Himachal Pradesh

Bhuvnesh Singh Katoch was born on 15th Nov 1977 in a small village called Mehla in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. He liked singing while he was a child and used to actively participate in school competitions. Further his interest in music got converted into his profession. He comes from a family which had singers and musicians which in a way inspired him throughout his life. His mother used to sing and his father was a folk dancer. His grandfather was also a great dancer locally and he inspired him to follow art. Further, Katoch claims that his guru is A N Sharma, a retired lecturer in Himachal Pradesh who was also a singer.

Five years back, Katoch made a group of 2-3 members. Today, it has 6 young members, all passionate and driven for pahari folk music. His group members are Rakesh Saniyal, Pradeep, Ajay Kumar, Rohit and Palak. Bhuvnesh and Palak are vocalists. Palak, 25, was born in Mehla in Chamba. She realized that she is meant for music in her childhood when he heard songs from her mother who was driven for pahadi folk music. She has a degree in music and a post-graduation in theatre and is now working with the National School of Drama. She believes in the originality of the music and disapproves of the idea to mix music to further develop it. She likes how pahari music vividly describes the beauty of nature, which makes her curious to know more about it. Rakesh Saniyal, 43, is a Dholak player and a singer. Although his main source of employment is singing, he also works an electrician to supplement his earnings. He also works in an NGO.

He had been interested in music since childhood. He first played dholak when he was in third class in school. His inspiration is his parents who were deeply connected to music. It had been 10-12 years that he has been singing and playing dholak. He wants to safeguard pahari culture and the tradition of singing folk music by transmitting it to the younger generation. He also likes to write songs. He has composed a few songs which he performs in cultural programmes. Ajay Kumar, 22, was born in Chamba. He has been playing dholak with the group for 5 years. He learned to play dholak from his paternal uncle who was a singer and was connected with music. Pradeep, 28, was born in Chamba. He plays table in the group and it had been 4 years since he is playing with Katoch’s group. He learned tabla when he was 15 years of age. He earlier uses to sing in jagratas, weddings and festivals. Rohit, 18, plays the harmonium in the group. He joined the group 5 years back. He was interested in music since childhood and has a degree in Music.

He sings songs about love and other things about life, saying so he began with :

Amma puchandi sun dhiye meriye

(A mother aksks her daughter)

Dhiye bhala dubli tu kiyan kari hoyiho

(How have you become so thin?)

Dhiye bhala dubli tu kiyan kari hoyiho

(How have you become so thin?)

Parli bhaniya mor je bole ho

(The peacock in the forest screams)

Parli bhaniya mor je bole ho

(The peacock in the forest screams)

Amma ji ini more ninder jagayi ho

(And it doesn’t lets me sleep)

A song is about a conversation between a mother and a daughter. The mother seems concerned about the daughter at first, asking her about her health and why she has lost so much weight. She moves on to talk about a screaming peacock that doesn’t let her sleep at night and she might get him hunted due to all this anger. Later on, she explains how her love is just like the moon and the stars that vanish as the night ends.

Hymns from the Hills

Roshan and Kanchan are yet another captivating gaddi music couple hailing from Bharmour. We came to know about Roshan from people who live in Chamba. Roshan is a local legend in Mangla. He is the first person who comes into the mind of people when a musada gayan has to 

be done or a religious event or a wedding has to be done. after meeting roshan ji it appears he is  as gooda human as he is a singer. Roshan sings and plays ghungroo, ruvana and khanjari. Hsi wife kanchan sings and plays kensi or cymbals besides him.

