Song 3 – Raja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo’s Assassination
The revival of the Kachargarh pilgrimage has been instrumental in bringing together different adivasi traditions annually. Rohidas Ghodham speaks Gondi, Marathi, Hindi, and Telugu and is a talented and respected folk singer who has been performing in the Gond community of Maharashtra for more than three decades. These folk songs composed by him are representative of a range of emotions and an aesthetic view refined over years to tell stories of everyday life. The songs presented here were recorded during the Kachargadh Jatra held in February 2017. Ghodhamji presented these songs in response to Sunher Singh Taram and Ushakiran Atram’s request at the Dhanegaon branch of the All India Adivasi Sahitya Sangh, Gondia district.
These folk songs are highly innovative as they incorporate recent political events in the traditional form of oral performance. Each of these songs is reflective of different aspects of the Gond community.
This evocative Gondi folk song memorialises the assassination of an Adivasi leader from Bastar, Raja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo. Ushakiran Atram comments on the aesthetics of the song towards the end of the audio.
