Pujo-r Gaan or Sharadiya Gaan are songs in praise of Goddess Durga, sang primarily during the festival of Durga Pujo. Sadly, these traditional songs are slowly dying out with Tollywood and Bollywood numbers turning into Chartbusters during Durga Pujo. ‘Mahishasura Mardini’ is a 90-minute musical piece that was first composed in 1931 and is immensely popular even today. Bhadra was the legendary narrator whose emotional rendition of slokas caught the imagination of the listeners. Chandi Path, verses to the Glory of the Goddess, that wafts out of homes across West Bengal before day break every year is a serendipitous combination of the ancient and the modern, of orchestra, chorus and Sanskrit chants, declamation in easy to follow Bengali and of course Rabindrasangeet is probably the longest running such programme for radio anywhere in the world.
Adaptation of Mahishasura Mardini
Birendra Krishna Bhadra, who will always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all, is the voice behind the “Mahisasura Mardini.” He recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth. It was on the day of Mahalaya, the beginning of “Devipaksha”, that the gods and goddesses woke up to prepare themselves for Durga Puja. In 1931, Mahalaya was first broadcast over the radio in Akashvani, Calcutta. The programme was organised by Pankaj Kumar Mallik, Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhyay and Raichand Boral.
So popular was his version of the recitation that when in 1976, the voice of noted Bengali actor, Uttam Kumar was employed for the programme and renamed it as Durga Durgatiharini did not get favorable response from the audience and it was shifted back to the original version of Birendra Krishna Bhadra.
Mahalaya day to tune into the Mahishasuramarddini broadcast. Presently the recordings are available as audio cassettes and Compact Disks from HMV-RPG which has obtained the rights from All India Radio. The CD version (as of 2002) contains 19 tracks.
It is scripted by Bani Kumar, and narrated by Birendra Krishna Bhadra while Dwijen Mukhopadhyay (Jago Durga Jago Doshoprohoronodharini), Manabendra Mukhopadhyay (Tabo Achinta), Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukhopadhyay, Utpala Sen, Shyamal Mitra and Supriti Ghosh (Bajlo tomar alor benu) sang in their melodious voices.[13] The enchanting music is composed by Pankaj Mullick,.[14] As the recital begins, the serene morning air resonates with the long drawn sound of the sacred conch shell, followed by a tune in Raga Malkosh, which ultimately leads to the start of the programme with the prayer to Goddess Chandi. The Mahalaya programme was a live performance till 1966 and those who participated and those who helped to produce it retain the fondest memories of waking up soon after midnight, getting dressed in dhotis and white saris with red borders, being picked up and then plunging into a performance that stirred them and the soul of Bengal. There was enough incense and flowers to make the occasion believably real. There was only one year when it was not broadcast live during the first three decades; that was in 1946, when Kolkata was made unsafe by the unprecedented scale of communal violence. After 1966, it is a recorded programme that goes on air and galvanises the Bengali into celebration. It is astonishing that repetition has not staled its infinite appeal. After Akashvani inexplicably sold the copyright, Mahishasura Mardini has been released on tape, on CD and is now available on YouTube and other websites. It was on the approved list of music that was played at traffic signals in 2011, when Mamata Banerjee swept into power in West Bengal. It acquired political significance that it has succeeded in casting off, because the victory of Mamata Banerjee was, in the overactive imagination of many, the triumph of Shakti or the feminine spirit over the ungodliness of the Marxists. It is the most commonly heard music blaring from crackling loudspeakers at the thousands of puja pandals at appropriate and inappropriate times. It is at once street music and transcendental sound, because every Bengali ear tunes in every time it is played. It has figured in political theatre with Mamata Banerjee inaugurating Pujas in Kolkata with her incorrect chants, only because it is so popular. And, of course, it has figured in cinema and serial, in mostly symbolic ways as the triumph of hope over despair, good over evil. Devi Mahatmya as rendered by Birendra Krishna and his associates has endured intact over time. Akashvani has changed its signature tune, other programmes like Vividh Bharati have dropped off the list, but not the Mahalaya programme. This is what makes it so special. It is both fresh and familiar, a combination that makes it timeless.
