha, Karam, Dansai, Sakrat, Mahmore, Rundo, Magsim etc. are important.
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Santali woman with her children

Spring comes with the presentation of colour in hills and the jungles of Jharkhand. The buds of flowers woke up after winter and bloom themselves to welcome the Spring. Butterflies also leave the shelter of caterpillar (God knows who informs them) and come to join in nature's festival of colour. Trees wear green dresses of new leaves. Various birds come to fill the air with chirping.

The Santals, who live in the lap of nature, also join in this festival. The Santali villages inside and outside of the jungle start their festival of flower "Baha". Men and women attire in their tradition clothes and celebrates the festival in joyous mood.

The naikey (the priest) performs a ritual in this festival. A kula(a flat container made by bamboo skin) with flowers and leaves of the shaal tree is offered to a Jaherthan (the altar) and devotees pray to "Jaher Ara", the god. After performing the rituals, the naikey along with others goes from door to door with the kula to bless everyone. People in the household, in particular young girls or women, offer food to the naikey. The naikey's feet are washed with water as he is welcomed by a family. After performing the rituals, the second part of programme start with dances, songs and archery practice.

The shaal forest was ringing that afternoon with the bass sound of beating 'dhamsa'. It was sending message "Everybody come into the festival ground". Mungri, a 16 years old girl was preparing herself with flower ornaments to go to the dance floor of festival ground. Her mother was helping her. Other girls, who were her friends, came to call her. When they were leaving, Mungri's mother reminded them to go and offer flowers to Bonga. The girls agreed with her and continued walking.

When they reached at Bonga's sacred place, a group of boys were also there offering flowers to the Holy Deity. They were carrying madals with them. They were from their neighbourhood village. When they became face to face, Mungri's eyes stuck upon a boy among them. He was probably 17 or 18. Dark skin, sharp physique, wearing a green cloth, a garland and a cloth-belt around head with flowers and green leaves. The boy was also gazing at her while going with his companions. Other girls watched it and laughed in unison. Mungri became embarrassed and then joined with her friends to Bonga.

When they reached on the festival ground, the elder women already started the 'sereng' (song) of Baha parab. The girls placed brass container with leaves and flowers on their head and started their traditional dance. Mungri saw that boy beating madal and looking at her frequently. The whole community was enjoying the festival with their traditional music, food and mahua (an intoxicating liquor made from flowers of mahua tree). A wave of pure bliss overflowed the shaal forest.

When Mungri was returning home that night from the festival ground with her friends, thrilling tunes of cuckoo were echoing the nocturnal atmosphere in shaal forest. Though the full moon enlightened the world with it's silvery moonlight, they were carrying some flared sticks to walk through the jungle at night. The girls heard a footstep behind them. When they turned round to see what was it, they found that boy from the festival ground appeared to them and slowly handed Mungri some spring flower silently with demur. She accepted those flowers from him. They both were speechless, looking at each other. He had love in his eyes. She had shyness in her gesture. The cuckoo was thrilling them. Her friends were silent. It seemed that the earth had stopped it's movement.

The boy was returning to his village. Other boys of his group were standing in a distance with patience. Then one of them called him, "Sagun! Let's go! We are already late!" The boy returned to this world and unwillingly followed his companions and disappeared into the shaal forest.

Mungri returned into her consciousness when a friend pulled her with them. They were also late.

Mungri's father works in a coal mine as a labour. After the hard work of whole day, he use to drink 'haria'(a native alcohol

Santali village

famous among the tribes) and usually spend whole night under a tree. Sometimes he spends all his daily income to buy haria.

She had two elder brothers. They don't work and spend the whole day wandering into the forest and playing wild tunes in flute.

So her mother works hard to feed the family. But her works are not stable. Where they live, there is not much facility of jobs for an illiterate Santali woman. Sometimes she works in the crop fields of the farmers, but it is a seasonal work. Sometimes she works in local timber factories. She works hard, but the remuneration is very low. She can't manage to fulfil the daily necessities. Permanent insufficiency is one of her inseparable companions, it never leaves her. Poverty drives her from morning to night outside home in hard works. So, Mungri manages all the household works by herself at home. She maintains the room, cooks, serves food to her brothers, and when her mother returns home she takes meal with her. Then her mother carries lunch for her father and goes to work from there.

Santali old women

Festive season means no more hard work and only enjoy the contiguity of the community. But when the festival arrives to it's end, the daily routine pulls them into the harsh track of the monotonous life. Again they work hard to live. But Mungri's life was no more monotonous. A new episode of life was opened for her. Sagun started to come and meet her daily into the shaal forest and on the hillocks. He played his tunes with his flute for her. Her days became colourful with him.

