‘ENJOY THE UNIQUENESS OF ALL THE TWELVE MONTHS FROM THE ASPECT OF ANGUISH THE POEMS RELATED TO THE TWELVE MONTHS OF A YEAR ARE KNOWN ARE ‘BARAMAS’. MOST OF THE NORTHERN STATES LIKE PUNJAB, RAJASTHAN, GUJARAT, BENGAL, BHOJPUR ETC. ARE WELL VERSED IN THESE BARAMAS OR TWELVE-MONTHS POETRY, BUT NOT MAHARASHTRA. THERE ARE A VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS LIKE THAT OF THE GREAT POET, G.D.MADGULKAR, WHOM WE ALL KNOWN AS ‘GADIMA’. MANY OF HIS POEMS INVOKE SUCH FEELINGS IN OUR MINDS WHICH US LONG FOR OUR BELOVED ONES. WHEREAS THE NORTHERN STATES HAVE AMPLE LITERATURE EXPRESSING THE STATE OF MIND OF A WIFE WHOSE HUSBAND IS FAR AWAY FROM HER FOR MONTHS AND YEARS TOGETHER. THE ‘TWELVE-MONTH POEMS’ ARE EXCLUSIVE AND UNIQUE FORM OF LOCAL LANGUAGE. THOUGH IT IS TRUE THAT THEY EXPRESS THE FEELINGS OF THE LONER, THE WIFE, THEY ARE OFTEN SUNG IN GROUPS WHERE ALL THE FEMALES SHARE THEIR LONELINESS. MOST OF THE STATES HAVE TAKEN A NOTE OF THIS LITERARY FORM AND HAVE GONE FORWARD IN CRITICIZING, STUDYING THEM IN DEPTHS. IN MARATHI, THERE WERE HARDLY ANY POEMS WRITTEN IN THIS FORM. SO IT WAS A HERCULEAN TASK TO EXPLORE THEM RIGHT FROM DHULIA TO TANJAWUR, (DISTRICTS OF INDIA SET APART PHYSICALLY). VERY FEW SUCH POEMS COULD BE FOUND WHICH WOULD FULFILL THE PURPOSE. THESE ALL NEWLY FOUND ‘BARAMAS POEMS’ ARE INCLUDED HEREIN. THIS LITERARY FORM WHICH IS HARDLY UNKNOWN HAS THUS FOUND A NEW PATH IN OUR SOCIETY. WE ARE SURE THAT IT WILL BE WELCOMED BY ALL THE ART LOVERS.
‘‘दिवसामागून दिवस चालले ऋतुमागुनी ऋतू जिवलगा कधी रे येशील तू’’ अशी कविवर्य ग.दि. माडगूळकर यांच्यासारखी रसिक हृदयात विरह वेदनेची कळ उमटविणारी दीर्घ विरह गीते मराठीत फारशी लिहिली गेली नाहीत. स्वतंत्र निसर्ग कविताही प्राचीन कवींनी लिहिलेली दिसत नाहीत. तथापि उत्तर भारतातील पंजाबी, राजस्थानी, गुजराती, बंगाली, भोजपुरी, इत्यादी भाषांतून पती जवळ नसल्याने विरहाने ग्रासलेल्या नायिकेच्या भावना व्यक्त करणारी पदे विपुल प्रमाणात लिहिली गेली आहेत. त्यांना ‘बारामास काव्ये’ असे म्हणतात. हा लोकभाषेतील एक प्रकार आहे. आणि काही ठिकाणी तो समूहरूपातही गायिला जातो. त्या-त्या भाषेत या काव्यांवर अभ्यासपूर्ण समीक्षा ग्रंथ लिहिले गेले आहेत. त्या दृष्टीने मराठीतील अशा विरहगीतांचा शोध धुळ्यापासून तंजावरपर्यंतच्या ग्रंथसंग्रहांतून घेतला असता फार थोडी काव्ये उपलब्ध झाली. तीच प्रस्तुत संग्रहात समाविष्ट केली आहेत. रसिकांपुढे हा अल्पज्ञात काव्यप्रकार ठेवला आहे. हा अभिनव काव्यप्रकार मराठी वाचकांना आवडेल, अशी अपेक्षा आहे.