एही ठैंया झुलनी हेरानी हो रामा EHI THAIYAN JHULNI HAIRANI HO RAMA

While going through a Hindi Text book prescribed in Class 10 of CBSE board, I found an interesting story written by Shri Shivprasad Mishra nicknamed Rudra. This story was taken from his creation on Ganga. The story titled in the class 10th book as EHI THAIYAN JHULNI HAIRANI HO RAMA

 searching on google  i found one link of a song. In this song the word JHULNI is replaced by MOTIA. Jhulni is the nose ring or ear ring or forehead ornament ("benda" or matha tika) in the common dialect. In this video of film song Respected Hema Malini ji performed the dance, but with totally different bhaav (mood /emotion) from that story. In the story emotion was of PAIN in the heart of Singer, who secretly in her heart felt kindness towards the boy-TUNNU, who had been killed during riot and it was said that British Police/force killed him including all those who raised voice against the atrocities of the British rulers. 

The objective of that time was to discard anything of foreign origin even cloths etc, everything even the ruler?

This lad -TUNNU was also in the procession. He loved the lady singer Dulari Bai and had gifted her a KHADI Saree. This lady singer scolded the boy since being a young boy & belonging to a noble family( !!) he should become a good boy/Man and do not run after a "singer" Nautch girl- that will bring ill fame on him and his family.
See how great was that lady. She threw his gift(saree). Tears rolled out in eyes of that young lad Tunnu, great hurt he felt,. Tears dropped on saree. The boy went away in pain. She immediately picked up that gift, took it into her room, closed the doors and started weeping. She kept on kissing the saree (and those tears), It was a gift that No one else had brought for her.
All gifts brought to her earlier had ulterior motives, She never wanted those gifts. Deep in her heart she felt that this gift of Khadi Saree is the most precious she ever got? It was due to pure love for her that Tunnu brought this gift.
She had been continuously scolding and insulting this boy but this boy always takes out time to come at her door just to see her and tried to talk to her. He could never talked to her in a frank manner.

एही ठैंया झुलनी हेरानी हो रामा की नायिका बनारसी गौनहारिन दुलारी बाई बटलोही में चुरती हुई दाल को क्रोध में ठोकर मारकर गिरा देती है। उसकी ऐसी तल्खी, तेवर और साफगोई से प्रभावित होकर सोलह वर्षीय टुन्नू उससे प्रेम करने लगता है।  दुलारी को यह प्रेम अनैतिक लगता है क्योंकि दुलारी और टुन्नू के बीच उम्र का बहुत बडा फासला है, जिसे नैतिक और सामाजिक स्वीकृति नहीं मिल सकती है। उसी टुन्नू की भेंट की हुई खद्दर की साडी से सरेआम दुलारी फांसी लगाकर मर जाती है। इस प्रेम में ढेर सारे विमर्श हैं, सवाल हैं, जो आधुनिक साहित्य में अब जाकर आए हैं। बहती गंगा है।

She was invited (dragged and pressurised by police goons) to perform in mehfil by those very police who knew that her  lover boy has been killed. She had no option and thus performed.
She sang this song एही ठैंया झुलनी हेरानी हो रामा.. indicating that she lost her honour or pride at this very place? what she can do?
and those very people, in front of whom she is singing are responsible for murder of her true LOVE.  How cruel those people were. 

What hurt me is the attitude towards a singer, dancer. Often we sing in praise of our rich cultural Heritage? but bitter truth is that still in New India (as a society) we don't give dignity or respect to those singer//dancer ladies as an individual, who by some compulsion had to choose this profession. 

I dont know? but it is said that this story was written inspired by the famous Singer Rassolan Bai, who is hailed as one of the top most singer from Banares, Varanasi. She was a great artist of Hindustani Classical music. She sang on All India Radio. It is also said that she died in very bad financial condition.
She had discarded Kotha(system), immediately during the independence she came out and started performing in open public functions. Earlier most of the tawaif were singing inside the Kotha or in invited closed mehfills of few rich patrons or in the courts of Raja Nawabs etc. I dont know how far it is true. But whatever happened, i have great respect for her. If you listen to her songs now available in youtube etc one can know how great singer she was.
Rasoolan and Batoolan were sisters, Ustad Bismillah Khan the Shehnai master had also said in some talks that as a child he was very much attarcted towards Hindustani Singing while listening to these sisters, he used to go for Riyaz(practice) through a lane in which these sister lived in Banares.

this song Thumri sung by Vidushi Girja Devi ji

 

same song Yehi thaiyan  sung by great Thumri Singer of Poorvi Ang Smt Rasoolan Bai ji