After the spring, summer came with fire into the air. All the water tanks dried including the small streams. It seemed the sun became mad. There were no job for Mungri's mother. The timber mill were closed for uncertain time. The crop fields were dried as well. She tried hard to get a job, but failed. Then hard the days of starvation began.

When the family was suffering the hard days, an agent from Assam Tea Estate came to their village with a proposal of a job in the tea garden. Mungri's mother accepted that proposal. Though Mungri's father opposed it, but she didn't listen to him. At least she can feed her children there. Instead of that, some other families from their village were also accepted that opportunity.

One afternoon Mungri met Sagun to say 'good bye'. They both were speechless, holding hands. There were tears in Mungri's eyes. Sagun's eyes was filled with pain. An inflammatory sensation was burning his eyes and was obstructing his breath. When she was returning home at evening, Sagun was no more able to hold on his tears. He told Mungri, "We shall meet again. Don't forget me." Mungri wept and came back to home to be prepared for long journey.

Soon they started their new life in Assam Tea Estate. Mungri and her mother got job in the tea garden. They plucked tea leaves there with other women of various tribes. Her father got job in the tea factory where they processed the tea leaves. Her two brothers had no job there instead of roaming around. They got a hut to live just beside the tea garden. But the remuneration was also very low.

Life was very restricted here. The garden manager had recruited some people, who were known as 'Sardar', to watch over the labours. The workers had lost their freedom. A little delay was punished by whips of the Sardar. Even the women was not out of the whip's range. They had to work like animals tied with chain.

After whole day's hard work, they returned to their hut. Some people of their ghetto  sang their tradition songs. They missed their community life of the natural habitation. But they tried to keep their social practices by heart. They came from different places and different tribes, but here they lived like a single community. They sang together the wild music of the jungle. When they did so, they felt the jungle God 'Bonga' there, pleased on them. Sometimes the music continued till midnight. The spirit of jungle changed the atmosphere of the tea estate.

When a Santali or Munda boy piped his flute at the night, Mungri found herself back into the shaal jungle with Sagun. She could not able to concentrate on any house hold work that night. The memory of those days with Sagun compelled her to spend a sleepless night. Memory of swinging together into the jungle swing, laughing and running together on the rocks and hillocks attracted her back to their native land. Though there was no way to go back.

In this way, they spent there three years. Then suddenly the tea estate collapsed by a huge loss in market and closed for an uncertain period. The workers waited some day, but when they saw no sign of open it, they got prepared to return home.

It was the end of winter. After returning in home land Jharkhand, Mungri became very happy. She met with her friends and went to Sagun's village to give him the good

Santali village

news, but saw some of the huts of that village was empty. Sagun's hut was one of them. She became upset. She returned and asked her friends about Sagun. They didn't know anything about him. But they heard that some families from that village went to the city for job as labours of construction site. May be he went with them.

That year the festival of spring was colourless to Mungri. Though the beats of madal and dhamsa, fine tune of flute, traditional songs of Baha, flowers of shaal trees, thrilling notes of cuckoo were as usual into the jungle and hills, but Mungri found no spirit in it. Festival of pure bliss made her cry.

The first day of festival started with the colourful flowers of spring and the rituals. Mungri's mother prepared her for the festival ground as usual with flower ornaments. When her friends came to call her, her mother reminded them to offer Bonga some flowers.

All the girls were walking silently. They were sympathetic with Mungri. Arriving at Bonga's place, they offered some flowers and prayed for her. The southerly wind of spring carrying the fragrance of flowers. A tune of flute was ringing the air. Mungri kneeled down in the front of Bonga and started to cry loudly. Her friends were trying to ease her. But her eyes was overflowing with tears continuously.

Suddenly she felt a gentle familiar touch on her shoulder. Instantly she stopped crying. She thought that it was a dream. But when she turned back, it was reality. It was Sagun himself. She jumped on him and clung him tightly. She started again to cry louder.

Sagun brought some flowers for her. When he returned home that day of festival, he heard from his friends that Mungri came back and she was searching for him. He did not wait. He was impatient to meet her. Without taking any rest, he went to Mungri's home. There he met her mother and came to know that Mungri went for Bonga's sacred place. He came here and met her.

When Mungri became easy with her repressed emotions, Sagun handed her the flowers which he brought and kissed gently on her forehead. Mungri's face changed into purple  as she became shy. The girls laughed in their natural way. Mungri turned round from them to Bonga, and saw the God was also smiling.

She felt the festival of spring was no more colourless.
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