Agomoni Gaan : Copyright ?
‘Agomoni’, the name itself suggests advent. The advent of Parvati to her home in rural Bengal not as a Goddess but as a daughter, as the mythology goes. Well, Agomoni also sows the seeds of the yearly Autumnal festival of Durga Puja in the hearts of every Bengali scattered through different parts of the world. Agamani (Bengali: Āgōmōni gān “Songs of advent”) and Vijaya (Bījōyā gīţi “Songs of parting”) are genres of Bengali folk songs celebrating the return of the Goddess Parvati to the home of her parents on the eve of the Bengali autumn festival of Durga Puja. The Aagamani songs describe the return of Parvati to her home in rural Bengal, not as Goddess but as daughter, and are followed by Vijaya songs which describe the sorrow of separation three days later as Parvati returns to her husband Shiva.
The folklore that give origin to the songs are the mythological stories of Goddess Parvati- daughter of the mighty King of the Himalayas- who marries Lord Shiva. Shiva is described in Hindu mythology as the ageless hermit who is also pauper, and as such personifies the poor husband with little interest in the bonds of family life. One night in autumn, Parvati’s mother Goddess Menaka dreamt of her daughter as did Parvati of her mother. Menaka urged her husband to bring Parvati home, even if just for the festival, and Parvati agrees at her father’s request to return for the three days of the festival.
‘Jago Durga’ by Dwijen Mukhopadhyay (Passed in December 2018) Part of the AIR Radio show.
Nazrul Geeti – ‘Dur Dip Basini’
Nazrul Sangeet (literally “music of Nazrul”, refers to the songs written and composed by Kazi Nazrul Islam; the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul Sangeet incorporate revolutionary notions as well as more spiritual, philosophical and romantic themes. Nazrul wrote and composed nearly 4,000 songs (including gramophone records), which are widely popular in Bangladesh and India. But the most famous song was sung by many singers.
‘Durga Durgatinasini’ by Hemanta Mukherjee
Folk song which has many adaptations.
‘Bajlo Tomar Alor Benu’ by Supriti Ghosh (1978) Part of the AIR
‘Sharadabali’, a compilation of Songs in praise of Goddess Durga was released by The Gramophone Company of India as early as 1914. With time eminent singers lent their voice to traditional Durga Pujo songs which soon became popular. Record companies like Pioneer Records, Hindustan Records, Young India Records and Regal Record released their own versions inspired by the Gramaphone company’s released their own special pujo albums i.e. Gramaphone Company of India limited. ‘Aji Shankhe Shankhe Mangala Gao’ by Anoop Ghoshal
‘Ya Devi Sarbabhuteshu’ by Swagata Laxmi Dasgupta
Shreya Ghoshal’s ‘Dhaak Baja Kashor Baja’
“Dhaker taale” by Abhijeet and parinita, sudipto
What’s more, to add to modern Pujo music, many Pujo Committees are coming up with Theme Songs for their Pujo. In 2017, Smt. Mamata Banerjee, Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal penned down lyrics for a unique Pujo Theme Song for one of the most popular of Durga Pujos – Suruchi Sangha Club which was voiced by singer Shreya Ghoshal.
COPYRIGHT IN TRADITIONAL SONGS? (2019, Jan)
It has been stated before the Bombay court by the complainat that the songs copied and published therein, are in furtherance of a compilation made by Pramod Surya, of old Marwari and Gujrati songs which are sung in marriage ceremonies. It has been pleaded that these songs, themselves, cannot be claimed to be copyrightable and are in the public domain, as they have been in existence since generations. The court has admitted the petition and will be deciding whether such compilations and reproductions of traditional songs are capable of copyright infringement and consequent criminal action.
The WIPO handbook on intellectual property (WIPO Publication No. 489 (E), 2004) clearly states: Pre-existing traditional culture is generally trans-generational (that is, old), collectively “owned” by one or more groups or communities and is likely to be of anonymous origin, to the extent that the notion of authorship is relevant at all. Pre-existing traditional culture as such and particular expressions thereof are generally not protected by current copyright laws and are treated, from the perspective of the intellectual property system, as part of the “public domain.”
