Ye re ye re pausa….
Just yesterday I was having a conversation with
little Bhakti . I was in Ahmedabad for my office work for last 4 days .The conversation wnet
something like this – Bhakti – Hi Papa where are you ..Me – In the office ,
working. Bhakti – Are you in an AC cabin
. Me—Yes its too hot here in Ahmedabad .
I will get scorched if I go out … Bhakti – But its raining heavily in Mumbai
right now…Me – Wow that’s great ..Bhakti – Papa why don’t you sing “Ye re ye re pausaa “, then the rain in
Mumbai will come to Ahmedabad and the Sun will come to Mumbai . How is the idea
… Me – Ha ha ha that’s really good idea..and then we sing the song “ Ye re ye
re pausa “ together and laugh out loudly …
But seriously these Marathi nursery rhymes or Bal
Geet as they were called were so much more fun . You must have read the funny Whatsapp
post going around – Do you know why we are facing Rain deficit …All our tiny
tots in English medium school are
singing “ Rain Rain go away , Little
Johnny wants to play , Rain Rain go to
Spain” instead of “ Ye re ye pavsaa.”
And God always listens to the kids when the ask with a pure heart ….Ha ha ha..
I still feel
that our traditional Bal Geet’s in Marathi are more positive and with beautifully
crafted lyrics than the Englishnursery rhymes. Take the case of “Jhuk Jhuk
Aagin Gaadi , Dhuranchya Regha Havet Kadi , Palti Jhade Pahuya …Mamachya Gavala Jauyaa…Mamach Gaon
Motha , Sonnya Chandicha Petha , Shobha Pahun Gheuya ..Mamachya Gavala Jauyaa…Mamach
Baiko Gorti , Mhanel Khuthli Porti , Bhachyanchi nave sanguyaa.. Mamachya
Gavala Jauyaa….Such creative lyrics and so much fun while singing..
Then there is the ever famous Bal geet penned By
Marathi Poet Mangesh Padgaonkar … which
goes like this “ Sang Sang Bholanath
Paus Padel kay ?, Shale Bahvti Tale
Sachun Sutti Melel Kay ?…Sang Sang Bholanath Paus Padel Kay ? ..Bolanath Dupari
Aai Jhopel Kay ? Ladoo Hulch Ghetana Awaz Hoil Kay ? ..Bholanath Bolanath…. Bhola
nath Bholanath khar sang ekdaa, athwdya tun Ravivar yetil ka re teenda ? ,
Bholanath udya ahe ganitacha paper , Potat majhya kal yeun dukhel kare dhopar ?
Bhonath Bholanath …Sang Sang Bholnath Paus
padel kay ?... Such a michievious song with every kids truest wishes ..
One more memorable song that I rember hearing from
an old Vinyl record played in my childhood
on a HMV gramophone was the sweetest
song ever . Yes you guessed it right “
Assava Sunder Chocolate Cha Bangla , Chanderi
Soneri Chamchamta changala , Chocolate chya banglya la Toffee che Daar ,
Shepti chy jhupkya na jahdun jaeel khar,
Gol Gol lemon chya khidkya Don ,
Hello Hello karay la Chotasa Phon…Biscuitan chya Gachhi var Mor Chandaar ,
Peper mint chya Anganat Phoole Lal lal, Chandi chy ajhada mage chandoba rahto ,
Motya chya Phoolan tun lapa chappi khel to, Unch Unch Jhoka Khel Rangala..Mayne cha
pinjara var tangla… Kiti Kiti Sundar Chocolate cha bangala ..Chanderi Soneri
Chamchamta Changla….Such beautiful lyrics bringing together a wishful thinking
of a small kid .. What if there was a Bangalow made of chocolate with doors made
of Toffee and windows of lemon drops . So sweet nothing as terrifying as the
similar Bungalow made of sweet candies in the Tale of Hansel and Gretel where
the evil witch lures small kids with these lovely goodies only to imprison them
and later try to eat them up…Though unsuccessful in her en-devours and ultimate
the kids out fox her and kill her .. The though of being alone in the woods and
being trapped by the sweet looking Bungalow itself is scary .
