The project is being undertaken by GBPSSI in collaboration with Royal Tropical Institue, Amsterdam and IMWO, a social science institute affiliated to the university of Surinam.

Describing the psyche of the woman prototype, who is usually the protagonist of Bidesia songs, Tiwari quotes from a Bhojpuri verse "my husband went in search of gold, my hair turned silver. Neither gold was found, nor my husband returned. He settled down in an alien land." "These lines poignantly describe the pain experienced by the migrants' families. The ones who left the country could later establish no contact with their kins back home, who spent virtually their entire lives waiting and hoping," Tiwari says.

"This is in sharp contrast to the present day NRIs who, after making a good fortune, are able to maintain touch with their families with the help of the various modes of communication at their disposal," Tiwari points out.

The enormity of the trauma of the earlier generation migrants' families is reflected in not only the folk songs but some interesting customs that stemmed from people's naive belief in the ability of the supernatural power to alleviate their woes.

In Jagatpur village of Varansi district, we came across the temple of Sanyukta Devi which shot into prominence a century ago when young brides began thronging it, believing that the deity would cast a spell over their husbands which would compel them to decide against leaving their homes," Tiwari said. "As myths grow stronger, the result is that now even after more than a hundred years, when men do not move to foreign lands on the same scale, women keep pouring in with the hopes of their various wishes being fulfilled," said Tiwari.

"Similarly, we have come across instances of postal department wagons being worshipped as 'devi' (goddess) by women folk of the Bhojpuri belt," he said.

These women line up near a stationary wagon, which is carrying their letters to their husbands, perform 'aarti' and then pay floral tributes in the same way as done before idols in a temple. The reason is their belief that the postal wagon, in this way, will get charged with some occult powers, which would prompt their husbands to make a hasty return, said Tiwari.

Another important feature of this cultural phenomenon is the concept of 'batohia', a migrant whom villagers look upon as a valuable mMessenger, who would trace their lost family members in an alien land and convince them to return, Tiwari said.

On the other hand, the migrants, who are left in a distant land with their hopes for a better future shattered, strive in a myriad ways to keep memories of homeland alive, which provides them with the resilience to endure the daily grind.

"The trauma of the migrants can be seen in the Bhojpuri songs sung in foreign countries in which an older generation recalls how it had come to distant lands with the hopes of a good life. Now their descendants, born out of the families they had raised by entering the wed-lock with foreigners, are well settled but they have abandoned their parents for pursuit of career. Dejected and defeated, the migrants see their lives as a sacrifice which was of no use," Tiwari, who was in The Netherlands recently to get a first-hand account of the Bhojpuri community abroad, said.

Tiwari, however, recalls that the urge to stay rooted has led the migrants to preserve many facets of the Bhojpuri culture, which is slowly vanishing from its native land.

"Many words, for example chamauti, that means belt, is still a commonly spoken word in Bhojpuri that is spoken in The Netherlands. Similarly, at musical concerts, a traditional Bhojpuri instrument, comprising a string attached to an iron rod is a common feature," Tiwari said.

Recognising this cultural link that could not be snapped despite the physical distance, the GBPSSI is now planning to invite Bhojpuri poets and musicians from different countries to perform along with their counterparts here. "This would be one people-to-people contact programme which may not promise to be politically rewarding but would bring immense cultural satisfaction to both the homeland people and the diaspora," said Tiwari.

"We want the people of both the lands to interact and see for themselves the great similarities that exist in their folk traditions," Tiwari said adding a grand Bhojpuri festival is being planned around the 2007 Kumbh Mela, which would see a massive cultural exchange at the Sangam.