Durga Puja dhakis preserve Bengal's rich heritage

Watching mesmerised as the purohit at a friend's Durga Puja rhythmically waved the silver oil lamp with multiple wicks before the goddess, and then in succession, a silver camphor lamp, incense sticks, red cloth, conch shell, flowers and a silver-handled fly-whisk while incessantly ringing a bell with his other hand, I noticed that the dhak-drum beats changed subtly at every phase of the arati. For the first time I figured the dhaki (drummer) was doing a duet with the priest.A few days later, an old friend recounted that she was sitting in a puja pandal in the longish, quiet interregnum between the end of bhog (community lunch to partake of what was also offered to the Goddess) and the beginning of preparation for the evening arati, when the dhaki suddenly struck up a beat with his drum. The pandal was empty, with even the priest and helpers probably catching forty winks before the evening's prayers. So, who was this serenade for?Also Read: India lifted 496 million people out of poverty between 2011 and 2023, says World Bank"For Her, of course," the drummer told her with a smile. "I have respectfully reminded her that it is time to awaken. I have also drummed out the message that evening arati will soon commence." He then proceeded to tell her that dhakis have many different beats, each for a specific aspect of the puja. To uninitiated ears, they may sound like just any set of percussive tunes, but their 'bols' (sounds) are like mantras, perfectly complementing the priest's incantations.Like most, if not all, Bengalis, my friend and I love the heart-thumping sound of West Bengal's traditional large dhak drums. They not only joyfully herald the advent of the Goddess long before she can actually be seen arriving at her maternal home, they also devotedly accompany every ritual of Her worship for four days and dolefully sound her inevitable retreat: the long journey back to her husband Shiva in the Himalayas. They are her faithful minstrels.Also Read: India to conduct population census from January 25 to February 28, 2027; March 1 set as reference dateTherefore, the men (and now also women) whose strong hands and arms provide the rhythmic vocabulary through skilled use of two bamboo canes, are very crucial to Durga Puja celebrations. Yet very few of the thousands who flock to the pandals to admire and seek Her blessings pay much attention to the dhakis and what their drums are actually saying. Few note the change in beat and cadence. For many, they are just background music, a kind of white noise.Women dhakis, of late, have got a lot of publicity in many Indian cities, with many puja committees specifically seeking them out - often to enhance their inclusive credentials. Not many go further and ask those women (and men) the significance of the beats they play when, and why. My perceptive friend is an exception. And the answers she got were eye-openers. Their's is a labour of love, time they take out annually from their life as farmers to play for Her.The semiotic language they serenade Her with has been passed down generations, and even the youngest dhakis are hopefully conversant with it too. It is not enough for them to simply know all the rhythmic beats; they must also remember what to play when and why. Before the advent of modern telecommunications made so many traditional ways of sending messages over long distances redundant, drums were the equivalent of the town crier if not the telegraph and radio too.Every aspect of religio-cultural events like Durga Puja has relevance, even if most of us scarcely notice most of them. The semiotic language of the dhakis and drums are one such. Their profession is seeing a revival so younger people are taking it up, but many other puja-associated arts and crafts are down to their last practitioners. Those who appreciate and understand these facets of intangible heritage are even fewer. It's never too late to listen, ask and learn....