Malwa - Culture

Culture

The culture of Malwa has been significantly influenced by Gujarati and Rajasthani culture, because of their geographic proximity. Marathi influence is also visible, because of recent rule by the Marathas.

The main language of Malwa is Malvi, although Hindi is widely spoken in the cities. This Indo-European language is subclassified as Indo-Aryan. The language is sometimes referred to as Malavi or Ujjaini. Malvi is part of the Rajasthani branch of languages; Nimadi is spoken in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh and in Rajasthan. The dialects of Malvi are, in alphabetical order, Bachadi, Bhoyari, Dholewari, Hoshangabadi, Jamral, Katiyai, Malvi Proper, Patvi, Rangari, Rangri and Sondwari. A survey in 2001 found only four dialects: Ujjaini (in the districts of Ujjain, Indore, Dewas and Sehore), Rajawari (Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch), Umadwari (Rajgarh) and Sondhwari (Jhalawar, in Rajasthan). About 55% of the population of Malwa can converse in and about 40% of the population is literate in Hindi, the official language of the Madhya Pradesh state.

Traditional Malwa food has elements of Rajasthani, Gujarati and Maharashtrian cuisine. Traditionally, jowar was the staple cereal, but after the Green Revolution in India, wheat has replaced jowar as the most important food crop; many are vegetarians. Since the climate is mostly dry throughout the year, most people rely on stored foods such as pulses, and green vegetables are rare. A typical snack of Malwa is the bhutta ri kees (made with grated corn roasted in ghee and later cooked in milk with spices). Chakki ri shaak is made of wheat dough, which is washed under running water, steamed and then used in a gravy of curd. The traditional bread of Malwa is called baati/bafla, which is essentially a small, round ball of wheat flour, roasted over dung cakes, in the traditional way. Baati is typically eaten with dal (pulses), while baflas are dripping with ghee and soaked with dal. The amli ri kadhi is kadhi made with tamarind instead of yogurt. Sweet cakes, made of a variety of wheat called tapu, are prepared during religious festivities. Sweet cereal called thulli is also typically eaten with milk or yoghurt. Traditional desserts include mawa-bati (milk-based sweet similar to Gulab jamun), khoprapak (coconut-based sweet), shreekhand (yogurt based) and malpua.

Lavani is a widely practised form of folk music in southern Malwa, which was brought to the region by the Marathas. The Nirguni Lavani (philosophical) and the Shringari Lavani (erotic) are the two of the main genres. The Bhils have their own folk songs, which are always accompanied by dance. The folk musical modes of Malwa are of four or five notes, and in rare cases six. The devotional music of the Nirguni cult is popular throughout Malwa. Legends of Raja Bhoj and Bijori, the Kanjar girl, and the tale of Balabau are popular themes for folk songs. Insertions known as stobha are commonly used in Malwa music; this can occur in four ways: the matra stobha (syllable insertion), varna stobha (letter insertion), shabda stobha (word insertion) and vakya stobha (sentence insertion).

Malwa was the centre of sanskrit literature during and after the Gupta period. The region's most famous playwright, Kalidasa, is considered to be the greatest Indian writer ever. His first surviving play is Malavikagnimitra (Malavika and Agnimitra). Kalidasa's second play, his masterpiece, is the Abhijñānaśākuntalam, which tells the story of king Dushyanta, who falls in love with a girl of lowly birth, the lovely Shakuntala. The last of Kalidasa's surviving plays is Vikramuurvashiiya ("Urvashi conquered by valour"). Kalidasa also wrote the epic poems Raghuvamsha ("Dynasty of Raghu"), Ritusamhāra and Kumarasambhava ("Birth of the war god"), as well as the lyric Meghaduuta ("The cloud messenger").

Swang is a popular dance form in Malwa; its roots go back to the origins of the Indian theatre tradition in the first millennium BC. Since women did not participate in the dance-drama form, men enacted their roles. Swang incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry, accompanied alternately by song and dialogue. The genre is dialogue-oriented rather than movement-oriented.

Mandana (literally painting) wall and floor paintings are the best-known painting traditions of Malwa. White drawings stand out in contrast to the base material consisting of a mixture of red clay and cow dung. Peacocks, cats, lions, goojari, bawari, the swastika and chowk are some motifs of this style. Sanjhya is a ritual wall painting done by young girls during the annual period when Hindus remember and offer ritual oblation to their ancestors. Malwa miniature paintings are well known for their intricate brushwork. In the 17th century, an offshoot of the Rajasthani school of miniature painting, known as Malwa painting, was centred largely in Malwa and Bundelkhand. The school preserved the style of the earliest examples, such as the Rasikapriya series dated 1636 (after a poem analysing the love sentiment) and the Amaru Sataka (a 17th-century Sanskrit poem). The paintings from this school are flat compositions on black and chocolate-brown backgrounds, with figures shown against a solid colour patch, and architecture painted in vibrant colours.

The biggest festival of Malwa is the Simhastha mela, held every 12 years, in which more than 40 million pilgrims take a holy dip in river Shipra. The festival of Gana-gour is celebrated in honour of Shiva and Parvati. The history of the festival goes back to Rano Bai, whose parental home was in Malwa, but who was married in Rajasthan. Rano Bai was strongly attached to Malwa, and did not want to stay in Rajasthan. After marriage, she was allowed to visit Malwa only once a year; Gana-gour symbolises these annual return visits. The festival is observed by women in the region once in the month of Chaitra (mid-March) and Bhadra (mid-August). The Ghadlya (earthen pot) festival is celebrated by the girls of the region, who gather to visit every house in their village in the evenings, carrying earthen pots with holes for the light from oil lamps inside to escape. In front of every house, the girls recite songs connected with the Ghadlya and receive food or money in return. The Gordhan festival is celebrated on the 16th day in the month of Kartika. The Bhils of the region sing Heeda, anecdotal songs to the cattle, while the women sing the Chandrawali song, associated with Krishna's romance.

The most popular fairs are held in the months of Phalguna, Chaitra, Bhadra, Ashvin and Kartik. The Chaitra fair, held at Biaora, and the Gal yatras, held at more than two dozen villages in Malwa are remarkable. Many fairs are held in the tenth day of the month of Bhadra to mark the birth of Tejaji. The Triveni mela is held at Ratlam, and other fairs take place in Kartika at Ujjain, Mandhata (Nimad), Nayagaon, among others.