Folk Songs in the time of floods

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Floods killed around 1,200 people and affected 45 million others in India, Bangladesh and Nepal in August this year, according to the United Nations.

The annual floods from Himalayan-fed rivers majorly affect villagers in rural areas, who share their misery through folk songs and tales.

Folk songs from rivers of sorrow

River Kosi, known as the Sorrow of Bihar, originates from the Himalayas and flows into one of the backwards states of India. The meandering river kills scores and displaces millions every year. The devastating flood in August 2008 uprooted nearly three million people.

Traditionally, flood songs based on Kosi have had a dominant dark side. One such melody tells the plight of a person caught in the midst of flood: "Beech hi samudra hey sakhiya, tooti gelai hey gairooliya." (My friend, in mid-stream the makeshift boat has broken.)

River expert Dinesh Mishra told CGTN that the scale of devastation by floods is increasing every year, mainly because of bad engineering of dams. “Massive destruction has turned villagers' focus on folk songs to relieve their misery,” he says.

With the river unleashing massive deaths, one song depicts the plight of a baby boomer.

Mishra adds that since floods killed many people and the survival rate was low, families tended to be baby boomers, so they can have a few surviving kids.

One such folk song depicts the plight of a dying kid who has six siblings and all of whom are battling the deluge.

The kid sings, "Baba je suntai re mallah dharti loti re jayatai, Bhaiyya je suntai re mallah jaal bans re khirtai, Aama je suntai re mallah Kosi dhainsi re martai." (If my father hears of it [my death] he will collapse, if my brother hears of it, he will have a net thrown in the river, if my mother hears of it, she will drown herself in Kosi.)

An Indian villager wades through flood waters to collect relief food near the submerged houses in Gazole village at Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal on August 22, 2017I/ AFP Photo‍

The Yellow River, which was once known as the sorrow of China, has inspired a unique style of explaining the various aspects of the river.

The Yellow River Cantana has been divided into several categories that depict the struggle of boatmen, admiration to the river and the need to defend the river from foreign attacks.

One of the lines from the Cantana portrays the mighty river when it is in rage: "Ah, Yellow River! The king of rivers! When enraged, it is a mad wild beast, worse than ten million poisonous pythons".

The traditional songs on floods have also transcended boundaries. Bengali artists have beautifully depicted the Yangtze River in a song that urges the river to flow slowly and not to get filled with rage.

Nepali flood songs for community service

In Nepal, Disaster Reduction Hyperbase, a non-profit organization is using folk songs with the flood theme to create awareness about flood warnings.

“If the mediums of communication are based on local language to raise awareness, the marginalized communities are found to be largely beneficial,” Binay Kumar mentions in his findings.

The organization claims that the scale and incidence of the disaster are spiraling every year. And in hilly regions like Nepal, awareness can save a lot of lives.

The Himalayan country also has a tradition of community songs during the months of monsoon that brings in lot of rain and floods too. The season marks the time for sowing the paddy field.

Singer and academician Ram Krishna Duwal told the Himalayan Times that since sowing is a laborious and monotonous work, community especially women sing folk songs to maintain the tempo of work.

Pakistani and Bangladeshi songs of romance and bravery

On the other side, Pakistan and Bangladesh have songs ranging from romanticism to valor like "Torsa Nadi Utal Patal."

"The River overflows. Who is sailing yonder? My heart throbs. My love has gone to the far-off land, where, people say, males are enchanted. I get scared."

The country’s singers have also depicted bravery during difficult time in the rivers, "Oh, Majhire Aji Jhar Tufane Chalao Tari."

"His heart dances with delight at the sight of the storm. Sharks and crocodiles are his neighbors; the dark waves hold their frothy crests down stung by his oars. Little need he be afraid of storms that live on the Padma with lightning and thunder for companions."

Padma is a river that flows in Bangladesh.

Water puppets of Vietnam sing, dance, laugh and mourn floods

An Indian family sit at their destroyed house amidst the floodwaters after heavy rains in Gaya in eastern Bihar state on September 6, 2016./ AFP Photo

When it comes to the diversity of flood songs and stories Vietnam does it in style. Whenever the Red River Delta brings floods in the country’s Northern region, it is time for a puppet show. The flood-prone villagers take out their puppets and narrate their water woes.

Because during the times of flood there are no dry areas to stage the puppet show, villagers innovated the concept of water puppetry. The puppet shows in the villages showcase comic tragic stories to entertain the villagers who had no work. Surprisingly, such puppet shows are on revival course in the country.

Floods move modern artists

The plight of floods has moved modern artists too. Nepalese youths have released solos in a bid to raise relief funds for flood victims. So far, three such songs have been released including one by Nepalese Idol.

In August 2010, British rock star Peter Gabriel agreed to a collaboration with Pakistani star Salman Ahmad to raise awareness of a tragic flood to seek international attention. Earnings of their duet song "Open Your Eyes" were donated to flood relief. The massive flood had killed 1,540 people, destroyed nearly 557,226 houses and displaced around six million others.