Tusu Gaan

—Indigenous Voices of Tribal and Subaltern People

I live in a small town in Midnapore. It is surrounded by the forest. One visualizes lofty Sal trees just at the outskirts of the town. As per Govt. census, our district is one of the backward districts of the states. A good number of tribal and subaltern people live here. They live in the villages near the forests. Their economic condition is not up to the mark as per Govt. indicators. Many of them do not get two square meals a day, many of their children do not go to the schools, and many of them are deprived of the basic health services, still they sing, dance and celebrate their festivals with great enthusiasm and respect. And it is through these songs, dance and celebration they express their rich cultural heritage.

They have many festivals. Tusu Parab is one of such festivals. Tusu is a goddess whom they worship for one month. They imagine the Tusu as their daughter/sister/close relative. Like, the daughter/sister/close relative comes home from the in law’s house; Tusu comes to them from her heavenly abode every year and stays for one month in this earth. It is a festival mainly observed by the woman but the whole community participates. The woman, specially the unmarried woman worship the goddess through songs. The songs or poems have been handed down orally. Earlier they were not written. The women belonging to subaltern group memorize them. Nowadays many researchers recorded them while researching on Tusu festival. Nobody knows who in fact composed these songs. It was perhaps the common women who composed these poems. Nevertheless, the songs are melodious. It deals with the happiness and sorrows of everyday life of the the woman. Since the songs were handed down orally, many interpolations are there. The changing social conditions, the pangs of the women have been included in these poems or songs also. The goddess Tusu in fact has no image as such. The woman spread sand in an open wicker-basket made of bamboo which is called Dala in local language. Then Chhola, Paddy, Kurathi or a type of corn and cow dung are placed on the sand. They sprinkle water on the Dala or basket. The corns sprout. They worship that Dala or the wicker-basket as the goddess. The Dala symbolizes the earth where as the cow dung stands for fertility. They worship Tusu with the hope that Tusu will enhance the fertility of the earth and the earth gives more crops to them.

Tusu is a festival of the Kurmi, Bhumija, Bagal and Santal tribe. These communities have a matriarchal society where the women play an important role in farming and other daily work. After completion of the daily work, they worship Tusu in the evening. Tusu is never worshipped during the daytime. Because the women are busy in their daily work during the day and when they get free in the evening, they share their personal feelings and emotions with the goddess who is like a daughter/sister/close relative to them. They do not chant any mantra while worshipping Tusu. They worship her with their heartfelt songs for all thirty days. How do I arrange the marriage of my daughter. I remain sleepless through out. This is the way of the world. The daughters are not sold Unless dowry is paid.An young girl asks a young boy whom she likes— 

Do not you like me.

Why are you neglecting me so much.

I will invite you during Tusu festival.

I will cook for you with all my pleasure.

But the lover refuses her. The girl sings the song with heavy heart— 

I am going back weeping.

I admit my defeat.

Why do not you want me.

What is my fault?

Tusu puja or worship starts at the Paus month the ninth month of Bengali calendar (Mid December to mid January). At the last day of the ninth month or in the Paus Sankranti they immerse their dearest goddess or daughter in the water with heavy heart—tears in their eyes— 

We put you up for thirty days with us at home Oh! Mother.

We offered you thirty flowers Oh! Mother.

I can not keep you any more.

You all look at her face like moon.

Tusu please go to the water

We will take you back in the next year.

The British has ruled India for 200 years .They found Indigo cultivation was highly profitable. So they forced the Indian farmers to grow Indigo. These subaltern people used to work in those indigo fields as daily la- borers. The ruins of the Neelkuthi where the British owner lived are still seen in many places. The feeling of a lady is reflected through a song:

I sow indigo for the use of my family.

But no flowers grow there.

My good for nothing brother in law is there at home.

Who likes put on blue piece of cloth.

During the time Lord Dalhausi of British rule in India the Imperialist British Company constructed the railway tracks. A railway track was constructed from Kharagpur to Tata via Jhargram. The railway track brought about a change in the social life of the tribal people. The western civilization tried to swallow up the culture of the tribal people who were the son of the soil of these area called Jungle Mahal. The lady writes:

Where do the Sahebs come.