That a copyright or a monopoly right to exploitation cannot be claimed over lyrics of a traditional song that has been published, due to it being a generic element of a society and hence a mere idea. However, particular compilations and expressions of the same, which denote an element of originality can be enough to fulfill a claim of copyright over that particular expression or compilation. Original adaptations and derivations are definitely protectable.
The court in the case at hand, needs to analyze the work wherein copyright is being claimed and examine whether, there are elements in the work which go beyond being traditional and generic, and fulfill the threshold of originality. Otherwise, a claim of copyright on an expression of a traditional song merely lyrically written, should ideally not be sustainable and there would be no infringement.
Folk Music and the Law: A few questions that are doing the rounds:
http://www.indiearth.com/folk-music-and-the-law-a-few-questions-that-are-doing-the-rounds/
From the legal perspective, folk music and other forms of traditional intangible cultural heritage often find themselves in grey areas between existing forms of intellectual property protection. One of the reasons for this surrounds debate on who gets to own a work that falls squarely within the realm of a particular folk music style or borrows heavily from it.
Dhaak
- Why Dhaak
- Is it a part of any ritual?
The playing of Dhaak during Durga Pujo begins with the arrival of the idol of the Goddess at various pandals. The Dhaaki play on while the idol of the Goddess is placed inside the pandal.
The Maha Ashtami Sandhya Arati is in fact incomplete without the sound of the Dhaak filling the air of utmost celebrations accompanying the Dhunuchi Naach.
During Bishorjon, once again the Dhaaki help to lift the air of gloom that prevails with the departure of Maa Durga by playing their Dhaak the loudest accompanying cheers of “Bolo Durga Mai Ki Jai! Ashche Bochor Abar Hobe.”
What is it made of?
Ask a Bengali and they shall tell you what it means to welcome Maa Durga dancing to the beats of ‘Dhak’ – an old percussion instrument. This large hollow wooden instrument is covered on both ends with hide. Played either with bamboo sticks or hands, the instrument is slung over the shoulder, suspended from the neck or placed on the ground or lap. The instrument is often decorated with white or multi-coloured feathers or traditional white flowers known as ‘kaashphool’.
Shaped like a large barrel, the Dhaak is a wooden percussion instrument, popular mostly in South Asian countries. It functions like large double-sided drum which is played with sticks and is chiefly made from wood of mango trees, sized to be about 3 feet in length. The outer portion of the wood is shaved off and carved to form the barrel shaped instrument while the two ends (mouths) of the barrel are sealed with hide, whose stretching determines the quality of the sound produced. The two sticks used for playing each Dhaak are also carefully chiselled out from thin cane or bamboo.
Creating a Dhaak can take around two weeks, as the long process involves drying of the wood and intricate handiwork.
https://www.kaahon.com/folk/process-of-making-a-dhak-majorly-manual-and-imaginative/
The sound of the dhak depends on a lot of factors like the shape. The shape varies from almost cylindrical to barrel-like. On one hand, the outer portion of the wood is shaved off and carved to create the barrel shaped instrument. On the other hand, the inner side of it is made to be absolutely hollow.The two ends of the dhak are wrapped up with goat skin on the top and calf skin at the bottom. It is said that using these two types of hides bring out the perfect sound texture of the dhak. The manner of stretching the skin over the mouth of the dhak and lacing it is also an important factor in the kind of sound that will be produced. The more the strings on the side of the dhak are pulled the higher the pitch of the dhak gets. The two sticks that are used to beat the dhak are carefully chiseled and formed out of thin cane or bamboo. Because of the drying session of the wooden structure and the intricate handwork and decoration, it takes around one month to reach the perfection in making the instrument.
Origin, beginning?
Long before, Dhak was referred to as Donka. Dhak and the traditional dhol were used as war drums and in the days of yore were also played in wedding professions. While the instrument is usually played by a man, or in a group, a recent trend has set in wherein there are a number of women too who play the dhak during Puja. Those who play the dhak are called ‘Dhakis.’
https://toistudent.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/culture/significance-of-dhak-during-puja/9165.html
The tradition of playing Dhaak during Durga Pujo in Bengal goes way back to the 17th Century. So popular were the presence of Dhaaki during Durga Pujo that many colonies began to develop in Bengal where the Dhaaki resided with their families. One such locality was Nattapara in the Hooghly district of West Bengal where close to 100 Dhaaki families live together.