“Ye hmari paanchi pidhi hai jo gaa rahi hai”

The ruvana which he uses to lay music belongs to his grandfather and is 150 years old. He wants to pass this heritage to his children. He is tensed that what will happen after no one in his family pursued music. He even wishes that the government shall put a scheme to help folk musicians like him. He is even trying to teach his kids this art but somewhere he feels that they alone won’t be able to handle this great art form. The reason why he says the saem is beacuise is because tiem ahs change. Now people are inclined towards westernb music and western culture. Folk music might be the last thing people want to listen, understand and learn about. Eh explains that folk musicians earlier played a significant role in the society. Since those times there wasn’t any tv, ardio, internet and people were not literate, folk musicians played a quintessential role to spread the message of God. as people of himachal were religious from early, they use to listen to chapters of ramayana, mahabharat, shiva purana and others. What folk musicians used to do was to learn each chapter, understand it and tell or sing it to the masses during musada gayan which is like a jagrata. After each chapter the musician use to explain it to people. But with the advent of television and people becoming more literate they don’t depend on musicians for religious sermon. Alsp due to westernization, people are more into western music and disco and other things. Another problem is people like to make new music by emerging folk with western music which he frowned upon and also the elders of the family don’t like it.

Music of chamba is based on nature,. Weddings, seasons, relationships among people are common topics. Folk tales which are ancient are important ingredients of chamber music. Due to the rain there were some problems on how will we shoot and would it be possible to do it today. We tried to make good use of time. We conversed with the folk musicians in detail to get to know about their lifestyle and their  culture. It was a two way road. We also talked about how our ngo works. It was a great chit chat followed by a small music ajm which we did together. They told us about their music and folk songs in the most intricate details. While we were talking about songs we also came to know about personal life about the couple. Kanchan helps Roshan in every aspect of life. She sometimes counsels ehr in problems. Eh talks about teachings which eh got from his father and forefathers. He also took a teacher cum mentor who taught to play ruvana. Since they follow guru shishya parampara he is also supposed to give him guru dakshina.

“Paramparik geeton ko paramparik veshbhusha ke sath hi gaya jata hai”

Due to drizzle the river bank became even more beautiful. We could hear the sound of the wind whistling around and the waters flowing in the nearby stream.We were thrilled to hear the first song which was “chamba aar.’ Chamba aar ki nadiya paar talks about a romance between lovers. The young man asks his lover what does she needs as he is going to Chamba. He beautifully describes the beauty of Chamba, its rivers, its wealth and everything else.

The next song which they sing was on traditional religious singing called Musada. They sang “hawkeye jogiya”d and this song is sung during weddings, the ritual associated with it is that during the wedding, the groom is supposed to dress like a monk and ask for offering. This is with respect to the hindy myth in which Lord shiva, when he was getting married to Sati, dressed himself as monk and asked for offerings.teh song details about various pilgrimage sites present in the country.

In the song it is asked which all pilgrimage sites have you visited and the groom or Lord shiva answers that I have visited gauri kund, shiva stotra, manimahesh, badrinath, kedarnath, yamunotri, gangotri, etc. Lord Shiva mention that if someone goes to these sites than all his sins will be forgiven.

Roshan’s love for music could be seen by his love for his musical instruments especially his ruvana which is 150 years old and belonged to his father. Ruvana is made up of chir or as locally called khumani. The strings were earlier made up of goat’s intestines but now they are made up of nylon. It is a belief that Lord Krishna made it and gave it to Sudama who played it. He says that there is a belief of tying sacred threads or dori at the end of ruvana during puja and asking prayers while the musician plays. It is a wish which one makes to Lord Satya Narayana. Apart from ruvana which is a string instrument, he plays khanjari which is a small dafli like instrument and ghungroo, which he ties on his left wrist. Khanjari is made up of walnut wood. Kanchan accompanies Roshan by singing and playing kalsi or cymbals. Apart from the musada gayan, the songs they sing are about Nature, mainly emphasizing on rivers and mountains, different seasons and lives of people. Apart from this, Roshan also writes songs. The main inspiration for writing songs is Nature. He writes how he feels and what emotions goes through him when he travels through the hills or valleys. The couple belongs to the Gaddi community. The people of the community were historically shepherds and used to graze sheep and cows in high altitude pastures of Himalayas. It is believed that a lot of compositions were made by people while grazing their animals. They are avid worshippers of Lord Shiva and their devotion is visible in their songs. The community has a rich culture, from bright costumes for both men and women to cultural festivals like Basua or Baisakhi, Minjar Mela, etc. 

