Healing Forest Films

Finding Bah Kerios Wahlang

Some of the greatest treasures of our world are safely tucked away in distant corners of less traveled regions. But once in a while, you stumble upon an invaluable experience. Here is an account of one such treasure.
Folk Music Meghalaya
On The Road
I am escaping Shillong. There is a 48 hour strike by some political groups that want outsiders to obtain special inner line permits before coming in to Meghalaya. Incidentally Shajal, the driver of my taxi, is also an outsider. He is driving in nervous bursts like a mouse in a grocery store. We are traveling to the sacred forest of Mawphlang in the hope that outer areas will be less politically charged. On the way I am also hoping to meet a special person.

I land up in a small town called Mawngap. It bears a deserted look because of the strike.  We ask a car mechanic by the road for Mr. Wahlang, the musician. It turns out there are many musically inclined Wahlangs in the village.
Folk music -2The Search
For the past 30 days I have been traveling across many less known areas of the North East. Through forest reserves with beautiful villages surrounded by bamboo and betel nut trees, amidst green hills and meandering streams, I am searching for some exceptional folk music. On my journey I have met amazing singers and musicians and come across folk instruments of varying shapes, sizes and sounds. But there is something within that doesn’t click. There is a lock in my heart and the keys just don’t fit.

 While I am in Shillong, I hear about an old folk singer who composes his own songs and has an amazing voice. His name is Kerios Wahlang. But like all good things in life, many people know of him but not how to get to him.
Folk Music Meghalaya -4
Meeting Bah Kerios
It takes me days to find out his contact number. I finally manage to land up at his small house perched atop thick wooden pillars. Bah Kerios has just returned from seeing the doctor. He is running a slight fever. He knows very little Hindi and I don’t know any Khasi. I show him some of my earlier films and he understands. He asks his grandson to bring his Duitara, a traditional guitar carved out of wood.

 Tuning the strings with his experienced hands, Bah Kerios begins to sing. In his voice is a magic that transports one into a dense green forest full of old trees. A forest that is alive and singing in a deep voice. Later, Bah Kerios shows me a photograph of him singing besides a row of huge stone obelisks with a thick forest behind. It is the sacred forest of Mawphlang.
folk music 3The Sacred Forest
Leaving Bah Kerios Wahlang to get better, I head onwards to the village of Mawphlang. A village known for it’s monoliths and it’s sacred grove. Large vertical rocks are scattered all around the village. Mysterious stones arranged in circles. Stones shaped as benches or simply standing out of the ground like a giant’s finger pointing at the sky.

And at the edge of the village is a sacred grove. There are monoliths and stone structures spread inside the forest as well. The stones inside are covered in a layer of wet, green moss. The air is delightfully pleasant and filled with birdsong. Being inside the forest gives one a strange sense of calm. The music of Bah Kerios belongs to this forest and originates from it. He has been giving a voice to these songs of the forest for many years, but not many people outside of Meghalaya have heard his music.
Bah Kerios WahlangFarewell to Bah Kerios
Two days later, the strike has ended. I am headed back home, but on an impulse I decide to check in on Bah Kerios and take his picture. I find him smoking a pipe outside his house, soaking in the crisp winter sun. His army of little grandchildren are chasing the rooster and the hens in their backyard.

We sip some black tea and Bah Kerios brings out an old scratched CD. It contains one of the few recordings of his songs. The life’s work of a great folk master, preserved in a fragile disc. Bah Kerios holds the precious CD in his hand and says, “I wonder whether people will remember my music when I am gone.” I think to myself, I hope they will, Bah Kerios. I hope they will.

Healing Forest Films

Folk Secrets Music Project

Folk Secrets Music Project rediscovers amazing folk bands from magical places. We explore far corners of the world to find out wonderfully talented musicians and bring their music to a larger audience. Here’s our first music video for Vayali Bamboo Band from Kerala, India.

Vayali Bamboo Band with all instruments made of bamboo comes from a small village called Arangottukara in Kerala. Surrounded by small verdant hills and lush green paddy fields with flocks of white egrets the village transports you to another world. And echoes of the bamboo music resonate with the beauty of this place. Hear the wonderful composition by the Vayali Bamboo Band and let their music take you on a magical trip.

Vayali is a registered non-profit. It consists of a group of young people, engaged in preserving their folk roots. Please share their music far and wide and if possible invite the band for shows and performances. Know more about them by visiting their web-site: www.vayali.org

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The frogs are croaking and filling in the silence of the night. The rain has just stopped, but one can still hear the occasional drops falling on the ground from high trees. I am sitting with a small group of musicians in a village in central Kerala. One of them manages to hook up a weak halogen lamp from a broken electric socket. A yellow pool of light creates an island in the darkness.

The musicians begin to open black canvas bags. They take out long bamboo sticks. Thick bamboo stems. A black leather case with steel clips clicks open. It reveals an array of neatly packed bamboo flutes in varying shapes and sizes. Slowly the band sets up their bamboo instruments.

The first instrument is a thick bamboo stem with a series of notches cut into it. A stick runs over the notches and a curious sound emerges. It mimics the frogs croaking. The other members join in with their instruments. The percussionists pick up the rhythm with their bamboo drums. A large hollow bamboo section has been filled with seeds. It’s called the rain stick. The seeds fall from one end of the bamboo to the other and create the sound of falling rain. The flautists join in. Their eyes are closed and a tune, hauntingly beautiful manifests itself into the dark jungle that surrounds us.

Music. One of the 2 universal languages. A language that has the power to bridge cultures and bring people together. I have traveled to a small village named Arangottukara in Kerala. Someone had told me about the Vayali folklore group and their amazing bamboo band. So I have come to see whether we can create a small music video and take their music to a larger audience across the world. I do not speak their language, but we understand each other.

Most of the band members are daily wage earners. Carpenters, painters, odd jobs at construction etc. But those jobs are for the day. When the sun sets and night covers their village, they come back to their music. Back in their village, they are masters of the bamboo band and owners of a rich folk heritage.

The bamboo band’s performance extends far into the night. There are many songs, many tunes and many stories. We end with a round of smiles. Black tea is served. I sit in silence and listen to the night. The frogs are still croaking, but the bamboo band’s music continues to play in my head.

Folk Music Secret Project
Folk Secrets Music Project

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