The traditional Bhatiyali folk music sung by Bangladeshi boatmen is composed of long, drawn-out melodies that offer metaphors for life.
The majhi are an integral part of the daily lives of communities that live in the low-lying regions of Bangladesh.
by Jas Kirt (UCLA 2015)
UCLA International Institute, May 20, 2015 — The Asia Institute and the Center for India and South Asia recently cosponsored a screening of Tuni Chatterji’s documentary, “Okul Nodi,” followed by a question-and-answer session with the director. The film documents the river music of Bangladesh known as Bhatiyali, translated literally as “Endless River.”
Bhatiyali music
The word Bhatiyali means to move downstream and refers to the songs traditionally sung by Bangladeshi boatmen during their river travels. In order to make the film, Chatterji searched for the majhi, or boat steerers, throughout the Brahmaputra-Ganges Delta across Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India. Using interviews, the documentary recounts the history of their music and the effects of modernization on folk traditions.
Bhatiyali music consists of long, drawn-out melodies that capture the “true essence of Bangladesh,” according to one man from the Manikganj district. Throughout the film, men sing the river songs and explain their meanings and origins. The songs paint detailed stories about the endless rivers, which serve as metaphors for the physical body, life and love.
The role of boatmen
The majhi are an integral part of the daily lives of communities that live in the low-lying regions of Bangladesh. Each village dock has a designated boatman who helps villagers travel across the river from one community to the next and is highly respected and revered by all.
Boatmen do not collect money for their services but instead, are compensated throughout the year in different ways. At the end of each harvest season, for example, the men travel from home to home to receive donations of basic items necessary for survival, such as rice and jute. The villagers provide the majhi with these items based on their moral beliefs, not out of financial obligation. They fear that when it comes time cross the moral river with the spiritual boatman, they would otherwise not make it across, explained a man in Dhaka.
A metaphor for life
Another man in Derai explained that the influence of Bhatiyali melodies comes from nature and follows the “mood of the ebb tide and the rhythmic sound of the rain.” The songs are inspired by the experiences of the region’s people. He sung lyrics that illustrated danger and fear of endless river waves, as well as the forthcoming darkness of night. In this low-lying region, people must be brave, he noted, since flooding is common and houses can be swept away.
Other songs create a physical connection between the boatman’s boat and his body. In one scene, a Bangladeshi man in Barisal sung, “I’ve rowed as far as I can in this lifetime — where can I go?” He later explained that the music gives boatmen the power to keep rowing in the face of hardship, with “worn boat” used as a metaphor for a boatman’s dying body.
A borderless tradition
The documentary was filmed in both West Bengal and Bangladesh and symbolizes the ability of Bhatiyali music to transcend political borders. The West Bengal-Bangladesh division came about primarily due to religious differences between the two ethnolinguistic groups, but the documentary subtly defies these categories because the music is common throughout the region.
Chatterji said that she considered “Okul Nodi” a “borderless film because the music belongs to both sides and people connect to it from both sides.” Modernization and industrialization have, however, transformed folk traditions in the region. The filmmaker was consequently only able to hear the Bhatiyali once in its natural setting. Despite this circumstance, her interviews with villagers through the region provide an insightful account into the history of this musical form.