Roshan lives with his mother and his three children, all of whom are studying. He wished his sons to continue his legacy to spread traditional Pahadi music. Although their village has all the basic facilities and infrastructures like electricity, schools and healthcare, their lives are difficult at times during extreme weather conditions. So he and his brothers made a house in Mangala in Chamba where they shift during the winter months. Singing is the only source which brings finance to their home so they do it with utmost passion and love. Very occasionally they go to Bharmour for farming and grazing cattle when they don’t have any other means to generate money. 

A Love Affair on Hills

Pawan Singh and Nirmala Ji belongs to a small village called Jawa in Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. They belong to the Gaddi community. Pawan’s parents as well as grandparents were singers and musicians and therefore Pawan was born in a musical atmosphere. It was unlikely for him to not pursue music. The family supported his musical career and wanted to make him a singing star. His interest in singing was further developed when he started participating in singing competition in school. Somehow in the midst of his career, he left singing and tried working other jobs like farming, animal husbandry and mason. He continued it for years and lost touch for music. But eventually eh return back to it. Since he lost touch to music, he forgot to play his khanjari and ruvana and it was a tough time for him to learn it again. He says that he didn’t lose hope. He kept on playing and singing till he eventually learned it. Today he is an able singer and plays his instruments very well. Pawan now sings and simultaneous plays ruvana, khanjari and ghungroo. He got married with Nirmala, who hails from Bharmour and taught her singing. Nirmala also goes to several villages with him and sings by his side.

The main source of income for the group is music. As passionate and driven he is for music, he doesn’t deny the fact that one is not able to completely pay his bills through music. He has worked for years in musica nd faced a lot of difficulties. Sometimes, they don’t get enough shows and there are months in which playing music or singing is strictly prohibited so they have to see other jobs. Pawan works as a mason and a farmer to get the work done and get money for his and his family’s livelihood. He likes to sing a variety of songs. Songs which are based on topics like nature, cultural lives of people. Festivals, life of people, Gods and goddesses,etc. His favourite songs are religious songs which are dedicated to Gods and Goddess. He considers himself as a devotee of Lord Shiva, just like most of the people of Himachal Pradesh. He talks about the importance of guru in singing. No one can learn without a guru. “Gru toh har cheez ke liye dharan karna padta hai aur maine taya ji se guru path sikha hai”

His father and grandfather was into this job of music and they wanted someone to pass on their torch too. As Pawan’s siblings don’t follow music and are working in different fields, he became the sole torch bearer and holds this responsibility on his shoulders to bring forward their heritage to the future generation. “Kaam khud sikha deta hai aadmi ko. Galat hoga pehle lekin dheere dheere sudhaar hoga”. It is clearly visible that it is difficult to play ruvana. It is even more difficult to play in synchronization with khanjari and singing. It comes only through practice. When we asked him what he feels about women pursuing a career in music. He said that it is completely fine for women to play instruments and sing. He doesn’t offer any resistance to it and no one else does, but it requires a lot of hard work and training since childhood. It is difficult for nirmala to sing because she doesn’t come from a musical background. She learned music only after they got married and it is difficult to get people practise to sing while performing daily chores. Plus if seen technically it is difficult to follow a music by women because musada gayan has been designed in a way in which firstly the men sings and the women follow. It can’t be vice versa s women have shrill voice. Moreover, it is difficult for women to stay out of their homes to sing during the night time and travel to villages as it could be unsafe.

“Mene sirf ek mahila ko gate hue aur bajate hue dekha abhi atk”

Pawan was ready to teach us to learn pahari songs. He wanted to pass hsi torch. He has two daughters and a son. All of tehma re young and are studying. 

“Ham chacha taya ke bacche milakar 17 hai, lekin abhi keval em hi gana gata hoon. Keval menu hi gana bajana sikha aur abhi is waqt koi aur nhi jo is parampara ko age badha kar lekar jayega”

“Sharam mehsoos karte hai in sab cheezo me”

Pawan jai is saddened by the fact that no one wants to pursue music and feels ashamed of pursuing it. He is very stressed about who will be learning music from him to pass on this rich tradition.

