In a history long sung by men, it was we—the women of Vihaan—who broke the silence.

Emerging from the spirit of Maargi, yet walking our own path, we began learning and performing Chaar Bait—a centuries-old poetic and performative form, once echoed in battlefields and Sufi gatherings, now almost forgotten. For the first time in recorded history, this tradition—long held by male voices—has been claimed and voiced by us, women.

What began as a search soon became a calling. Under the guidance of seasoned Ustaads, we stepped into a male-dominated tradition—not to mimic it, but to transform it with our presence, our sound, and our resolve. We now perform at festivals like Jashn-e-Rekhta, Jashn-e-Adab, and national Urdu academies—not as anomalies, but as cultural re-claimers.

Chaar Bait is a sung poetic form in four-line stanzas, performed with the duff, a rhythmic percussion instrument. It speaks of war, longing, spiritual devotion, and social memory. Once brought to India by Persian and Afghan warriors, it settled in places like Rampur, Bhopal, Tonk, and Hyderabad—now surviving only in fragments.

But we do not merely perform Chaar Bait—we archive it, study it, document it, and reimagine it. A full documentary is underway. Field recordings, conversations with Ustaads, and immersive learning sessions are all part of our attempt not just to preserve a tradition—but to pass it forward, consciously, to a new generation.

This work is woven into Vihaan’s vision:

To uncover, restore, and pass on the arts lost in silence—especially where women’s voices were missing or erased.

In reviving Chaar Bait, we are not just recovering a folk form.

We are rewriting history—with rhythm, defiance, and song.