How musicians are reinventing the centuries-old abhang
Musicians are modernizing the centuries-old Marathi 'abhang' tradition by incorporating multimedia elements and concert-style presentations. This evolution is helping the devotional verses reach younger, broader audiences beyond traditional pilgrimage routes.
Why it matters
It highlights the intersection of cultural preservation and modern artistic innovation in Indian classical music.
It’s 4 a.m., the sky, a deep indigo, is illuminated by fading stars and the air is crisp with the promise of dawn. The waris gear up to begin their annual 250 km yatra to the abode of Vithoba in Pandharpur. The men dressed in white dhoti or pyjama, kurta and the familiar Gandhi topi and women in vibrant nauvari (nine-yard sari worn in Maharashtrian style) gather with saffron patakas (triangular flag) fluttering in the early morning breeze. Some carry instruments such as the chipli (wooden clappers), mridanga (drum), tuturi (curved brass horn) and ektari (stringed instrument). All through the journey they sing abhangs in unison till the yatra culminates on Ashadi Ekadashi.
The article is a cultural feature piece with no political or controversial agenda.
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