Mark Turin, Claire Wheeler and Eleanor Wilkinson

“ During recording sessions at many places, the singers could not be motivated to sing without the installation of a sound system. They have become so accustomed to microphones that the pitch and volume at which they sing has considerably reduced. They feel uncomfortable singing without the microphones. Impractically, they especially like to listen to themselves during the performance by tilting one of the loudspeakers towards themselves. With the use of microphones and amplifiers, the singers do not have to exert themselves. The empathy between the singer and the instrumental players is lost. ”

“ Most of the performers are aged and the new generation is not interested in learning the tradition. The modern values of education do not support the belief in Tejaji. At the present time, no one who has been to school likes to tie a thread in the name of Tejaji if bitten by a snake. He or she will immediately rush to the hospital to get the anti-venom treatment. This is obviously a good development but it means that the old oral tradition is so under threat that my recording may be the last occasion on which the ballad is sung in its entirety. ”

“ When the group sings the Tejaji Ballad at a village shrine, it is sung in consecutive mode, and the story progresses in linear manner. On stage, multiple groups participate and the time duration is short, thus only a popular part of the ballad is sung. The audience is very diverse, and the aspect of entertainment is more important than belief. Thus the singers, dancers and electronic equipment and instruments dramatise the performance: the objective is shifting from honouring the deity to gathering accolades of the audience. ”

“ From shrine to stage Over the years, a shift in tradition has lead to stage performances. One reason for this is the popularity of religious Hindu bhajan [21] performances on stage. The Tejaji singers are evolving their style accordingly. They are moving out from the confines of the community to larger prominence, seeking audiences despite the challenge of influences from outside. This type of performance was not worth recording for the purposes of my project but it is a very important trend and will lead to the loss of genuine performances and opportunities to record in the future. ”

“ The performers do not think of themselves as individuals and do not like to be singled out by name. They see themselves as being interchangeable and as part of a performance. This was a challenge for recording, as I wanted the same musicians each time to maintain continuity for archiving purposes but they did not see this as important.
I was trying to record a full version of a twenty-hour Tejaji Ballad spread over several nights in as genuine a context as possible. Thikarda village is now the only village in which singers are able to perform the whole ballad. ”

“ The ballad symbolises reverence to the deity for life. Thus the performers, performance and the Bhopa are strictly related to the shrine of Tejaji and these cannot be separated. Traditionally, the singing of the Tejaji Ballad takes place at the village shrine with the singers and instrumental players sitting on the ground facing each other in a circle. In the majority of modern performances, two men sing the ballad accompanied by a few others. In one village, people remembered groups of up to fifty men facing each other. One initiates the basic lines of the ballad and the other repeats them. ”

“ An external person controls the blend and volume of the ballad by monitoring and adjusting the input signal levels whereas in the absence of any amplifying equipment, the singers and players have to listen to each other and adjust their volume accordingly. ”

“ One reason for the evolution of a stage style is the desire of the middle class development lobby to provide a platform for the dying rural traditions. Musicians are invited to urban or even international platforms and encouraged to devise a short programme that will fit into the constraints of a planned set-piece entertainment. ”

“ He possesses spirits of the deities and gives alms to villagers to aid with their problems.↑ A barred-shaped double-headed drum played with hands on both sides.↑ A double-flute producing a drone effect, played with fingers on both flutes simultaneously.↑ Brass cymbals played with two hands in continuous rhythm.↑ The region derives its name from Hada Rajputs who settled in the region in the twelfth century and dominated the area for several centuries thereafter. ”