The art of playing dhak is passed on from one generation to the next though this art is gradually dying out and losing its focus. One of the reasons for this is the uncertain informal nature of this profession. They still teach the children to play the dhak is to preserve the culture and heritage.
The dhaak tune?
http://www.vstplanet.com/News/2017/rdgaudio-releases-acoustic-dhaak-lite-free-vst-au.htm: Just the sound recording
https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/dhak-meets-percussion-15563.html
Tracing the revival of dhak in contemporary Puja landscape of Bengal, leading classicists have joined hands in a unique fusion attempt where the beats of the heritage instrument match with other percussion tools, as the Durga Puja countdown begins.
“Kaushiki and I have given vocal renditions to the Dhak album having seen dhak as a bridge between the traditional and contemporary in our baroari pujas,” eminent vocalist Pt Ajay Chakraborty said.
“I still remember the Mahastami evening when all of us started swaying to the beats of dhak during Sandhi puja in course of our rounds at puja pandals with other classical instrumentalists,” young, famed vocalist Kaushiki, daughter of Panditji, said.
And one has to see it to believe how drummers or dhakis Toton Das and Haro Bayen, having got no formal training in percussion, match our every beat in the album. It is fusion in the real sense, Pt Mallar Ghosh said “Chronicling the evolution of Dhak, from the beats in bonedi barir pujo (traditional household pujas) to the baroari pujas, theme-based or mega-budget, in these days, the first ever short film on this unique heritage musical instrument of Bengal, Dhak Kotha has also been freezed on celluloid produced by Cyclepure Agarbathi.”
http://www.contributoria.com/issue/2014-12/541149b1ce8de2c86a000159.html
What is the subject matter of IP in a Dhaak?
For instance, a single family of musicians in a community who have clearly written, composed and performed a particular work of folk music for many generations, might be able to lay claim to the musical work but what if such musical work has become an integral part of the community’s sociocultural fabric in a way that it becomes unfair to attribute ownership to only one musical family instead of all the musical families in the community? What if all the families have jointly reshaped the essence of the work through multiple and diverse renditions over years – who then, can be considered the sole owner of the song?
Another instance involves the sampling or borrowing of a folk music style and its incorporation into a musical work belonging to a completely different style – does the musician responsible for the latter owe a duty to the community whose music she appropriated? Should she give credit, and if so to whom? And finally does attribution or credit translate into other monetary benefits?
Existing forms of intellectual property like the copyright system suffer from certain gaps, especially when having to deal with forms of cultural expression that are traditional and tied to the sociocultural mores of indigenous communities. The truth is that the copyright system does not contemplate ownership that spans a community, nor does it offer an effective way to protect a work that is not purely a musical work, but a form of community history. With an increasing number of instances of cultural appropriation by non-community members, pitted against a diminishing number of community members actively working towards preserving, developing and perpetuating their traditional folk music, it’s also time for the law to consider alternative models of cultural custodianship. Perhaps it’s time for the law to put in place mechanisms by which musicians and producers borrowing folk music elements of a community, ensure that some of the proceeds of their revenue revert back to the community in the form of grants and projects directed towards supporting the folk music traditions in that community. On the other hand, by making such a system of attribution and revenue distribution compulsory, will the law be intruding into the delicate and often disputed area of creative inspiration? These are just a few questions on the interplay of folk music and the law and while we might still seem far away from finding all the answers we need, there’s no denying the need for a healthy dialogue on all these issues and more.
IP Protection for Musical Instruments
The laws of patent and design provides for sound protection of musical instruments!
Design
As per the Locarno classification (classification of designs based on the goods they cover), Class 17 deals with musical instruments and specifically excludes cases for musical instruments and equipment for recording. Class 17 further classifies the musical instruments based on their type, as follows:
Keyboard Instruments – This includes electronic and other organs, accordions, and mechanical and other pianos.