For that matter of fact the English nursery rhymes that
most of us have learned all through our childhood and even our kid now get to
learn in their pre schools , are quite
dark in nature and have a sinister back stories
Take the case of the simple “Jack
and Jill went up the hill, To
fetch a pail of water.Jack fell down, And broke his crown; And Jill came
tumbling after”. Did you know the roots of this
poem are so dark that they should not be allowed anywhere near children. Jack
and Jill are actually France’s Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, who
were convicted of treason during the French Revolution, otherwise known as the
Reign of Terror, and beheaded. Jack or Louis XVI, lost his “crown,” i.e. his
throne and his head. And Jill, or Marie Antoinette's head soon came tumbling
after.
Then there is “Ring around the rosie ,A pocketful of posies,Ashes, ashes .We
all fall down! “The origin for this rhyme is by far the most
infamous. The rhyme refers to the Great Plague of London in 1665. The “rosie”
from the rhyme is the rash that covered the ones who contracted the disease,
the smell of which they tried to cover up with “a pocket full of posies.” The
“ashes” were the cremated remains of the deceased, and well, they all did fall
down.
Or the innocent sounding “Baa baa black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full. One for the Master, One for the Dame, And one for the
little boy Who lives down the lane…. While this rhyme sounds
innocent enough, it actually dates back to feudal England, and is not so
innocent. There was an extremely harsh wool tax imposed on the farmers back
then by King Edward I in the 13th century. One-third of the wool was taken for
the king or the Master, one-third for the Church or the Dame, and one-third for
the farmers. Some older versions of this rhyme ended with “But none for the
little boy / Who cries down the lane,” showing us just how little was left for
the people who cultivated the wool.
So is the nursery rhyme “Goosey, goosey, gander, Whither dost thou wander? Upstairs and
downstairs And in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man Who wouldn't say
his prayers; I took him by the left leg, And threw him down the stairs.. The lyrics actual meaning is in its back
story .After England turned Protestant following King Henry VIII's creation of
the Anglican Church, there were plenty of Catholic priests who refused to
follow the Protestant faith. So, to avoid punishment, they set up small rooms
in their homes, called priest's holes, to pray in. If they were found praying
in Latin, as the Catholics do, they would be “thrown down the stairs,” or put
to death.
Plagues, prostitution, burning at the stake—none of these are topics you
would talk to a toddler about. However, so many of the nursery rhymes we all
grew up singing have such dark origins that you'd be shocked to find you were
taught these in school, and kids are still being taught these rhymes.
I would anytime go for the traditional childrens songs by our Indian
poets especially the Marathi ones like
Mangesh Padgaonkar , GaDiMa or G D Madgulkar or the sweet Shanta Shelke..Try
these one for their best ever lyrics … Bubble
Gum by Mangesh Padgaonkar .. Which goes something like this “ Aadhi Baba detat Dum , Mag antat Bubble
gum , Aadhi Baba detat Chaddi mag chocolatechi melte vadi …Aai ghete vachun
dhada mag dete Batavada…
So much fun …And
a short one by Shanta Shelke goes something like this “ Sakhrech Kahu Tai Roj
Khate , Tarich ti itki god god gaate … Aai mala roj ghalte na jeu ? Mhanunach ticha maar sudhha mau mau”
And the most famous rain song ever to be written and melodiously sung
goes like this
“ Nach re mora ambyachya vanat , nach re mora …Dhaganshi vara jhunjala re, Kala kala kapus
pinjala re , Aata tujhi pali re Vij dete taali .. Phulav pisara nach …Nach re
mora nach………
……. Pavsa chi rim
jhim thambali re Tujhi majhi Jodi jamli re , Abhalat Chan Chan Saat rangi Kaman
.. Kamani khali tya nach … nach re mor nach….
So next time my kids asks me to sing along any of these Marathi Balgeets
I would enjoy singing them ,have some fun and create our own memories ….memories
that will be cherished all thorough our lives….kudos to our Marathi Literature
and Marathi Kavi’s for penning such memorable songs.