They break our house holds.

Cutting the forests they load the logs in the rail.

The rail smokes away.

Or money is looted in the rail station.

The poem depicts how the British imperialists destroy the nature.Some of the songs bear deep philosophi- cal import.

We are fortunate enough that we get the human life.

We may never meet.

When we go away from this world.

Let us perform the all our

worldly activities and doings sincerely.

Tusu songs have also owed to Ramayana, Mahabharata—two epics of India for their theme. The love story of Radha Krishna, the Manasha Mangal have influenced the Tusu songs also.

Nowadays the poets want to earn money from their poetry. Many of us expect royalty for our books. The publishers also are interested to publish those books which has market value. They want to mint money through these books. But the rustic poets of Tusu Gaan have written the songs without any worldly expectations. They have composed the poems in praise of their goddess. The women have given vent to their hopes and aspirations, pent up emotions, despair and love through their songs. They have never bothered to sign their names. One can look upon these poems from a feminist point of view. The songs have a typical woman parole. The songs deal with the feelings and emotions of the woman. Their love for nature are being reflected through these songs. Not only nature their love for the animals are also felt in these poems.

In the era of globalization the man is becoming self centered. They are away from the nature. They lost their love for the animals. They do not bother to cut the trees just to appease their own greed. They do not mind to block the natural flow of the rivers in the name of development. The voice of the indigenous people who do not have so called modern education can remind us of our lost world. They believe that these trees, rivers, stars, seas, mountains, hills, meadows and animals are as alive as human beings. The trees, rivers, stars, seas, moun- tains, hills, meadows and animals are the characters in their poems. They have an empathy for these inanimate things as well as for the animals. To get back the lost world we do not have any other alternative but to go back to these indigenous voices

Three poems

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THE SCULPTURE OF NA TURE

Opening the page of the book

I saw the picture of a village is drawn there

There is a river flowing by the side of the village

A mountain and an orchard are at a distance

There are six lakhs villages there in India

This village is one among them

Desolate, quite, decorated

as if a water-colored picture on a white page.

I turn the page of the book

And can visualize many villages closing by eyes

Many villages flash in my memory

and disappear in the next moment

Like a sculpture of nature

One tribal girl is there on a hill

But she does not exist there in any book of this

World

THE SONAJHURI FOREST

The Kumari River and Kansabati River are

as if lesbian like post modern women

hugging them into its arms is the dam

of Mukutmanipur is

engrossed with love or is assaulted?

The villages of the either side of the rivers

watch the sexual coitus at the lap of the nature

And the poured greenery at the horizon

the Dravidian civilization

is keeping their rhythm with the bits of the madal

The Sonajhuri forest is at the lap of nature

the primitive Tribal Nalanda

is not yet lost in the juice of Pepsi

Cocacola and grapes……

THE MEMORIAL

The bird which is reborn from the depth of your

eyes

in fact fled away from my eyes

the brightness of the diamond at the depth of your

eyes

spreads love in the wings of the bird

Piano is being played at the deep pond of the heart

Touching you, the memorial will be immortal

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Biplab Majee was born in Tamluk, West Bengal, India in May 1947; graduated from University of Calcutta in 1971 and got Teachers’ Training Diploma in Russian Language from the M S U, Moscow 1976-1977. He started to publish his poems since 1967, and up to today he has published 18 books of poems, 24 books of prose and 8 books on translation, 6 books of Children literature and Love Poems and Others, Global Village, Early Poems , Buddha in English translation. He was a delegate in 4th Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference held in New Delhi（1970）and 4th International Writers’ Festival—India held in 2008. He was a delegate in Asia Pacific Poetry Festival First in Vietnam, 2012. vice-president of World Poetry Festival, Kolkata (2012-2013). He edited and published a literary and cultural magazine since 1981 to 2000. He was Director of a publishing house in India since 1984 to 2006.

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