Warrior of words

These are the opening lines of the very first Powada,a genre of Marathi poetry,that is available in the printed form. In the 17th century,it was recited by Shahir Adnyan Das in front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Powada,’Afzalkhanacha Vadh’,relates the heroic story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s slaying of Afzal Khan. Das had written the Powada on the request of Rajamata Jijabai,mother of Shivaji Maharaj,who was so delighted to hear the recitation that he gifted Das a bracelet made of one kilogram of gold,and a horse. That’s how the culture of Powada came into being,and people who composed and sang this form of poetry came to be called ‘Shahirs’.

Even though centuries have passed,city-based Shahir Mawade is trying to keep the historic art of Powada alive by imparting training to people of varied age groups. It has been more than three decades since he began pursuing this art form. For the past 14 summers,he has been conducting a one-and-a-half month long free workshop on Powada. It is held thrice a week for an hour each. The age group of the students varies from four years to 70. “When I took the first workshop,I had just 10 students. With time,the number kept increasing. This year,I have 60 students,” says Mawade,who learnt the art from his guru,Shahir Hinge. Mawade is an insurance agent by profession,and is also into event management.

Around twenty years back,he started an organisation called Shahir Hinge Lokkala Prabodhini. As time passed,he was joined by others in his initiative. Now the team includes Shahir Ganeshdada Tokekar,as well as his wife Sangeeta Mawade and daughter Rupali Mawade. Interestingly,in his current batch of students,more than 50 per cent are women.

Mawade has also been bringing in some changes in the topics of his Powadas,to make them more relevant with the times. Some of the Powadas written by him are based on issues like dowry,female foeticide,education,corruption,alcoholism and more social issues. In 1999,he had written a Powada on the Kargil War. It described the bravery of Indian soldiers. Interestingly,in his current batch,more than 50 percent of the students are women. Very recently,he wrote a Powada that depicts the city of Pune and its rich culture. ‘Sanskruti gyaan vigyaanana,zhala sampan,asa he puna,vidyache zhale maherghar,purvicha pensionarancha shahar..’ are some of the lines from the Powada.

According to Mawade,Shahirs and Powada played a huge role 50 years years back when the state of Maharashtra was formed. “Various Shahirs like Amar Sheikh,Annabhau Sathe,Jangam Swami,Atmaram Patil and Hinge had come forward and raised awareness about the importance of the state amongst people,through Powada,” he says.

The folk artiste asserts that it is not easy to learn this art form. “The one who learns it,gains tremendous confidence and voice clarity,” he states. Mawade has also given commercial performances at various events in different cities like Delhi,Bhopal,Bengaluru and Hyderabad. So how does he perceive the future of Powada? “Till the time we have questions and problems in the society,the art and the artistes associated with it will survive,” he says.