“Iske liye mata saraswati ki den zaruri hai. Iska gila nahi hai, swar nhi hai, who raise nahi kar sakta. Swar zaruri hai”

Generally he performs musada gayan for which he has to perform singing and playing music  overnight along with his wife. For this it required massive training and experience. They have to learn and bye heart each chapter and it is very important. They should also know the meaning of it. As they first sing the chapter completely and tell the masses the meaning of the song. 

Bharmour is known as shiva bhumi which 4-5 hours away from chamba city. From bharmour, the beginning of manimahesh yatra begins. Pawan explains that living in bharmour is difficult. It is isolated from the world through mountains. There is a single road which reaches this place and afterwards the road ends. The place is not well connected. The climate is severe as well. People have to leave the place during winters as it snows a lot. People shift to places in chamba and kangra where most of them have different homes. During summers they come back again. As beautiful the way to bharmour from chamba is, it is extremely beautiful. We set up the cameras and other instrue,mnst on highlands which were at an altitude of 4500 feet. The place was near to the brahmani devi temple., we crossed bridges and alpine forest to reach this beautiful place. After setup we asked pawan ji to sing his first song. The first song he sang was shravan viyog which describes the ramayana tale when dashrath killed shravan while he was filling his pot to bring water for his blind parents and eventually dashrath git cursed from sharvan’s parents after they were heartbroken listening to the news of their son’s demise. The other song was a song depicting the cultural life of gaddi couple.

A Magician on Hills

While we were searching for more folk musicians in the streets of Dharamashala, we asked local people if they know anyone. Some few of them proclaimed the name of Kashmiri Lal. After a few hardships we finally travelled from Dharamshala to a small village called Jia. When we first heard Kashmiri Lal, we all were completely spellbound. He can surely run circles around any other pahari singer. Jia is yet another beautiful village in the midst of hills. We finally reached Kasmiri Lal’s home. We chit chatted with him to know him better in his front yard. Because of his singing, he is known as a very respectable person in the village. It is very strange that in his close family, he is the only one who sings professionally. He is the only music lover in the family who sees music as a source of income. When he was 9 years old, he saw a spark for music in himself and developed an interest in it. And after that only he started singing and dancing. His guru Unnu Puran Ji hails from Chamba and taught him to play the ruvana and singing. He was born in Bharmour, a village in Chamba. His parents were labourers and had no interest in music. But while studying, Kashmiri Lal developed an interest in music and started learning it.

Himachali geet tukke ke upar nhi bane hai, har geet ke upar kuch na kuch kahaani hai

“Himachali music is not groundless, each song has a story behind it”.

Kashmiri further explains that each song has a strong emotion behind it and has a meaning associated with it.

“Aajkal ke log yahan wahan se jodkar kuch bhi bana complete dete hai”

“People, nowadays, make music out of anything arbitrarily…”

Kashmiri doesn’t like the direction where music is going and particularly worried about Pahadi music which is not followed by many. A reticent, by what he appears to us, Kashmiri Lal looks very cool minded, calm and collected. He looks very composed, albeit gives a terrific performance. He likes to sing different style of singing as well, let it be Kangra, Mandi or Chamba style. He understands the three styles profoundly as he has performed in the three areas. He says that he has now learned to sing punjabi songs as well as people demand him.

He has youtube channel and is quite famous in it which is why MTV featured him on their channel. He doesn’t have ego regarding the same and believes in humility.

Kashmiri Lal has been singing for 35 years and has gathered a lot of experience. Strong voice. Sweetness, fragrance of folk can be felt when he sings. He is also an avid writer and he sings the songs what he has written. He likes to sing religious songs very much. Most of the songs are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Earlier he used to sing with her wife just like any other Gaddi couple singer but due to some personal reason his wife stopped singing and he joined a group of folk singers and musicians to sing with. He used to sing along with the group and visited a lot of cities like Delhi and Chandigarh and performed there. Kasmiri Lal built his new home completely by his career on music and now he lives his life comfortably. But after singing with the group for almost 8 years he left the group. He found a new way to stay connected with music by forming a group with his nephews. Music is something which he can’t escape and he doesn’t feel like doing any other work except for playing instruments and music, so he started a new group himself. He taught his nephews and is a constant source of inspiration for both of them. He incepted this interest for culture of Himachal and folk music in their minds.

