Q1.
In India, we have many songs associated with seasons. Do you know any? Find out some songs.
Answer
Yes — almost every part of India has songs for the seasons, especially for the rains and for spring. Ask your grandmother, your music teacher and your neighbours, and write down at least three.
How to find them:
- Ask the oldest person at home to sing one they learnt as a child.
- Ask your music teacher which season songs are sung at your school functions.
- Listen at festival time — the songs sung at Teej, Holi and Bihu are all season songs.
- Write down the first two lines, the name of the season it belongs to, and who taught it to you.
| Season | Kind of song | Examples from different parts of India |
|---|---|---|
| Varsha (Monsoon) | Rain and swing songs, sung by women on swings hung from trees | Kajri and Jhula songs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; Malhar, the raga sung for the rains; Teej songs of Rajasthan; Barsaat songs in Punjabi |
| Vasanta (Spring) | Songs of flowers, colours and new beginnings | Hori and Phaag songs of Holi in the Braj region; Basant songs sung at Vasant Panchami; Rabindranath Tagore's spring songs in Bengal |
| Sharad / harvest | Songs of thanksgiving after the crop is cut | Bihu songs of Assam; Bhangra and Giddha songs of Punjab at Baisakhi; harvest songs sung at Pongal and Onam |
| Shishir (Winter) | Bonfire and festival songs | Lohri songs of Punjab, such as the well-known song about Dulla Bhatti, sung round the fire |
Why seasons became songs: Before there were newspapers and weather reports, songs were how people remembered when to sow, when to reap and when to celebrate. Singing about the first rain is a way of watching the sky together. That is why almost all these songs also mention a crop, a tree or a bird.
Do this in class: Ask each student to bring one song. Sing them in season order — spring, summer, rains, autumn, winter — and you will have sung your way right round the year.