KABIWALAS 365 composition. He was an expert singer rather than a good composer of words. Himself 01) unlettered man, he could hardly weave words into musi¢ ;_ but one Gour Kabiraj,a native of Simla, Caleutta, and a br#haman named Nabai Thakur used to frame songs for him by which he won so much reputation. Gour Kabiraj! excelled in /iraha and ksheund while Nabai Thakur had more versatile gifts, although he is credited with great excellence in his sakh7-saindad. It is difficult, however, to ascertain at this day what particular song was composed by this or that individual poet ; and even half a century ago, Isvar Gupta, no mean judge, who collected these songs only 33 years after Nitai’s death and had ampler materials than we now possess, confessed his inability to do so.? All songs, therefore, which were sung by his party now go by his name alone. Nitai was born at Chandan-nagar about 1751 (1158 B.S.)° in the house of one Kufjadas Baisnab and was brought up in Baisnabism. Nothing however is known about the details of his life but his fame as a Kabiwala at one time spread far and wide over the prosperous cities and villages on the two sides of the Hoogly and we read graphie accounts of the eagerness with which people used to come from a great distance to witness the sensational Kabi-fights between Nitai and Bhabani Banik, once his great rival.‘ ‘ This Kabiréj also used to compose songs for other parties. Laksgminarayan Jogi (Loke Jugi) and Nilu Thakur were among those whom he thus favoured. It has boen already noted that one song which is often attributed to Nit@i bears the bhanita of Ramji. This may indicate, if the song itself is not Ramji’s, that the latter was one of the poetical preceptors of Nitai.
- In Prachin Kabi-samgraha, however, two songs are given with
direct attribution to Nabai Thakur. > See Sambad Prabhakar, Agrahayan, 1, 1261.
- [bid, loc, cit.
