A 35-year-old artist from the Ahir community of Banaras, Ashok Kumar, has been learning music through many art forms like Chaita, Kajri, and Biraha. At the young age of six, he began to learn singing by taking inspiration from his great grandfather, who he used to call Mutu Dada. He has been working hard towards achieving mastery in his craft and pursues it with tremendous passion. He considers Dr Manu Yadav and Padma Shri Swargiya Hiralal Ji as his gurus and speaks very highly of their teachings and achievements in the field of music. Most of his songs are in a similar style as his. He also believes that music has been passed on to him from his family lineage naturally. When he was a child, he would try to imitate Mutu Dada and thus picked up the will to sing and never stopped learning. Fascinating to know, he is also a Harmonium instrumentalist and has performed in various locations within the state and country. He has pulled off brilliant performances at many festivals in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh to galvanize the crowds and regards his performance at Imphal as the most memorable experience. He lives in a family of eight people and has two daughters and a son. Despite all his responsibilities, he is one of the most hardworking and yet humble musicians from Uttar Pradesh. He strives to keep developing his craft and dreams to someday in the future to see himself succeed through the art that he loves so much.
- Purvanchal
- Uttar Pradesh