During the shoot we were worried how will it happen as it was drizzling and their wasn’t a suitable shaded area which could be used for shoots. Eventually after much strolling throughout locally, we found a small temple where we decided to shoot them. Kashmiri Lal came with his nephews Pawan and Sanjeev, dressed in traditional Gaddi costume. In the midst of the river flowing through the valley, hills touching the sky and clouds somehow penetrating through the snowy mountains was a glimpse of a lifetime. Plus 3 musicians dancing and completely lost in music with such a beautiful landscape was an eye candy.

Cutting off our desperation, Kashmiri Lal sang the first song Mahadeva. In this song, there is a vivid description of Mahadeva and his attributes. This is followed by miracles and creations of Lord Shiva. How beautifully he created the stars and the moon. He lives in his heavenly abode in Mount kailash and wears a serpenta round his neck. He takes care of his devotees and we all bow our heads before him. 

The second song was completely different from the first one. It is called “Kaisa laga Goriye”. It is a romantic song depicting the love between a couple. In this song, the young man asks his lover how do you feel living in the mountains of Himachal. The song depicts how virtuous the people of Himachal are. the song also talks about what are the difficulties faced by a couple when they decided to away and get married. The lady is not ready to elope and leave her family away but her lover serenades her and asks her to come with her else they will never be able to meet again.

Kashmiri Lal explains that he likes to visit places and give performances there. He has

 Given performances in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and other major cities in India. He has visited nearly all districts in Himachal Pradesh. He has participated in many governmental and non governmental programmes.

“Bhagwan ka diya sab hai aur sab badhiya challenge raha hai”

(Everything is given by God and everything is hunkydory.) 

This is his motive of living his life out loud. He was upset about how once a network channel came and recorded him and made a video out of him. They proclaimed that the money generated with it will be given to him. But after the recording, the people haven’t contacted him and didn’t connect to him in any way. He says that now he doesn’t trust people and emphasizes on the need to generate awareness among folk musicians.

Music from 8 to 80

As Robin William once said “You have got a little spark of madness, you mustn’t lose it.” During our trip to Himachal, we surely celebrated that little spark with a group hailing from Kangra. We met this group earlier in Dharamshala and aftera along conversation, we realized that they know a lot about their culture which dazzled us.  We were excited to document this group because we knew somewhere in our minds that we will do great and it they did. Almost ninety percent of the mebers in teh group were above fifty yaers of age. This group is led by Bishwanath. His group consists of both men and women, young and old, nut surely full of phenomenal energy. We felt grateful meeting such great people who have somehow dedicated their whole life to music. 

Bishwanath Ji was born in 1965, in a small village in Upper Kuhan in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. He lives with his family; his wife; two children and four grandchildren. He has two brothers, one of them sings as well. He feels very proud of the rich cultural heritage of the state of Himachal and his own district Kangra but doesn’t deny that pursuing a career in singing in order to conserve heritage was and is still not easy. He learned to sing when he was a child, from his parents who were folk musicians and singers themselves. He says, “me apne pita ko ramayan aur krishna-leela ke natak prastut krte hue dekhta, bachpan me. isne mujhe haavi rups e prabhavit kara” (I used to watch my father performing dramas of Ramayana and Krishna Leela. That inspired me heavily) His family background was associated with music and therefore music ran into his blood from the very beginning. He further learned dancing and drama from his Guru Luku Ram Ji and singing from Kartal Ji. Both of them have played an instrumental role in the formation of his career. He talks about his childhood and teenage years which were too difficult for him. The major problem was poverty and lack of resources. Worship and Music were the two things which were the only source of income for his family, which was barely enough to meet both ends. He has seen tough times. Even when he wanted an instrument the family couldn’t afford it. Plus, living in a remote village in Kangra was tough due to the severe climate. It resulted in demises in his family which made it very tough for him. But Vishwanath Ji was always strong headed and always found ways to learn and found people who could give him the correct direction. “Me khud lalten banaata tha aur padhta tha, dusre se chize maang kar sikhta tha.” (I used to study by making lanterns of my own and borrow stuff to learn.) He used to go to dholru, which are similar to jagratas in Himachal and weddings, where his father was invited to play the shehnai. He used to play nagada with him at a tender age of 8. And then he started following singing and singing became his daily bread. He used to travel to different villages far off by foot to sing. On the way of travel, the leader used to teach them a song which the students used to rehearse the whole way to the next village. This was his life, tough but enriched experiences. Sometimes he used to feel that he didn’t get a platform to show his talents. He couldn’t ace interviews and audition due to several reasons but still, he is satisfied with his life everywhere he is. And for that, he thanks the almighty God.

