Abiding by the abhangas

It’s not surprising that abhangas or devotional poetry is not popular in the music circuit today. These poems were originally written in Marathi by saints such as Tukaram, Eknath, Dnyaneshwar, Tukdoji and others and might be slowly losing its relevance in today’s technology backed, ever evolving music scene.

Mumbai-based band Abhanga Repost is keen on reviving this form of poetry by giving it a contemporary twist. They are working on the concept of fusing devotional poems with modern music. Formed by Dushyant Deorukhkar (drummer) and Swapnil Tarphe (bassist) in 2015, they were later joined by Viraj Acharya (Percussionist), Ajay Vavhal (Guitarist) and Piyush Acharya (Harmonium) in the subsequent years.

“We used to perform folk songs in the former days and we sensed our liking towards folk music and that is when we decided to choose Abhangas to represent our style of folk fusion music,” says Swapnil, whose grandmother sparked the idea of singing Abhangas in his head. “Being a follower of the Varkari community my grandmother listened to the Abhangas and from there the idea of performing Abhangas arose,” he added.

Piyush has fond memories of their first song recorded at the studio. Recollecting his experience from two years ago, Piyush says, “The first song we recorded was Deh Devache Mandir, an Abhanga written by St.Tukaram. The experience was truly amazing because it was our first studio session. We all were very nervous at the beginning, but later everything went smoothly and we recorded a beautiful track,” he reminisces.

For a new band, getting their first gig is a big deal. Abhanga Repost’s stage journey started with Girgaon’s gudhi-padwa shobhayatra in 2016. “We remember spending money from our own pockets and managing our own sound and technical rider as we were offered a stage to perform by  Nandakishor Tarphe and we ought to thank him for this opportunity,” says Ajay.

For an upcoming band, making songs in regional languages is always an uphill battle. Recalling the initial days Dushyant says, “As an independent music artist, we initially faced a lot of challenges in presenting our musical genre. People were so obsessed with filmy music that they would ask us to perform some film songs during our shows.”

After performing at events like Kala Ghoda Art Festival and Radio City Freedom Awards Pre Gig Series, they are excited to find a bigger stage to showcase their work. “Currently, we are working on a song called Bhoot Jabar which is Bharud. Bharud is a folk form introduce by Sant Eknath in which he used to educate people. Hence we have tried to put up some current social issues, not to educate anyone but to highlight the issues,” says Viraj. They have shows lined up for the upcoming Ashadhi Ekadashi and Ganesh Festival and are also planning to perform abroad in future. “We don't know how we will plan it, but we will make it happen,” laughs Swapnil.