Nirmala

Nirmala married Pawan in 2004. She was born in 1984 and doesn’t come from a musical background. She learned to play kansi and sing from Pawan. It had been fifteen years they had been singing together. Nirmala says that learning music was tough as generally girls are not taught music. It is not considered fine that women should play music. Even traditionally it was never meant that a woman shall lead the song and the man must follow her. Also, it was difficult for women to travel alone to sing. Pawan says that till now he has seen only one woman who used to play the ruvana.

She has performed throughout Himachal Pradesh and usually performs in Kangra. In order to perform at different places, she and Pawan somehow managed to learn the kangri language and music of Kangra. She wishes to perform on a national platform. One challenge that she faces is the lack of infrastructure in his village which makes living difficult. There isn’t any pakki road which goes to his village. They had to shift to Kangra to get access to amenities like healthcare and schools. She wishes that his children get settled in cities to get a better lifestyle but at the same time pursue singing to conserve heritage.

• Chamba
• Himachal Pradesh