View source for Bhatiali

{{Short description|Bengali folk music}}
{{cleanup lang|date=September 2024}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Music of Bangladesh}}
{{Music of West Bengal}}
{{Culture of Bengal}}

'''Bhatiali''' is a type of ancient folk music which expresses the deep feeling from the heart of a group of local and professional people. It is based on their common and natural style of expression and uninfluenced by the rules of conventional music and contemporary songs.  Bhatiali song expresses not only loss, pain and memory but also the human understanding of nature.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chowdhury |first=Rumana |title=Bangladeshi Folk Songs: A 'Nation-Thing' |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/95645195/536-540-libre.pdf?1670872504=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DBangladeshi_Folk_Songs_A_Nation_Thing.pdf&Expires=1743364183&Signature=SdQ1ZofVQqHaLnghKaG9EC5zYI89xd8EUYWuEd~D4ZiedMxIAihc8IaHM1JmQWuh7kepBEGxwMDoWnJDfA~up8EfFN~a5M-1Rn4fpzDHCzVr3auFjbqY~EOPsuHw6jTo55~uzkAWdIqJD3bnacXT2gC~m6z~WO3qO60~Lb5K5LDm3S-dRZA-gn0X3HA-Ef2AsnAsaaDa~MJlKzJ3XHRZBg8FP3plar7vo86CWPeLIXQd4gYlRxgN521CkP43kU94aYgbEpXkLfLyVC1nokrUhZkkMrC2haGLVyuwm7g8eg3Stk~~HwEJTBZokLi4SED-dOu1hkCt4X0vMrUSCVfDrA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |journal=International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=536–540}}</ref> Bhatiyali songs are a genre of folk ballads originating from the riverine regions of Bengal, which have a strong ecological connection.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mukherjee |first=Sreya |title=Harmony of Riverine Rhythms: A Study of Traditional Ecological Episteme in the Melodic Memoryscape of the Folk Ballads of Bengal |url=https://perspectives-jdmc.in/wp-content/uploads/pdf/issue4/Article-4-Harmony-of-Riverine-Rhythms.pdf |journal=Perspectives |volume=4}}</ref>

Bhatiali or ''bhatiyali'' ({{langx|bn|ভাটিয়ালি}}) is a form of bengali [[folk music]], sung in both [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]], India. The word 'Bhatiali' came from the bengali word "Bhata", which means the low tide of any river or ocean.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Matin |first=Abdul |title=Culture and Tradition of Bhatiyali of Bengal: Sekal and Ekal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371439852 |journal=An International Multilingual Journal for Arts and Humanities |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=90}}</ref> The Bhatiali songs are basically sung by the boatmen who are known as "Majhi" or "Mallahs" while going down streams of the river.<ref name=":0" />

It is mostly sung in several parts of greater riparian [[Bengal]] delta. Researchers{{Who|date=June 2017}} have claimed [[Mymensingh District]] along the [[Brahmaputra River]] or the ''Bhati'' (lower region of a river) area of [[Bangladesh]] as its place of origin. Bhatiali lyrics traditionally consist of metaphorical and emotional verses and stories about the general village people who make their livelihood by depending on rivers or wetlands ([[Haor]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kumara |first=Chandana ruwan |title=Influence of Bhatiyali folk songs of Bengal on North Indian Classical Music (Raga system) |url=https://www.academia.edu/18549134| journal=Academia.edu}}</ref> Among the 14 subjects of folk music in Bangladesh and West Bengal, that includes ''Deha-tatva'' (about the body)  and ''Murshid-tatva'' (about the guru), Bhatiali deals with ''Prakriti-tatva'' (about nature).

Notable collectors, composers and writers in the genre are Miraz Ali, Ukil Munshi, Rashid Uddin. Jalal Khan, Jang Bahadur, [[Shah Abdul Karim]]  and Umed Ali. Between the 1930s and 1950s, Bhatiali has seen its golden age, when most of these personalities were contributing to the genre. Singer [[Abbas Uddin]] made the genre popular singing "Amay bhashaili re, amay dubaili re" and other popular numbers. In the 2000s, [[Malay Ganguly]] and [[Bari Siddiqui]] were two most prominent Bhatiali singers.

In the contemporary subcontinental music scene, Saurav Moni<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-02 |title=Saurav Moni |url=https://sauravmoni.wordpress.com/about/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Saurav MONI |language=en}}</ref> is also eminently known as an international Bhatiali performer from India. He hails from Hingalganj, the southernmost part of West Bengal. He unearthed a distinct style of Bhatiali from Southern Bengal and added it to the mainstream Bhatiali, which could draw attention and expand the horizon of its exposure. Recently, Moni left the audience spellbound on the set of MTV Coke Studio (Season 1, 2011) singing a rare Bhatiali “Shara Raatro Nouka Baiya”<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-CKZCqH6IQ |title=O Majhi Re,Shaan & Saurav Moni,Coke Studio @ MTV,S01,E01 |date=2011-07-04 |last=Coke Studio India |access-date=2024-09-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y40EXn4wOE8 |title=Saurav Moni,Haiyo Re Haiyo,Coke Studio @ MTV,S01,E08 |date=2011-08-05 |last=Coke Studio India |access-date=2024-09-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> along with the Bollywood singer, Shaan who sang “O Majhi re”. Saurav Moni performs on both national and international stages. He has presented Bhatiali in various festivals like Celtic Connections,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goyal |first=Samarth |date=Jan 31, 2014 |title=Celtic Connections: a global stage for indian musicians |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/celtic-connections-a-global-stage-for-indian-musicians/story-emBkVk0iPF9Lr5SOXZMjxN.html |access-date=2024-09-03 |work=Hindustan Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-10-23 |title=Event: United Symphony |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/event-united-symphony/cid/1623309 |access-date=3 September 2024 |work=The Telegraph Online}}</ref> Scotland Alchemy Festival, London Lok Sangeet Samoan, Delhi Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Jaypur Literature Festival,<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OpGmoeBaPE |title=#JLF 2012: Coke Studio@MTV- Saurav Mandal |date=2012-11-27 |last=Jaipur Literature Festival |access-date=2024-09-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> United Kingdom,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-21 |title=Sunday events 2014 – Spring 2015 |url=https://tagorecentre.org.uk/events/sunday-events-2014spring2015/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=The Tagore Centre UK |language=en}}</ref> France, and Australia<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLGL3HJyOLY |title={{!}}Saurav Moni{{!}} Live at Melbourne on 30th March 2019 |date=2020-01-09 |last=Jaga Peddi |access-date=2024-09-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> etc. He is also known as a collector of rare folk songs, vocal archivist and researcher of unexplored folk genres of Bengal.

==See also==
* [[Baul]]
* [[Bhati (region)|Bhati region]]
* [[Folk Music Festivals in Bangladesh]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Culture of West Bengal}}

[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:21st-century music genres]]
[[Category:Music of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bengali music]]
[[Category:Music of Bengal]]
[[Category:Indian styles of music]]