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- Kabigaan
- Kabigaan are songs written and composed by Kobials (folk poets). The instinctive folk poets sing or recite their compositions in front of appeciative
audiences. Humerous and witty Kabigaans are often sprinkled with metaphorical ornamentations and riddles - drawn from materials,
events and titbits of life. Kabials create popular verses in front of their eager and attentive audience. Not only do they build their lyrical
masterpieces on the spot confronting their rivals, they compose musical scores for them on the fly as they recite their verses. They attack thier
opponents with apparently unanswerable questions and riddles; the opponents solve the puzzles with equal mastery and leave behind a
counter question. This process continues until one side concedes to the other for that session. To generations of villagers kabigaan had been
an immense source of entertainment, pleasure and wisdom. Such was the depth of wit, emotion, romanticism and wisdom in their
creation and such was their melodious rendition that they would leave an indelible mark on the audience. The audience would continue to
recite those pieces for a long time to come. These verses, which often included references to great characters from the Indian epics
Mahabharat and Ramayan, would serve as becons for thousands. The instructive power of some of these creations
would later provide many with simple how-to guides to fulfilling life and salvation after death. Many kabials of past centuries had left their
legendary mark on the Bengali heritage - some of their memorable riddles still do and will continue to fascinate vast majority of village folks.
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