Baiju Bawra
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- For the Bollywood film, see Baiju Bawra (1952 film).
Baiju Bawra (1542-1613) was a legendary Indian Dhrupad singer.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Much of the information available on Baiju Bawra comes from legends; there is not much historically verifiable information available. Baiju Bawra was born on Sharad Purnima in the month of Ashwin in 1599 according to Vikram Samvat calendar (1542 CE).
Baiju was a musician at the court of the Raja of Chanderi (now in Guna District of Madhya Pradesh). Later, he became a musician at the court of Raja Mansingh of Gwalher (modern Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh). Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat had also patronized Baiju.[2]
Baiju's original name was Baijnath Mishra. He got the name "Bawra" (crazy) because he was crazily in love with a dancer in Chanderi.
Just like Tansen, the renowned musician at the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Baiju was a disciple of Swami Haridas (1512-1607).[1] According to another legend, he was a contemporary of Amir Khusro and the creator of Dhrupad music style.[1]
Baiju learnt Dhrupad music in Dagurvaani in Vrindavan, and was an eminent Dhrupad singer. According to "historical" books preserved in Jai Vilas Mahal in Gwalior, he would lighten oil lamps by singing Raag Deepak, produce rain by singing Raag Megh, Raag Megh Malhar, or Raag Gaud Malhar, and bloom flowers on flowering plants by singing Raag Bahar.
[edit] Contemporary Singers
Besides Tansen, renowned singers, Baba Ramdas, who composed Raag Ramdasi Malhar, and Nayak Charju, who composed Raag Charju ki Malhar, were Baiju's contemporaries.
Historian Abul Fazal at Emperor Akbar's court and historian Faqirullah at Emperor Aurangzeb's court have written that Baiju defeated Tansen in a singing competition at the court of Akbar. Tansen then touched Baiju's feet and asked for his own life. In response, kind-hearted Baiju went back to Gwalior. (According to the script of a Hindi movie, Baiju Bawra (1952), Baiju had believed that Tansen was responsible for the death of his father and that he then avenged his father's death by challenging Tansen to a musical duel in Akbar's court.)
Gopal Nayak, a court musician in the State of Kashmir, India, was a student of Baiju. The then king of Kashmir challenged Baiju against Gopal Nayak. Baiju sang Raag Bhimpalasi. Instead of singing in response, feeling overwhelmed, Gopal Nayak cried in the court. After this defeat, Gopal died and his body was cremated on the bank of river Satluj. When the bones in Gopal's body were thrown in the river following the cremation, they sank. According to a legend, Gopal's widow then asked Baiju to retrieve her husband's bones. Responding, Baiju taught a new version of Raag Malhar to her daughter, Meera; and after a week's training, Meera sang that Raag on the bank of Satluj in front of a crowd. As soon as she finished the Dhrupad, her father's bones emerged on the bank out of the river. From that time on, that raag is known as Meera ki Malhar.
Baiju died of typhoid at the age of 71 on the eve of the Indian festival, Basant Panchami in Vikram Samvat 1670 (1613 CE).
[edit] In popular culture
Baiju Bawra, a Hindi-language film was made on him in 1952. In the movie, Baiju is a musician who believes that Tansen is responsible for his father's death. He attempts to avenge his father's death by challenging Tansen to a musical duel.