Wind Instruments – This specifically excludes organs, harmoniums and accordions as they would fall under the category of keyboard instruments
Stringed Instruments
Percussion Instruments
Mechanical Instruments
To file a design application for the design of a musical instrument, the most important requisite is that it should be novel since if it’s a musical instrument the conditions of it being applied to an article through an industrial process is already met with. Under the law of designs, protection can be sought solely for the design and the mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device is not protected as a design. However, protection for this can be sought under the laws of patent.
The following are designs that have been applied for in Class 17 for musical instruments. The one on the top right corner is a ‘tailpiece of a musical instrument’ also falling under this class.
Patent
So how can a musical instrument be protected as a patent? Ofcourse it has to be novel, involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application. In addition to this, it can’t just be the mere arrangement or re-arrangement or duplication of known devices each functioning independently of one another in a known way. It’s a little tricky in the context of musical instruments, where one string or slight change in the length of a can make a whole lot of difference to the sound that is produced!
There are about 70 patents (keyword – musical instrument) that have been published and granted. I also conducted a search with the keywords table, piano, guitar and sitar and there were very few patents that were published or granted. The ones that did, had something to do with the musical instrument and not an invention of the instrument per se.
One of the interesting ones was a new musical instrument called CHHAR TARANG (1334/KOL/2013). This is a type of musical instrument in which the sound or note is generated by leather and metal string fitted in tension. Through one of the articles online, I learnt that the inventor of this instrument ended up inventing this while trying to modify one of his old instruments.
Another invention titled MULTI-NOTE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXCITABLE SINGLE STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT (2315/DEL/2009) consists of a single string which is stretched over a resonator box in the form of multiple U-turns around a set of spindles or pullies mounted on the top surface of the resonator box.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has filed an application for a G-PAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT (9695/DELNP/2008) which as per the abstract is an ensemble of acoustic steelpan musical instruments, being an innovation which significantly improves upon traditional acoustic steelpan prior art. This particularly invention has its roots in the World War II when the Government banned drumming and the locals sought out to find alternatives and that’s how the steel pan came into being. For those of you who want to know more, this link provides a great deal of information about the origin of the steel pan.
Trademark
Protection under the laws of designs and patents have more to do with protecting the aesthetics and functionality of the musical instrument, whereas trademark deals more with protecting the brand. There are many companies out there that sell musical instruments but very few that you can actually strike a chord with (I can think of Yamaha and Casio). Creating and protecting a brand by way of the trademark is particularly important, not only from the consumer perspective but also to stop third parties from passing off your goods or infringing your trademark.
GROUP OF DAKIS (Services) / DAKH MANUFACTURERS(Product)
It is always fun to research and write about the interface of intellectual property with things that we come across every day. It is even more interesting to read about the inventions that people have come up with, the Patent Office’s view point on these inventions (which as lawyers we would re-think while advising a client) given that some of them have been granted and also people’s interest to go to any lengths to rightfully protect what they have created. So if you’ve created something that’s worth protecting (and capable of IP protection), go ahead and protect it!
Geographical Indications for Dhaak
• The tradition of playing Dhaak during Durga Pujo in Bengal goes way back to the 17th Century. So popular were the presence of Dhaaki during Durga Pujo that many colonies began to develop in Bengal where the Dhaaki resided with their families. One such locality was Nattapara in the Hooghly district of West Bengal where close to 100 Dhaaki families live together.
• The art of playing dhak is passed on from one generation to the next though this art is gradually dying out and losing its focus. One of the reasons for this is the uncertain informal nature of this profession. They still teach the children to play the dhak is to preserve the culture and heritage.
The instrument is often decorated with white or multi-coloured feathers or traditional white flowers known as ‘kaashphool’ and mango trees.
A geographical indication of a service shall be granted protection under the condition that a particular activity is registered at the place of origin, or that the person who has the direct control of the business management is a national or a resident of the country in which a particular service originates. Other conditions may also be stipulated, like for instance, the evidence from the country of origin that a person is qualified for providing a particular service, or the evidence of the membership in a professional association of the persons providing that service in thecountry of origin, if the service is provided outside the place of origin (CROATIA)
However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