It was a cloudy and a but windy as well. We chose a destination at the meadows of Khaniyara. It oversee the forests, valley and the city of Dharamshala. The group was all set. They were draped in traditional costumes, mostly in vermillion. We briefed them a bit of how things will happen. Next they sat on the location and the cameras were ready. They began their programme by lighting the lamp  which is their typical traditional way to bring good luck. The musical instruments which the group were about to use were Harmonium, Tabla, kansi (cymbals) and dholki. The first song they sang were “Thande thande paniyo de” The song explains the beauty of Kangra, its lakes, coniferous trees and awesome weather. It especially depicts the lives of people, for example, children playing on swings and women plucking tea leaves. 

The other group members were as hard working and dedicated just like Vishwanath Ji. When few were asked how did they learn music. They responded, “Ji hamne koi aise teacher ke under toh nhi sikha bas sunte-sunte, gungunate hue, sikh liya” (Yes, we didn’t learn it under a teacher. We learned it by listening to it and humming it.) While others learned it from their guru. Many of the group members were guided by Bishwanath Ji and Om Prakash Prabhakar Ji, who is the group in charge. Most of the members are above 50 years of age and have done numerous performance throughout their lives. A lot of father-son and father-daughter couples are also present in this group. It is truly delightful to see that there is more than one generation in a single group. Not only does the younger generation learn music and songs directly from their elders, but they also understand the values. In a rapidly changing world, such a system of transmittance of knowledge leads to close interaction which is very crucial to conserve the loss of traditions. 

The second song they sang was a traditional Kangra song depicting its culture. The song was highly energizing. At the end two of the chorus singers started dancing to the beats of harmonium and dholak. We couldn’t help but join the group. One of them said, “I am 70+ years old but still can’t help dance when I hear music.” This group proved that learning has no age and when someone is passionate about something, he can surely do wonders. Drieven by music, Bishwanath ji says,”sangeet ke bina kuch nahi aur swar hi ishwar tak pohochne ka saadhan hai” (There is nothinhg without music and words are the only medium to reach the Almight)

Folk from the Hills

Gaddi community has both lower and higher castes. They follow a very different culture and traditions making them different from the other communities. They have a beautiful culture of folk songs which is divided according to the occasions that occur in ones’ life. They are mostly found in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh. They follow Hindu religion and belong to several castes like Brahmin, Rajput, Dhangar, Khatri, Rana and Thakur. They have preserved their traditional culture in the original form till date. Gaddi music can be divided into various categories like marriage songs, festivity songs, love songs, historical songs, and religious songs.

Dhud wo dhud

Dham wo dham

Banjanda kai aaya amma meriye maaya

Gaura asks about the sound she could hear approaching

Chai wo chakk bajda kai aaya

What is this sound of chhai and chakk approaching

Chai wo chakk bajda nagada

The sound chhai and chakk approaching is of a Nagada

Dhiye laadliye

My dear daughter

Chadi diye amadi reh heja

Leave all the pampering by your mother

Dhiye laadliye

My dear daughter

Chadi diye baapuyeri goda

Leave the comfort of your father’s lap

Dhiye laadliye

My dear daughter

Jaliye dhara kheriye dhuriye

There is fog in the valley

Hari bhala Vishnu

Help us oh Lord Vishnu

Neelam and her group are fabulous performers on one side while they sit and sing on the other the dance performers present a beautiful dance with lovely synchronizations and choreography. While singing these songs they dressed up in their traditional costume which is quite unique. The men wear a frock like a cloak of white called ‘Chola’, which is secured around waist with many woollen sashes. They wear a high peaked cap which is pulled down over the ears in severe winter. The female dancers wear the traditional Himachali dress while performing, which is specifically worn by brides at the time of marriage. The flaring bottom gown is called Nuachadi; the covering dupatta is called ‘reeda’; and the black ‘dori’ tied on the waist, which is said to be worn by Lord Shiva when he became a ‘Jogi’. The accessories used for ‘Shringaar’ are Chidi and Maang Teeka (the head accessory), Chandrahaar (the silver necklace), Gojri (silver bracelet), Nath (a big nose ring).

