Intoxicating Music

It was an intoxication of a different kind!

Am not sure whether it can be called anything other than intoxication. Just like any other intoxicating substance this also began to with a slow sort of feel good factor. In the beginning, it was just that….a sort of feel good kind of state where the mind and body begins to relax and get ready for going to the next stage. Then comes the feeling when one realises that one is losing control over the mind and body. The drug begins to dictate terms, the mind loses control and the motor neurons that are responsible for carrying instructions to different parts of the body begin falling asleep one by one. Starved of any specific direction from the central command, the parts of the body start to behave on their own free will-the foot starts to tap, a finger swings in a certain rhythmic motion, the head begins to nod. Finally, like one huge sweeping gesture, the drug takes full control and makes the body enters into a trance like state! This is precisely what I experienced at Gorbhanga last week.

We witnessed music acting as an intoxicant. From the slow rhythms that lulled the mind to the fast paced rendition of Bangla Quawwali where the body went into a trance like state and forgot all that was part of the immediate surroundings, we witnessed it all.

Fakirs, they say, believe in the search of the ultimate master within the human body. Needless to say therefore that the songs they sing are for the common man and in a language that’s easy for the village folks to comprehend and understand. They also need a powerful melodious voice that can gel with the natural surrounding around them and yet be audible to those who choose to listen. And then there is that magnetism, the raw energy that compels one to believe that the person standing in front of them has a direct connect to the supreme soul! It compels the listener to give in and be guided by what the fakir says. Their body is lithe and supple, enables them to express their happiness by jumping up in joy. The control they have on their body is almost akin to that of a gymnast. Even when they are doing a half turn or a full turn they will never lose balance or strike a fellow artist performing beside him/her. The women fakirs have their own dancing poses. Bent low at the wrist, they would turn round in circles all the time playing their ektara poised high up in the air. Most fakirs have a smile that is childlike, disarming which acts to break all barriers that can possibly exist between two human beings. Their shoulder length matted locks strewn carelessly give them a God-man like impression. In a trance like state, when these matted locks fly around wildly often covering their faces partially, it lends a mystic/God-like feel to their appearance that makes a person feel awed by the Fakirs.

The songs sung by the fakirs at Gorbhanga not only entertained but also compelled us to think. The philosophy of the Universal power and not a God with a concrete shape or form who has to be appeased or pleased if one wanted a way out of troubles. On the contrary, the songs speak of a supreme energy which resides in every human. This supreme power is not a sole property of those who know how to invoke him by religious texts but belongs to everyone.

Music, they say, is food for the soul. At Gorbhanga however, the soul refused to get quenched and kept asking for more…and more….