Meera Bhajan - Ranga Daroongi

Daroongi ..Rang Daroongi

Naach naach, Giridhari

Sakhi Gauri ayi Manhaari

Naach Naach mai kholungi prem bhari pichkaari

Mor Mukhut pr kesar daroon

Mann Kum kum hari ang pawaroon

Mor Mukhut par kesar daroon

Mann Kum kum hari ang pawaroon

Prem Nayan se roop dekh mai

jaungi balhari

Mai toh saanvare rang raji

Saaj shringaar bandhi pag ghungroo

bandhi pag ghungroo .. pag ghungroo

Saaj shringaar bandhi pag ghungroo

Log-laaj dar naji

Gulaal daroon Chandra badan par

Dhanya hook mai charanan chhookar

Meera kahe prabhu

Meera…

Meera kahe prabhu reet na kar

Rang di Jo mori daari

Ranga Daroongi

Raga : Hindol Tala: Adi

Composer: Meera Bai

Translation:

I will douse you with colors

Dance, Lifter of Govardhan Hill (Krishna)

Your beautiful girlfriends have come, Enchanting one

While I am dancing, I will douse you with love from my pitchkari (water gun)

I will douse, oh one with the peacock crown, with saffron color

I will adorn him with green kumkum powder

And with the look of loving eyes

I will go to him as a devotee

I am adorned to please the dark skinned one

Make up, jewelry and I have tied ghungroo

I don’t care what people say

I will put pink on his body like the moon

And to get his blessing I will touch his feet

Meera will say “Lord, don’t do rituals or use any colors that are dirty”

This song is a Bhajan (literally 'sharing') which is an Indian devotional song form traditionally associated with the Bhakti movement of Hinduism. Meera Bai, who composed this song was a 16th century Rajasthani princess who was so fully devoted to Krishna that she treated him like her was her husband.

In this dance, Kalyani portrays Meera, who is initially sad that Krishna is spending all his time with the other devotees and not her. Since it is the Hindu festival of Holi, the festival of colors, Meera decides to douse Krishna with colored water, powder, and paste, as is playfully and mischievously done during this festival.

Although this dance is a Bharatanatyam dance, it contains many features of the North Indian dance form called Kathak. These details include the costuming and song choice along with dance elements such as spinning, hand gestures and the dance emanating from a standing pose instead of a sitting pose.

Holi is considered as one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of India and it is celebrated in almost every part of the country. It is also sometimes called as the “festival of love” as on this day people get to unite together forgetting all resentments and all types of bad feeling towards each other. The great Indian festival lasts for a day and a night, which starts in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Falgun. It is celebrated with the name Holika Dahan or Choti Holi on first evening of the festival and the following day is called Holi. In different parts of the country it is known with different names.

The vibrancy of colors is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colours is actually a day worth rejoicing. Holi is a famous Hindu festival that is celebrated in every part of India with utmost joy and enthusiasm. The ritual starts by lighting up the bonfire one day before the day of Holi and this process symbolizes the triumph of good over the bad. On the day of Holi people play with colours with their friends and families and in evening they show love and respect to their close ones.

Holi

Meera Bai

The great devotee of Krishna, Meera Bai (1498 - 1547) was born in the royal Rajput family of Rajasthan to Raja Rattan Singh and Veer Kumari. At the age of four, she witnessed a wedding and asked her mother that who’ll be her groom? To this, her mother pointed to the idol of Krishna and said that he will be her groom.

From that moment onwards, Meera was lost in the love of Krishna. As she was growing up, she believed that Krishna was going to marry her. The beautiful girl with a calm nature had a soothing voice and anyone could get lost in her singing.

As she grew up, she was married to the son of Maharana Sanga of Mewar, Rana Sanga. Meera did not want to marry as she considered Krishna to already be her husband, but she married on her family’s insistence. Even after she was married, her love for Krishna didn’t diminish and she also took her Krishna idol with her to her husband’s house.

Meera started visiting Krishna’s temple daily after finishing all her daily chores. She used to worship Krishna and sing bhajans in her melodious voice. Seeing this, her mother-in-law got worried and asked her to worship Kali Mata instead. Meera refused to do so and told them that she has already dedicated her life to Krishna. After this, Meera’s in-laws weren’t happy and her sister-in-law Udbai told Rana that she wasn’t loyal to her husband. This made him very angry and he went after Meera, expecting to find her with a lover. However, Rana only found Meera talking alone to the idol of Krishna. Rana shouted at Meera to bring out her lover. At this, she pointed at the idol of Shri Krishna and said that he is the owner of her heart. Upon hearing this, Rana thought it was funny and supported Meera in her bhajan singing until his sudden demise.

Neither Meera’s in-laws nor the new king of Chittorgarh weren’t happy with her devotion or her association with other people. They sent a basket of garlands with a snake inside to kill her but as soon as she opened the basket, she found a garland that she placed on her idol of Krishna.

Several other attempts were made to kill Meera but Krishna always saved her. At one point of time, she was given poison in the form of Prasad telling her this was Krishna’s Prasad. Although, she knew it was poison but she still consumed it and the poison was turned into Amrit by Krishna.

After this, Meera wrote a letter to the poet Tulsidas asking his opinion. He replied that she should leave all those who cannot understand. Only love for God is real and all other relationships don’t matter. After getting this letter, Meera left for Dwarka to worship Krishna for the rest of her life and sing bhajans for him.

After a few years, she was asked by her family to return as Chittorgarh was getting destroyed without her melodious voice. Upon this, she said that she has to ask permission from her husband. They waited for a few hours but she didn’t return. Upon this, everyone went to check on Meera but she wasn’t found and just the idol of Shri Krishna was kept wrapped in Meera’s sari. It is believed that Meera’s soul got immersed in Shri Krishna’s idol forever.