Keeping Tradition with Faith

Gaadi community has a culture filled with various types of beautiful traditions residing in the valleys of Chamba and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. In this serene land, we met this group that consists of 12 women singers, and 2 male singers accompanied by 8 female dancers. They perform the rare art form ‘Nuvala’, in which the community singers depict the folklores of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati’s marriage rituals. The songs are about the various events of that wedding. Most of the young girls of the group have learnt singing and dancing from their Guruji, Janme Jai Singh Guleria Ji who has performed for Dharamshala radio station also in recent years. The group is extremely talented and thus are professionals in the art forms like Nuvala (marriage of Lord Shiva), Jamkaara (fun moments at the time of marriage: songs about teases and taunts about the bride and bridegroom), Suhaag (girl’s marriage) and Sehra ( boy’s marriage). They also sing devotional songs of Baba Ji (a local deity bhajan) at ‘Jaagrans’ in Dharamshala.

The group strictly follows the traditional folk song like – Shiv Kailasho ke Vaasi, Bhole balle shaami ka byaah, Jaanni Shiva teri hanjue bo hoi, Mahadeva o mahadeva paanch abe vo kara jo jaanda mere dhudua (other names for Lord Shiva), Sanja riya bela mera day, siddh bo jogi aaya, aaya bole lallariya laal chidi, etc. Their art form includes the Nuvala adance forms which include the female dancers too who wear the traditional Himachali dress while performing, which is specifically worn by brides at the time of marriage. The flaring bottom gown is called Nuachadi; the covering dupatta is called ‘reeda’; and the black ‘dori’ tied on the waist, which is said to be worn by Lord Shiva when he became a ‘Jogi’. The accessories used for ‘Shringaar’ are Chidi and Maang Teeka (the head accessory), Chandrahaar (the silver necklace), Gojri (silver bracelet), Nath (a big nose ring). The group gets around 1 to 2 shows per month but that too usually varies according to seasons. They perform at the time of Baisakhi (besoa) and Lohri (khichdi), and in marriages. Average payment received per show is never fixed payment and sometimes they also perform without charging any fees. For their performances, they use instruments like Dholak, Ghartaal and Kaansi. The songs are played in a particular style which is highly appreciated by the locals over there. The melody of the songs is so catchy and attractive that one automatically starts swaying with the tunes of it.

A Rendezvous of Tradition

There is a small village in the Dharamshala known as Chinmay Mahila Mandal. The group consists of all women who sing beautiful traditional folk songs sung during different occasions based on different situations like – weddings, birth, etc. The songs are they sing are very enjoyable and definitely, an add-on to the fun. Something very unusual and wonderful about the group is that they don’t have any group leader. It’s all the ladies who decide the things together and perform at different locations. They have been invited to various location to showcase their performances. We asked them that what is the best venue they feel is to document their songs, all together they told the same – a nearby temple. Indeed it was an exotic location as there was a temple at the bank of river Beas with a huge Banyan tree alongside making it worth watching.

The group performs at all the functions held at the village. They are simply women who are all housewives and are passionate about the songs they sing and write too. They are not very literate but still manage to write in their language and compose. Their songs are about making fun of the groom or bride before their wedding. They only sing in the Kangri language. All the ladies have children and husband at home but it is really appreciable that all of them lend their support to what their wives or mother want. Once the set up was done the ladies began to sing and the songs were so entertaining and go so well with simple instruments like dholak and manjira. They don’t want to be very famous or known by all they have a simple dream in which they see themselves earning something out of their music so that they too could take care of their families.