Baani, Saloo and singing Ramayana in a Gole
The 14 year old asked about the saloo- the usually red cloth which wraps the Ramayana. We , the older members, explained that we do not tie the cloth, but rather, wrap the cloth around the Ramayana and fold it.
We asked an even older man why we should not tie it. He said that is the tradition.
So rational minds might want to query 'tradition' and we always should , but there are some small things, which came down, which are harmless but connect us to a past of usually men who walked around with the books wrapped but not tied.
Singing in a ramayana gole is one way we maintain those threads. I was 'young' when I started singing and when I was shown how to wrap the saloo. Unwrapping the saloo and laying it flat is the start of the singing time.
There is a warm kind of feeling, when you teach the 14 year old, about the saloo. Some idea of continuity. We have a fourth generation singing in one of the goles. Most of us are first or second generation singers.
Teaching and learning happen differently now.
When I learned, it was through some assimilation, sitting in the group and just picking up. The baanis were not written down. Now we write them down. And if the members are not there, we have had to innovate with the technology.
Like the nights we put the cell phones on speaker so that the teacher/singer could sing from far away and we could repeat.
There might be an explanation.
Some things have evolved. .
The Hindi Ramayan is now transliterated, so all the singers do not absolutely need to read the Devanagari script
While the book is wrapped in the red cloth, the Ramyana in the gole is now read on different devices.. in this gole, Hindi only book, Hindi book with transliteration, Mac, PC laptop. Nobody wrapping the mac or PC in a saloo though.
Or technology mix with baani on mobile..
There is a lot to learn. There are many different styles. There are different tunes for singing during different times of the evening and the night.. but since we go home early now.. we might have to bring forward time and sing the wrong tune for that time if only to preserve the tunes.
What has not changed, is that joy which comes from singing.. even if sometimes things get a bit mixed up. There is something about the chorus of voices, the jal and the drum, singing things which have been sung in Guyana over a hundred years.
(Images/videos from the Rama Krishna Dharmic Mandir Gole )
Check the Amar Deep Podcast and Youtube channels for some other recordings.
We asked an even older man why we should not tie it. He said that is the tradition.
So rational minds might want to query 'tradition' and we always should , but there are some small things, which came down, which are harmless but connect us to a past of usually men who walked around with the books wrapped but not tied.
Singing in a ramayana gole is one way we maintain those threads. I was 'young' when I started singing and when I was shown how to wrap the saloo. Unwrapping the saloo and laying it flat is the start of the singing time.
There is a warm kind of feeling, when you teach the 14 year old, about the saloo. Some idea of continuity. We have a fourth generation singing in one of the goles. Most of us are first or second generation singers.
Teaching and learning happen differently now.
When I learned, it was through some assimilation, sitting in the group and just picking up. The baanis were not written down. Now we write them down. And if the members are not there, we have had to innovate with the technology.
Like the nights we put the cell phones on speaker so that the teacher/singer could sing from far away and we could repeat.
There might be an explanation.
Some things have evolved. .
The Hindi Ramayan is now transliterated, so all the singers do not absolutely need to read the Devanagari script
While the book is wrapped in the red cloth, the Ramyana in the gole is now read on different devices.. in this gole, Hindi only book, Hindi book with transliteration, Mac, PC laptop. Nobody wrapping the mac or PC in a saloo though.
Or technology mix with baani on mobile..
There is a lot to learn. There are many different styles. There are different tunes for singing during different times of the evening and the night.. but since we go home early now.. we might have to bring forward time and sing the wrong tune for that time if only to preserve the tunes.
What has not changed, is that joy which comes from singing.. even if sometimes things get a bit mixed up. There is something about the chorus of voices, the jal and the drum, singing things which have been sung in Guyana over a hundred years.
(Images/videos from the Rama Krishna Dharmic Mandir Gole )
Check the Amar Deep Podcast and Youtube channels for some other recordings.
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