Arjun Gandharva gives continuity to Sarangi playing tradition

By Salim Miya,Bijuwar, Dec. 3: Arjun Gandharva, a 40-year-old resident of Aairawati Rural Municipality-5, Sarangkot, Pyuthan, has found a loyal companion in the Sarangi, a musical instrument that has helped sustain his family.

 Having learned to sing and play the Sarangi as a child while wandering around villages with his father, Arjun has spent over two and a half decades with this instrument.  However, this art has not been able to improve his family’s financial condition.

He said, “I started playing the Sarangi because it was what my father and grandfather did. I never focused on learning other skills. Now, this instrument has become the only means to support my family.”

Although he worked in India for nearly a decade, he returned to his village after failing to earn the income he had hoped for.  He came back with a plan to sustain himself by playing the Sarangi, his ancestral profession and to help preserve folk culture.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Arjun, together with his friends, created songs with their own melodies and lyrics, going door-to-door playing the Sarangi to generate awareness.

 Not only that, Arjun also led campaigns to spread messages against child marriage and drug abuse through the melodies of the Sarangi.

Arjun is skilled not only in playing the Sarangi but also in making it. He said, “Two years ago, I participated in a training organised by Aairawati Rural Municipality to learn how to make Sarangis. I was taught by Purna Bahadur Gandharva from the village.”

He said that it takes at least two days to make a Sarangi, which costs more than Rs. 5,000. He expressed his concern that the Sarangi, made from Githi and Khamari wood, has not yet received enough publicity in the market.

Arjun is also a member of the executive committee and spokesperson of the rural municipality, as well as the district joint-treasurer of the National Folk and Duet Song Academy.

In the past, people used to invite Gandharvas to their homes to listen to songs and would give whatever money or grains they could. Arjun also added bitter memories of being treated like beggars in some places. He believes that people’s perception has changed since the District Police Office in Pyuthan honoured him last year.

 According to him, the younger generation has given up  the tradition of Sarangi playing and singing, which was preserved by their fathers and grandfathers.

Based on his experience, he said that many young people migrate abroad for work because Sarangi players are not respected and cannot earn enough to support their families. 

However, elderly people in villages who understand and love music still appreciate the Gandharva community.