The stage is set. Then a group of middle-aged women walks in uniform red-white saris. They are the members of an all-women bhajan group from Baichhap.
After they settle down on the mats laid out for them, forming a semi-circle, they start arranging their harmonium and tabala sets. Slowly, more people gather around the women’s bhajan group. The elderly make themselves comfortable on the benches of nearby shops; others make their way to the temple stairs or just stand in front of the performing group.
“They have good voices and are better than the male group,” says Laxmi Maya Shrestha, an elderly local with a faint smile. The other women of her age sitting beside her nod in agreement.
The group of twelve women – Bhuwaneshwori Shrestha, Mangal Maya Shrestha, Dabal Maya Shrestha, Tirtha Maya Shrestha, Mangal Devi Shrestha, Ram Devi Shrestha, Urmila Hamal, Santu Shrestha, Laxmi Shrestha, Nirmala Shrestha, Sunita Shrestha, and Shova Shrestha – has been getting similar compliments and encouragements since they started performing bhajan songs since August last year. After strict training for three months, they went through exams before they performed in public.
Nine out of twelve members of the group take turns to play the harmonium while three switch places for tabala. The person on the harmonium takes the lead and all the others join them as a choir. They start off with slow songs in Nepali and Newari, and then they rise to fast-beat songs, gathering louder claps from the audience. As the songs progress and beats of tabala and the hum of harmonium expand through the open air, the other women in the audience come forward and sway their bodies along the beats with their eyes closed.
“It all started when we heard the sound of harmonium and tabala from a certain house,” says member Urmila Hamal, 45.“Later, we found out that a group of men were learning bhajan. Then we talked among ourselves and decided to learn the instruments and songs ourselves.”
The members of the Balkumari Bhajan Mandal, the local bhajan group, were getting older and they were training a few young men to take over them.
“We had collected Rs 200 from each person and had started a class on bhajan singing with harmonium and tabala teachers. The new group was supposed to perform during the local jatras,” says Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, a local who had provided space in his house for lessons and rehearsals.
When the housewives came forward to learn the instruments, it was a surprise for the people of Baichhap. Many doubted that they could learn as seriously as men. Even the women had just wanted to utilize their leisure time and learn a few songs in the name of god but never had they realized that they would have the courage to perform before a huge audience and would be equally adored.
Most of the women in their late forties had free time in the afternoon. The morning meals and the chores would be finished by then and all the family members would be out on work. They would just spend the afternoon chatting with friends, take a nap or just watch TV. But the sounds of harmonium and tabala inspired them to carry out their hobby and follow their interest.
“When talks began of forming a women’s group for the bhajan, I knew that I had to be in it because that way I would be able to channel my free time in a creative way. And also, there would be no space for unwanted thoughts in my mind,” says Hamal.
“On the first day of the class, my heart was heavy due to fear and nervousness,” says Dabal Maya Shrestha, 46, with a hearty laugh, “We had already said that we wanted to learn but when the time came, I had doubts that I could actually learn anything.”
Although they had a hard time at the beginning, there was no looking back for the group once they started. In addition, juggling between households and classes was not an easy for them. But giving up was not an option, and also because they had started purely out of their interest.
“Apart from our regular chores, none of us had hard time with our families,” the women say enthusiastically, almost in a single voice. “If it hadn’t been the encouragement of our husbands and families, we wouldn’t have learnt as much as we have in just three months,” says Nirmala Shrestha, 30.
Jaganath Shrestha, who taught the women to play harmonium, says he is happy with how his students, whom he likes to call his daughters, have been performing. “It wasn’t simple to teach them to play the instrument in the beginning. But they picked up as soon as they memorized the basics,” he says.
“When I was first told that I would have to teach a women’s group to play the instruments, I was a little hesitant. Some were like my sisters; some were of my mother’s age, so I thought I would have a hard time adjusting,” says Raju Joshi, the tabala teacher, “But working with them turned out to be a very enjoyable and remarkable experience.”
He too agrees that he was not sure if they would be able to perform with confidence in just three months. “It was hard for both them and us at the beginning. They weren’t learning as quickly as men. But they worked hard and practiced everyday. They worked even harder than the men and eventually they became better than the men’s group,” he says with a wide grin.
But Jaganath Shrestha believes that there is more room for improvements. “They will have to learn more to acquire more skills and confidence.” Ram Bahadur Shrestha, 83, president of Balkumari Bhajan Mandal, agrees with the harmonium teacher. “They have just started; they still have much to learn and much more to excel at,” he says with an air of wisdom.
Now the women’s group sits down for bhajan on Tuesday and Saturday evenings, from 6 pm to nine or nine-thirty. Though the group members have already bought individual instruments for themselves, they get together in a group as for practice sessions.
Hamal says it was important for her to own a harmonium not only to practice but for keepsake as an instrument she learnt to play. “It’ll be like my asset. I’ll teach my grandchildren some of the basics. And I hope they take care of the instrument as my remembrance even after I’m gone,” she shares her imaginings.
At the Shiva Mandir, as the women play on, more people gather around them and the numbers of people dancing over their tunes also increase. The husbands of the members of the bhajan group sit in a corner and watch them play with big smiles on their faces. They were the ones arranging the mats and microphones earlier and building a ‘stage’ for them.
“She has leaped higher than my expectations and I feel proud of my wife for taking up the challenge and doing her best at this age,” said Ram Krishna Shrestha, Santu’s husband. While the proud husband of Dabal Maya, Laxmi Das Shrestha comments, “I think my wife learnt more quickly than her friends and she sounds good, too.”
It is almost dark as the women continue with their singing. But the growing night does not seem to bother the group or the audience; instead, the applause gets louder, as they respond to one encore after another of the audience’s favorite spiritual songs.
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