Lucknow: Cutting across the usual clamour for electorally significant Dalit votes that marks Ambedkar Jayanti, it was the echo of songs narrating the life and legacy of BR Ambedkar that drew attention across the city on Tuesday.These renditions — grouped as Bhimgeet — are rooted in popular folk styles and double up as a medium to spread socio-political messages of equality, dignity, education and resistance to caste discrimination among common people. Over the years, they have emerged as a blend of faith with assertion, while underlining Ambedkar’s enduring influence.From a distance, the tune could be of the popular folk song sung from Purvanchal or Bihar. But then, the words were improvised to eulogise the icon Ambedkar. One such song doing the rounds near the Lohia Park was Jug Jug Jiye se lalanwa… ho anagwana… Bheema khelein ho angawana… More baba maai ke ratanwa Bheema khelein ho anganwa… It went on to share the names of Bhimrao’s parents and their happiness over the birth of their son.Sung by one Ram Chandra Prajapati, this song had thousands of likes on social media. The singer used hashtags like Ambedkarwadi sohar, Bheemgeet and Missiongeet to describe the song rooted in the folk genre called sohar (songs sung to celebrate the birth of a baby in the family).The dramatic cadence of the form, punctuated by dholak beats and rising vocal intensity, lent a sense of grandeur to the performances, drawing large crowds well into the evening.Likewise, Sachin Valmiki presented light music compositions dedicated to Babasaheb at Culture Department’s official programme. His first presentation, ‘Maa baap tak gawa diya, Daliton ka sar utha diya’, listed the sacrifices made by Ambedkar for the society. The lines “Jeevan bhar sangharsh kiya, Nyay ka deep jala diya, Andhkaar mein jeene walon ko, Jeene ka haq dila diya…” resonated deeply with the crowd.His song on the teachings of Ambedkar urged the youth to stay away from addiction and urged them to work hard and attain education as far as possible. ‘Aye Veer nasho ko chor deo, tezaab hai botal tod deo – kab tak pariwaar rulaoge ye zeher ka pyala tod deo’ earned several rounds of applause.Singers Ram Nivas Paswan and Ritesh Kumar sang Bheemgeet at Ambedkar Mahasabha, while Tribhuvan Bharti and Shyamjeet Singh came all the way from Mau and Lakhimpur Kheri to sing for their icons in Lucknow. Some of these songs, such as ‘Ambedkarji ki ardhangini’, emphasised Rama Bai, the wife of Ambedkar, who always motivated her husband to pursue his path.Local DJs blended some of these emotional songs with high-decibel remixed versions for their shobha yatras around Ambedkar memorials and Dalit-dominated hamlets.Talking to TOI, Sachin Valmiki said: “Music is a very powerful medium of expression of one’s emotions. The deep feelings of singers for their icon could have led to what one calls Bheemgeet.”He urged followers of Babasaheb not to hear these songs for entertainment and to understand the importance of the teachings in them. “Ambedkar has emphasised education, unity and struggle for one’s right and dignity. The singers and listeners must not get swayed by music and beats,” he said.Socio-political commentators noted that the Bhimgeet could be seen as a messaging instrument. “Indian knowledge system has many examples where music has been used for storytelling and building narratives. Times have changed but their power has not. Bhimgeet are an example,” said Prof Sushil Pandey, faculty in political history, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University.K Kalyani, a PhD scholar at Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, noted that Bhimgeet are sung reflecting the reverence for several anti-caste icons, Ambedkar being the most prominent among them. She studied music as a form of cultural expression that has enabled mobility to Dalit Bahujan and their cultural production.
