Women Punjabi folk band uses traditional instruments
by Ravinder Singh Robin

         Amritsar: A group of young women has come forward to promote traditional musical instruments as youngsters are moving towards modern age musical instruments. The use of traditional musical instruments like the Sarangi, Ek- tara, Dauroo, Matka, Chimta and all-time favourite, the snake charmer's flute- is being revived by an all-women folk band, a step forward to revive Punjab's folk instruments. A dozen odd girls from DAV College, Amritsar, play about 30 instruments proving that no instrument is 'too' tough to have a go at. The challenging task before them was to learn play the bulky 'dhol'. BBK DAV College for Women, Head of Music Department, Ritu Sharma said, "The main challenge for me was that I was teaching in a girl's college and the instruments are all male-oriented, such as dhol, algoza. Slowly and steadily, I kept impressing on them that if girls are competing with men in other fields, why not folk musical instruments. I prepared the girls and they began by learning dhol. They are so happy and say that they themselves play the 'Dhol' in marriages within their families". Dressed in traditional Punjabi attire, the band has already appeared in 40 performances in the UK, the US and Pakistan. Dimple Rampal, a troupe member, said, "If we are living in Punjab and we do nothing about our tradition, then it's bad. I feel so proud that our college has been working to preserve the Punjabi tradition. Whenever the orchestra performs the delegates are so impressed that they invite us. Last year, the Pakistani delegates had invited us. They were thrilled knowing that this college has still preserved the rich cultural heritage of Punjab". Perhaps, it is only a small beginning for the girls who have taken up a challenge to popularise the instruments. "Sometime our friends object to our playing instruments like the dhol. But, we are very much dedicated to do something for the State we belong to. So we just ignore them, and keep concentrating on our work," Priyanka, another troupe member said, There is much to explore for the young girls, as there is an abundance of heroic, devotional and romantic tales in Punjabi folklore. The rhythm and beat of Punjabi folk music is simple. The rhythmic patterns are determined by the day-to-day activities of the villagers, the sound of the grinding stone, the drone of the spinning wheel, the creaking of the Persian wheel, the beat of the horse's hooves etc. These rhythms refined into symmetrical patterns form the basis of the entire folk music of the Punjab. Punjabi folk music is primarily vocal in character and is accompanied by instruments. It comes so spontaneously to the villager that when he is ploughing or digging his fields, driving his cart or walking homeward alone he just bursts into song in a full-throated ecstasy. Punjabis are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the other Indo-Aryan peoples of South Asia. There are an estimated 120 million Punjabis around the world. The Punjabi people have emigrated in large numbers to many parts of the world.
- November 29, 2006

Hema Malini to receive SaMaPa Award

          New Delhi: Bollywood actress and Bharatanatyam artiste Hema Malini, and well-known vocalist Vidushi Girija Devi will be awarded the 'SaMaPa Vitasta Award 2006' at the Kamani Auditorium on November 11. 'SaMaPa Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Award 2006' will be awarded to Gulam Hassan Soofi for his contribution to Kashmiri folk music. During the two-day music fiesta, prominent vocalists, including Pandit Rajan Sajan Mishra, Vidushi Girija Devi and Shrinivas Joshi, son of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi will perform at the concert. Santoor exponents Abhay Rustum Sopori and Pandit Bhajan Sopori and Kathak artist Guru Shovna Narayan will also perform during the event. Many young tabla artists including Hetal Mehta from Benaras, Akbar Lalit Khan from Delhi, Amit Verma from Lucknow, Athar Hussain from Ajarada, Ashish Devangan from Farrukhabad and Rajesh Malviya from Punjab will perform. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, B L Joshi, MP (Lok Sabha), Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant General (Retd.) Srinivas Kumar Sinha, PVSM will be the guests of honour at the event. The event is being organised by the Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts (SaMaPa). Established by Pandit Bhajan Sopori its vision is to be a world class centre of excellence in the teaching and propagation of Indian classical and traditional music and the performing arts.
- November 9, 2006

Punjabi Academy features Sufi, folk music
by Ravinder Sharon

         New Delhi: The Delhi-based Punjabi Academy recently organized a cultural program featuring great exponents of Punjabi folklore and Sufi music in Delhi in order to promote this rich heritage of Folk and Sufi music. Pushpa Hans, a veteran singer and actress of yore, took her audience on a nostalgic trip down memory lane during her performance at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The legendary singer presented folk and `kalams' of Sufi writers and poets so that the modern generation has an idea of the rich heritage it has inherited. An ambassador of the golden age of music, Pushpa, was happy to see a revival of the age-old traditions. "The new generation has already taken to Sufi music. It's a revival, as young artists like Kunal Ganjawala have started singing in the Sufi style. I believe its a revival of melody and good lyrics," said Pushpa. Tejinder Gulati is among the new breed of singers who have adopted Sufi, the music that connects with the heart. Great Punjabi poets and singers have passed this prized heritage of Punjab from one generation to another over the centuries. Be it the exponent Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Hakim Sufi and now Tejinder Gulati, authentic Sufi music continues to have an ardent fan following. Even today, when Punjabi music is mostly identified with `Pop' music, thousands turn up to listen to folk and Sufi. "Punjabi pop has definitely affected the original form of Punjabi songs. On the other hand, it has popularised Punjabi folk. In the USA, UK and Canada or anywhere in the world Punjabi folk is popular along with western beats. Somehow, if its originality has been affected, it also gets the popularity. Of course, globalisation has had its impact on everything," said Tejinder Gulati, a Sufi singer. The popularity of folk music lies in the fact that it is not thrust upon listeners. It reflects the culture of the land. In her 70s Pushpa continues to sing Kafians, Mirzas and Heer - And in that lies the true spirit to preserve the `pure' music of Punjab. The real spirit of a folk-song rests not only in its text but also in its tune. The popular tunes of Punjabi folk-songs ring with the heart-throbs of the simple, unsophisticated villagers. These melodies, characteristic of their deeply-felt emotions are absolutely in tune with their mode of living. The rhythm and beat of Punjabi folk music is simple. The rhythmic patterns are determined by the day-to-day activities of the villagers, the sound of the grinding stone, the drone of the spinning wheel, the creaking of the Persian wheel, the beat of the horse's hooves etc. These rhythms refined into symmetrical patterns form the basis of the entire folk music of the Punjab. Punjabi folk music is primarily vocal in character and is accompanied by instruments. It comes so spontaneously to the villager that when he is ploughing or digging his fields, driving his cart or walking homeward alone he just bursts into song in a full-throated ecstasy.
- November 1, 2006

                                                                              Previous File
Current File