Tesu and Jhainji in Bundelkhand

A fellow-Ambahite sent a mail in Ambah group a couple of days back. The mail contained something very special, well to me and every person belonging to Ambah or Chambal. The mail had a few Tesu and Jhainji songs written in Devnagiri script. All original bundelkhandi/brij dialect ones. Those songs and much more is composed by Mr. Mushtaq Khan and is available at this URL. All the stuff is in Hindi/Bundelkhandi language/dialect.

A quick overview of Tesu and Jhianji: As the Deshahra/Vijay Dashmi finishes, Chambal starts to celebrate a very interesting ceremony. Almost every chambal family takes part in this ceremony but at individual level. At least one boy (5-15 years age) in the family buys a Tesu ( a three-leg statue, resembles a king/prince) and girl (of similar age group) buys a Jhainji (a pot made of mud, resembles a queen/princess). Now boys and girls roam in streets in groups, singing Tesu-Jhainji songs. They go to every door-step and ask for money (usually 25 paisa to 1 rupee). This goes on till Sharad Purnima (15 days prior to Diwali). On Sharad Purnima, the Tesu and Jhainji's marriage takes place. It's just like normal marriage. All major events take place in this marriage. Even a pandit is hired to perform the pooja. I had performed pooja in a few such marriages and could be able to get some 15-16 rupees ;~) Parents of the children too participate in this and enjoy the event. After marriage, Tesus and Jhainjis are broken by hitting hard on floor. Crackers, sweets, songs are all around to celebrate this mega-event.

Well, I should have described all this in past tense as nothing happens now. Chambal is modern now, unfortunately! Trust me, Sharad Purnima used to be a bigger festival than Diwali at my place. It's all over now. Thanks to technology for providing TV, CD players, mobile games...

Anyways, I don't know Mr. Mushtaq Khan but I sincerely thank him for making so much efforts for us. And yes, I am thankful to Deepak as well to bring up such a great thing.