The life of a legend

What sets Bahinabai apart is her style that narrated commonsense through simple four- five stanzas. Her poems reek of a vivid Maharashtrian picture and she gave folk poems a new meaning altogether. As she worked at home and in the field,she expressed herself through her poems. “It was an expression of both the small pleasures as well as the deep pain as she braved many challenges of her life. She lived for 71 years never posing as a poet. It’s just talking to the words- she would say. Her son,Sopandeo Chaudhari,transcribed her poems that she spoke in her everyday Khandeshi dialect.  Her poetry is about the man,mind and mankind.  She turned everyday things – like the hand grinder,traditional stove and bird nest – into vivid metaphors to explain the meaning of life,as she understood it,” says Pethe talking about the legendary folk poet.

“I was always intrigued by her poetry but then I decided to go right to the roots. All I have done is that I have captured her life as it is,through people she lived with,” says Pethe adding,“I used the medium of painting,along with audio visual,to explain her works. Both painting and poems are relatively abstract media. I wanted to create the allegory and metaphors in her poetry by these mediums.”

He admits that the experience of making this documentary has certainly aided his understanding of the poems in depth. “I had always liked her poems,but in these months of making the documentary,I came to understand it more. It’s like I had the knowledge,but I gained wisdom,” he details.

One of the very few attempts to document Bahinabai’s life,Pethe believes that although there are various concepts being employed,the platform is missing. “If more TV channels or more movie halls take interest in showing documentaries,more people will be exposed to it and that will create not just awareness but also a niche,” believes Pethe.