Sixty-six year old
Bipin Barman of Cooch Behar is a Mokha Bnaashi player and one of the last of his tribe. The ‘Mokha Bnaashi’, a special type of flute, sometimes also referred to as the ‘Kupa Bnaashi’ is peculiar to North Bengal and to the Rajbongshi community in particular. While a large concentration of Mokha Bnaashi players were once to be found in Cooch Behar (more than the other North Bengal districts) it is an endangered folk art form today. There are not many Mokha Bnaashi players left.
Bipin was initially inspired by his father, Upen Bansiyal who was a well known mokha player and a flautist for jatra in the region. Observing his father craft the Mokha as a young lad, Bipin gradually learnt the technique. He continuously experimented until he had crafted the perfect piece and master the art of playing it. He was about 15 years old then.
The Mokha Bnaashi differs from the regular flute in that it has a wide mouthpiece, carved from a larger bamboo variety that fits into the top of the main body of the flute, which is crafted from a thinner bamboo with a wide hollow. To play the Mokha Bnaashi, the player presses his mouth to the hollow of the kupa and blows. The slimmer bamboo within is sealed on the top by the bamboo node, but has a hole burnt into it on the side. When the mokha player blows through the mouth piece, the air enters the inner bamboo through this hole.
The Mokha bnaashi is a difficult instrument to play as the player’s mouth should always be full of air which is blown continuously with pressure into the mouthpiece. He breathes into the Mokha and plays without interruption, and cannot remove his mouth from the hollow. The degree of difficulty is such that performances usually have a pair of Mokha bnaashi players performing - to support each other.
Mokha bnaashi is particularly associated with the songs of Bishohara or Padmapuran - a folk drama form that tells the stories of Bishohori or Manosha. The Mokha was also used for Shonarai songs, now extinct.
By the time he was 20, Bipin started a performing troupe and with them, roamed villages, as part of the Magon tradition of Shonarai, accompanying them on the mokha. His passion for the Mokha Bnaashi notwithstanding, it was not enough to sustain him. Thus, to support his family, he was a farmer by day and a performer at night. He also participated in local Bishohara programmes. Over time, he along with his troupe, participated in programmes organized by the State Government as well. He has also performed for All India Radio in Siliguri. Such programmes however were far from regular - perhaps thrice in a year, if he was lucky, and in some years, none at all. Most of the members of his team have died and his group is now defunct.
Mokha bnaashis are rarely sold and are made only when required. According to Bipin, making the mokha is not as much a time consuming task as finding the raw materials. Two types of bamboo or ‘bnaash’ are required for making the mokha, Baro bnaash and either the thinner Maakhla bnaash or Nal bnaash. Since they are always made in matching pairs, it may require the artisan to make many such flutes until he is able to identify two instruments that exactly match for scale. Thus sticks from several bamboo plants are collected and rejected before the identical pair is found.
The exact matching of scales is important because two Mokha players need to play in unison. They not only support each other, should one need to catch his breath, but the louder sound helps the quality of the general performance. The accuracy of the scales depends on a variety of factors - including the diameter of the hollow, the position and size of the sound holes including the one at the top of the inner flute.
Bipin continues to be invited to perform for Bishohara programmes in his individual capacity. However, the sound of the Mokha bnaashi, once essential to such a performance, is increasingly being replaced by the ubiquitous Casio synthesizer. Bipin complains that the synthesizer simply cannot reproduce the traditional sounds, and is unwilling to accompany performances where this is used. As a result, while he would earlier practise every evening, the demand for his mokha is dying out. He now plays for himself and the occasional programme.
Other than Bipin, there is only one other Mokha Bnaashi player in his village, also an elderly man. With increasing age, playing the instrument poses greater difficulties because of the immense breath control required. But the younger generation unfortunately is not keen to learn the art. Bipin feels that this may be due to the hard work required to master this type of flute. His son did not display interest in this art form, and Bipin never got an opportunity to train anybody in the younger generation.
Somewhere, a death knell tolls.
For more on Mokha Bnaashi, read here