Gandharvas: Sarangi players of Nepal

Everyone knows of Bise Nagarchi, the tailor who gave Prithvi Narayan Shah a single coin and inspired the king to collect money from all his subjects to aid him in war.

But few know of Mani Ram Gaine who aided the king in more subtle ways. He was a singer, and he would go from place to place singing the glories of the Gorkhali king so that by the time the Gorkhali soldiers came around, the people were already enamored of the hill-king.

Secretly, Mani Ram was even more.

He not just disseminated information but also gathered it for the King, making it easier for Shah to plan attacks. And finally, when an attack was imminent, Mani Ram would gather the people of a village at one place and start singing, setting a perfect target for the Gorkhali king.

The Gandharvas, a caste of singers to which Mani Ram belonged, believe Mani Ram’s role in Shah’s conquest was as important as Bise’s, if not more. But while Bise’s material contribution is remembered, Mani Ram’s artistic contributions were thought of as inconsequential or even frivolous in times of plenty, and slowly forgotten.

In their own stories that do not make it into the pages of history, Gandharvas continue to valorize their people. They tell stories of a princess who fell head over heels in love with a Gandharba. They remember their history in the Mahabharata where Devas and Gandharvas are children of the same mother, where Arjun learnt the art of singing from Gandharvas in heaven (which he used to disguise himself as an eunuch when in exile), where revered sages like Narad were proud to learn from Gandharvas, where Gandharvas shared the heavenly court with Devas and Apsaras, and fought on the side of truth with the Pandavas.

From this glorious history, Gandharvas somehow fell to the bottom of the caste pyramid where they now reside as ‘Dalit.’ Caste consciousness is deep in their psyche, and the Gandharvas, who consider themselves descended from a rishi (sage) called Gandharba, have endless theories about how they came to be dalit.

Some believe it is because of their own behavior. “Dalit are those who don’t bathe, are dirty, and get drunk. If we get drunk all the time, what can we be but Dalit?” asks one of them.

Another believes that Gandharvas lost their status due to the cunning politics of Brahmins, while yet another tells a story about a king who was dividing the rights of his people. The Gandharba arrived last because he was busy singing and flirting, and all the spoils had already been divided. It then fell to his lot to beg from all the others.

Even from this position of dalit, Gandharvas continued to play an important role in society. Before mass communication, they were the ones who made songs out of new and current events and carried it from village to village.

Krishna Bahadur Gandharva, 53, who has been wandering in the villages of Gorkha for more than 40 years, understands this function only too well. People are eager to hear these stories, especially those who can relate to the situations.

“Sometimes women cry when they hear songs of hardships women face,” he remembers. These stories not only updated them but also provided cathartic release.

“To be a Gandharba, you need to know the psychology of the people,” says Krishna. According to their mood, he plays humorous songs, religious songs, songs of bravery and heroism, karkha (genealogy of kings), vedana (songs of sorrow), and other genres. And he also claims to know at first sight if a person is sinful or virtuous, because it comes with being a Gandharba.

Gandharvas are also rumoured to be Tantrik (magicians). “We can control the weather in all directions for five kosh,” says Krishna, who is himself one such Tantrik. “We can make it rain, we can protect the environs. After the evening song called Sanje (or Sandhya to be grammatically correct) is played, you can sleep in peace, and no ghosts will disturb you.”

Many of these arts are lost today. Since the advent of modern communication, people do not need Gandharvas to carry news, and nor do they need singers to entertain them when they have mobiles, Internet, and TV. Instead, people increasingly began telling Gandharvas that they should work for their living instead of “begging.” Krishna also partly blames “party and politics” for the waning hospitality in villages.

“There were times when gaines were welcomed everywhere with food, shelter, and gifts. Today, they will first ask you of which party you are, and if you are of the wrong party, you may even be beaten up,” he warns.

It is no wonder then that Gandharvas entered the city in droves while their children have gone for modern education and learn music only as a hobby. Due to lack of audience, Gandharvas in Kathmandu are forgetting traditional songs. 

Once upon a time, parents asked a prospective son-in-law if he could sing, and only gave their daughter to him if he could, which reassured them that he could earn a living. But today, no one can sing Pingul—the Gandharvas’ most powerful song akin to the Veda. It lives only in myths. Also lost are the 36 ragas and 36 raginis that true Gandharvas are supposed to know. They sing newer folk songs instead: Resham firiri is on top of their list, and they scour the streets of Thamel looking for buyers of Sarangi.

Most of them supplement their income by singing in restaurants. The restaurants have no space for traditional Gandharba songs; they demand new folk songs and sometimes Bollywood songs. Even their instrument has changed: they continue to use teak and mahogany to make the body of the sarangi, but instead of animal intestines, badminton strings are used to make sarangi strings.

Gandharvas, though very conscious of conserving their art and culture, are nonetheless positive about these changes. For many, the singing profession was a compulsion because they had no other option. But today, through education, they have other options of livelihood. Krishna’s two sons are in France and Norway, and his two daughters are into tailoring and nursing respectively.

Besides, these changes also mean a slow reversal of the class structure that Gandharvas want to break free of.

“In our times, if a Brahmin found a son singing in the forests, he would be chastised for ‘singing like a gaine’”But today, Ramkrishna Dhakal, a Brahmin, makes his living by singing,” says Arjun Gandharba. Manoj Gandharba joked that people of other castes were taking over their occupations, but he too seemed pretty happy that the playing fields were becoming more level for everyone.

One example of the modernization of Gandharvas is the Gandharba Culture and Art Organization which was founded in 1995 and works to promote the interests of Gandharvas. It has published CDs and documentaries, and members of the organization hope to publish more if finances permit. It has also trained a lot of non-Gandharvas to play Sarangi. Today the organization receives people of all ages, castes and nationalities interested in the traditional arts of the Gandharvas. Though the old songs are lost forever, the future of Gandharva music itself seems secure with new generation enthusiasts.