Bengal’s rural housewives turn saxophone players

Two saree-clad women playing saxophones in a village is not something one gets to see often and that’s probably the reason that has catapulted sisters-in-law Priya and Chumki Badyakar to fame and success. These two housewives from Kanksa village in West Burdwan district are now an inspiration for many girls who strive to break free from the shackles of patriarchal society and come into their own. Priya and Chumki are not only creating music with their saxophones but are also contributing to their family funds. Their music has captivated the masses and as they proudly say, they have a huge fan following in social media. These two empowered ladies have made their families and village proud.

Unlike other rural women, the initial journey was comparatively smooth for both Priya and Chumki though they did have reservation and lived under constant fear of criticism by prying neighbours and villagers. Neither of them could study very far and they were both married off at a young age. After a few years in their in-laws’ house, they were bored and wanted to pursue new skills and do something. It was at this juncture that the idea of playing the saxophone materialized. 

Ladies playing the saxophone is a rarity in India but with a liberal father-in-law like Paban Badyakar to encourage them, it was sheer cakewalk for the two women. Inspired by them, their young niece too has taken to playing the saxophone. 

Priya and Sangeeta Badyakar have achieved success on their own terms and are now raring to conquer uncharted territories. They are confident as they have their mentors, their husbands and father-in-law, who encourage them to pursue their dreams. They are lucky indeed and they have attained their goal by sheer grit and determination. Musical troupes are generally a male dominated arena but these two ladies have broken the glass ceiling and their story has found reverberance far and wide. It’s not every day that one runs into female saxophone players in rural Bengal.

Both Priya and Chumki picked up the instrument and started fiddling with the notes at the beginning of   2019 but within this short span of time they have mastered the art and play like pros. In mid-March of 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed following the pandemic. The prolonged pandemic, coupled with the lockdowns, practically paralyzed the Badyakar family of Kanksa like millions of others in the country. The male members of the Badyakars, who have been playing various wind instruments like the trumpet, clarinet, saxophone and flutes in musical ensembles for at least four generations suddenly found themselves out of employment after a blanket ban was imposed on gatherings. 

Seeing the men of the house in acute financial strait, Priya and Chumki hit upon the idea of learning to play the saxophone and support the family financially. They approached their father-in-law, Paban Badyakar and sought to learn how to play the saxophone. He was only too happy to comply. Initially they fiddled with the instruments and gradually took three months to play an entire song in the saxophone. That was the beginning of their love affair with the musical instrument.

With no knowledge about the basics of music, the duo did face initial hiccups. They did not know anything about the technicalities of music. In music, it is essential to know and follow the musical notation when performing, Musical notation tells the performer what notes to play, how fast or slow to play them, and perhaps instructions about dynamics or timbre. But they do not understand music notation. Instead, they follow what their father-in-law teaches them. Paban Badyakar is a seasoned musician and guru who patiently teaches them creating music in saxophones in the way one teaches playing the flute. Chumki Badyakar says, "Ever since I was married and stepped into my in-laws’ house, I have seen my entire family including my father-in-law, brother-in-law and husband playing musical instruments throughout the day and fine-tuning songs. All my waking hours I would be surrounded by music.”  “Initially, it was tough but these days women are doing everything than a man can, so we thought why can’t we try and learn to play the saxophone?” added Priya. The musically inclined Badyakar clan believes that melody resides within the musician and once he/she gets attuned to the melody, it becomes easy to play it on any instrument with a little effort.  

Paban Badyakar was most encouraging and he took it upon himself to teach his proteges. He says, “In fact, I feel proud that my daughters-in-law are fast learners and gaining popularity as musicians.” Soon after Priya and Chumki picked up the first song, they waited impatiently for the lockdown to end. As soon as normalcy resumed, invitations began trickling in for the two lady saxophonists to perform at various shows and social events like weddings, birthdays etc. in the locality. Their shows were very well received and the audience lapped up their performances.   

Chumki Badyakar says, "Ever since I was married and stepped into my in-laws’ house, I have seen my entire family including my father-in-law, brother-in-law and husband playing musical instruments throughout the day and fine-tuning songs. All my waking hours I would be surrounded by music.” “Initially, it was tough but these days women are doing everything than a man can, so we thought why can’t we try and learn to play the saxophone?” added Priya.

Priya and Sangeeta Badyakar have achieved success on their own terms and are now raring to conquer uncharted territories. They are confident as they have their mentors, their husbands and father-in-law, who encourage them to pursue their dreams. They are lucky indeed and they have attained their goal by sheer grit and determination. Musical troupes are generally a male dominated arena but these two ladies have broken the glass ceiling and their story has found reverberance far and wide. It’s not every day that one runs into female saxophone players in rural Bengal. Priya and Chumki, popularly referred to as ‘Saxophone Sisters’ are now going places, even outside their district and travelling to far off destinations to enthrall gatherings. Apart from their parents-in-law, the two women also sing paean about their husbands who not only help brush up their skills but are always supportive of what they do.

Paban’s granddaughter, 11-year-old Sangita has also joined her aunts and she is learning to play the saxophone diligently. She performs at various functions alongside her uncles and aunts and already gets thousands of views on her videos uploaded to her YouTube channel. For every three-and-a-half hours’ performance, they are paid Rs 12000 and the ladies are happy with their earnings and so are their family members. They keep getting calls from strangers who request them to perform at their functions.  

The duo has overcome the initial dilemma and now uses several forms of digital platforms to get bookings. They have Facebook profiles and many bookings come in through those accounts. Their videos get shared on WhatsApp and people call them for bookings after watching those videos.