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A Soul Residing in Jari World

Awinterview with researcher Mary Frances Dunham by Fayza Haq
IT got interested in
I Bangla folk songs
A when I got to know poet Jaaimuddfri in 1964 when my husband Daniel was posted in Dhaka." says Mary Frances Dunham, sitting in her tiny two-roomed flat at Shiddheswari. "Daniel was doing city, planning, the Kamalapur railway station's architectural designing, and that of academic buildings outside Dhaka and teaching at BUET." Mary’s book "Jari Gaan; Muslim Epic Sonas from Bengal" is nearly completed and la due for publication this Tall.
"We made 18 recordings of sample Jari songs and I made staff notations to go with the songs in Jasimuddin's book Jari Gaan which came out in 1968. Poet Jasimuddin got to know me as 1 used to give lectures in western music in the 60s at Alliance Francaise and the Goethe Institute. They dealt with the history of music. Incidentally, at that time I formed a musical group with a cellist, flute player and two recordists. I myself played the harpsichord. Mary says.
Tn the process of doing the notations I discovered that they were extraordinarily beautiful. The stories of the songs were also very Interesting. They deal with epic subjects taken from religion. Jari is the Persian word for lamentation and many of the songs are baaed on themes from Muharram,
• "I found a very interesting tune and text relationship. It is indicative of the genius here for composing songs The tunes elaborate the text Kving emotion to-narrative.
i the nineteenth century Jari gaan singing became a form of mass entertainment and used to go on without
break for seven nights at a stretch. These performances, however, also included poetic debates and other songs besides Jari gaan. So the occasions must have been very festive. But now, whenever there is a folk concert it is baul and bhatyall that are sung. Jari gaan is dying. People who were able to sing these songs are getting old. It is sometimes used nowadays for moUvational communication like spreading information on nutrition, hygiene and family planning In the village areas.
"Jari is a long narrative singing. The other folk songs are short, it is generally sung by a leader, boyati. and is foL lowed by chorus, dohars (8 or 10 is the traditional number). It is not a ritual like baul singing. It is sung for entertaining. People would come from long distancea to hear Cl gaan and it used to have
ge audience. The chief singers began when they were about 14.'
To do her work Mary was to be able to read and write Bangla. For her book she translated three songs 1) Abraham's sacrifice ol his son. ill Kassem and Sakhina. ill) Tllekban. a romance that takes place In India The first represented a Judeo Koranic story, the second was from Muharram stories and the third takes place nearer home and la full of humour
It was not easy for Mary to translate. One needed to know Arabic and Persian literature and understand the dialect. Jasimuddln's foot, notes helped. Lutfor Rahman who teaches at the Dhaka University. Bangla Department brought out a book in 86 called ^Bangladeshi Jari | Gaan" and thia was also a boon for Mary
Mary Frances Dunham
"I was thankful to Bangla Academy library and the Asiatic Society. My interviews with Ahmed Sharif of Dhaka University and Mustafa Zaman Abbasi also helped. I had done niy master's thesis at the Columbia University on the same subject in 1972. This effort Is an extension of that. I found so much more than I knew then. I began the research in 1995 and the book is scheduled to be 6rinted this year by niversity Press Limited." ' Mary adds about her book.
"People of about 40 or below In Bangladesh haven't heard Jari singing in its full .glory. However, older people remember it from »helr Childhood days. It shouk be mixed up with short gaans which are used In boat races. Women play am important role in the songs. They are pious, heroic and have ipltla-tive. If they find a difficult situation. they know how to get out of it. Children also play a vital role. The chief singer tells a story with poetry and music. He also acts a little," Mary informs me about Jari .songs.
When Mary showed her thesis to UPL they offered to {iublish It in the updated orm. On the strength of this she applied and got a grant for four months to do field work. She went out to Gorpara (near Manlkganj), Gouripur (near Mymenstngh) and Shuhilpur (near Brahmanbaria). She made 30 recordings. A young musician. Sukalpa Gupta, now in Delhi, helped to catch the words. Bangla Academy had also been.interested in printing her book.
Dwelling on whether tlierr is something similar to this genre in western culture. Mary says medieval European minstrels sang the chansons de geste which dealt with tales of battles related to the Crusades in verse and which are parallel to the Jari gaan often considered as Muslim counterparts to the Ramauana and Mahabharata
Asked if she felt that these songs can be meaningful for transcultural audience. Mary says that if sung by an expert these can be of Interest to a foreign audience
Talking oF the chance that this form stood for continuing Into the next century Mary says. These stories are like Bible parables and tell you how to be a good person. The form will survive as it is doing but the long stories may suffer. The competition from modern music is too much. People today do not sit for long hours for anything. As for the future of my book, th the west it will be ethno-musicologlsts who will be most interested in It. Folkloriaty and anybody in-teresfed in Bengali culture would be keen on the book."
Being a person acquainted with French, English. Greek and Latin literature what Mary likes best about Bangladesh Is its music and poetry
A resident of New York city Mary tutors high-school Students. She is also a passionate contributor to magazines dealing with environmental transportation.