The Khorta Songwriter from Bhendra
Suresh Kumar Vishwakarma popularly known as Sukumar was born in Bhendra village, Nawadih block, Bokaro, Jharkhand. Bhendra village has been listed as a village of heritage importance for the ancient wisdom on handicrafts resident in the blacksmith community who make up most of the village. The community in Bhendra has been producing iron tools and implements for agriculture, tongs and iron vessels along with other home implements for several generations. In an area where it is difficult to find artists and songwriters who are actively writing on the past and present, meeting Sukumar is a refreshing experience especially in terms of his talent for writing songs in Khorta. When asked how he managed to develop this creative skill, Sukumar replies that it was a small library in his village which incubated these creative instincts during his childhood years.
Sukumar began to work on reviving, researching and collecting information on the Khorta language in 1982. Khorta, is considered to be a language with its roots in Sindhi Ghati Sabhyata (Indus Valley Civilisation). Though there is a debate among some scholars on its origins, Khorta language activists continue to hold that the language belongs to pre Aryan times and is older than Sanskrit, with some scripts matching those found in Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Khorta was also the lingua franca for adivasis and has several Munda and Santhal words in it. The language has increasingly been mixed with influences of other languages from outside, and many say that the old Khorta is almost illegible even to those who use Khorta on a daily basis.
Damodar Koraiye(Damodar Ka God Mein) which literally means ‘in the lap of Damodar’ written by Shivnath Parmanik is an epic poem or ‘kavya’ that discusses the culture and lifestyle of all those living along the banks of the river Damodar.
Sukumar said that one fine day, he felt a sudden jerk of consciousness, almost like an ‘explosion’ inside him, when he realized that his culture and language is older than that of Sanskrit, and that it contains within it such diversity in expression and meaning, which will be lost if it was not cherished. Thus Sukumar decided to begin to write songs in Khorta which for him was the best way to take the message and the language to people.
Click on link below to listen to a song written and performed by Sukumar
Song by Sukumar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usS8lOeTcr0