Mir Blooms In Thar Again

A morning bus from Bikaner traversing the slopes of the undulating road slithering through the yellow glistening desert for around two hours finally reaches Pugal, a village on the Indira Gandhi canal and an old mandi of considerable historical importance. As one approaches the Mirasi mohalla, the sound of music, loud and intense, reverberations of drums and lilting melodies on the bagpipe and the Algoza engulf the atmosphere. Passers by have been wondering if there is a marriage in one of the houses. The Mirs keep singing till late in the night, as if possessed. The mohalla with its narrow lanes and closely-huddled-up houses is full of activity and bears a look of exuberance and festivity. Children, women and men of all ages are excited. Around 20-odd Mir musicians from about seven villages around Pugal have come together to participate in a month long collective riyaz (practice) session. The sessions began in the last week of January, 2005 and continued till the end of March.

Yasin from Sattasar exclaims that this is the first time in so many years that they have got an opportunity to practice together. “Leave aside practicing as a team, even doing riyaz at an individual level has not been possible. The leisure and surplus it demands are out of reach for most of us,” adds Mohammad Saddiq from Ghulamwala. The crisis of livelihoods and resources in and around the scrawny command area of the Indira Gandhi canal has forced most of the Mir singers into abject poverty and destitution. The recurrent droughts in the 20th century have forced many to eke out their living as casual daily wage hunters in nearby mandis, towns and even as far as Bikaner city. Years of hardship and gruelling labour have flattened Waris Ali and Fattu Khan from becoming promising Mir musicians.

The Mirs more respectfully called Mir-i-Alam, have been the ecstatic singers of the Sufiyana kalam of Sufi mystics of northwest Indian sub-continent like Baba Bulle Shah, Hazrat Shah Hussain, Hazrat Sultan Bahu and Khwaja Ghulam Farid, the great wandering fakir of the blazing desert between Pugal and Multan whose compositions are vivid descriptions of the majestic serenity of the desert and blossoming of the pastoral landscape during brief spells of rains. In these interiors of the Thar desert the mehfils of Mir-i-Alam, during the urs at dargahs or auspicious occasions in households, have been the sole sources of entertainment and of soul-stirring mystical experience. This once-vibrant tradition of singing in Pugal has been waning over the last half-a-century. Decline of traditional patronage of the Rajputs and Muslim pastoralists, displacement of traditional livelihoods, degradation of natural common property resources- aggravated with the coming of the Indira Gandhi Canal since the late 1970s, are some of the main reasons. The Mirs have also been victims of bans, with several villages in the region boycotting them. These bans have been imposed by the orthodox maulvis, who regard singing of any sort as heretical. This has directly affected the livelihoods of the Mirs.

The interest shown in collective riyaz sessions displays the passion and perseverance of the Mir musicians to polish their tradition and bring it alive from the clutches of decay. Undeterred by adversity, the Mirs carry on with their ideological role of being marfat singers, moving from the high moments of ecstasy to detached serenity, a beautiful and tangential medium for intense mystical experiences. The quest for revival is also a quest to survive in the desert against all odds — to preserve their forgotten heritage.

Fattu Khan, whose father was an acclaimed Mir singer, sees a possibility of regaining his confidence to hone his hereditary musical skills. For budding singers like Basu Khan, the days of riyaz hold a promise of intense music sessions and an exposure to styles of singing many old kalam. Even the old ustads have cleared their throats to teach the new Mir singers the finer nuances of rendering Sufiyana kalam. Children have been enthusiastically participating in these sessions and are trying their hands at singing. The riyaz sessions have elicited positive response from listeners in the region; many have encouraged Mirs to continue their pursuit.

What began as a journey of discovering the power of their Sufiyana tradition by Mukthiyar Ali and Abdul Jabbar around two years ago is now the collective striving of many musicians of theMir community. The collective riyaz session is part of a fellowship given to Mukhtiyar and Abdul by the Bangalore-based India Foundation for the Arts for reinvigorating the Sufiyana kalam tradition in the Pugal region. Hope and passion keep these subaltern musicians endeavouring to revive their Sufiyana tradition : a tradition that sings of love, compassion and harmony.

The article first appeared in Tehelka, May 13 , 2006