Narendra singh negi 

Wedded to Garhwali folk culture
By Ramesh K. Dhiman, courtesy : Tribune India

IN the awe-inspiring Garhwal Himalayas the haunting voice of Narindra Singh Negi, an icon for the young and the old, reverberates and weaves a magical web of pulsating folk music and timeless melodies.

An incurable bard of Garhwali folklore, Narendra is regarded as the renaissance figure of the Garhwali cultural heritage. A living legend he is a rare confluence of lyricism, love, lore, music, humour, poetry, painting and photography et al.

Born and brought up in the cool environs of Pauri (Garhwal), Narendra negated all comforts of the glittering world of glamour and chose his nondescript hometown as his place of work.
Narendra was in the prime of youth when his father, Naib Sub Umrao Singh Negi died. The onus of rearing a large family comprising an old mother, six sisters, and two brothers fell upon his young shoulders. This gruelling period of enormous hardships taught him the first lesson of a life of struggles. It later became the substance of his metaphysical muse.

Wedded to the Garhwali folk culture, Narendra's run-of-the-mill compositions are the vivid reflections of his love for the land he hails from and the people he has lived with down the years. Narendra was greatly influenced by the "tharhya" and "chaunful" genre of lyrical compositions based on a sound musical background. "But, I discovered, much to my disillusionment, that the diction and phraseology being used by the contemporary poets, prose-writers and songsmiths were bereft of melody, muse the real taste of original Garhwali dialect. I took a solemn vow to resurrect it out of obscurity and revive its pristine glory," he says.

The penchant for Garhwali folk music and songs and, of course, his undying passion for poetry seem to have been born with Narendra. He would listen to the soul-stirring renderings of Garhwali folk songs at cultural and marriage parties. The humming birds perched precariously on treetops in the backyard of his countryside home would greatly enchant him. He would be enthused to listen to the timeless melodies of the hillbillies of Garhwal reflecting their myriad moods. All this, left an indelible mark on his mind.

The coming events started showing their perceptible signs. Narendra ventilated his talent, when he flawlessly delivered, with an elder's solicitude, the Ramayana chaupais from the Pauri Ramlila Manch. This proved to be a virtual launching pad for this great artiste-in-the making.

Then he was attracted towards tabla-playing. "It was during my early school days when I had my first lesson in the rudimentaries of tabla-playing. "It was, indeed, a dream-come-true for me when I got the first break at the Lucknow station of AIR in 1977. It was a morale-boosting concert". After graduation, Narendra obtained his 'tabla Prabhakar' degree from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. But perhaps, tabla-playing was not his cup of tea. He wanted to convey his feelings more explicitly and forcefully and reach out the hoi-polloi.

Before taking up singing seriously, Narendra had dabbled at drawing pencil portraits which reflected the guiding folk themes. And, then, it was a virtual U-turn for him when he started writing poetry of high literary excellence, before finally ending up as a sole star singer of the region he accorded new meaning and depth to Garhwali poetry and folk songs. He groomed under the tutelage of Ajit Singh Negi, a doyen of Garhwali folk songs. His majoring into writing poetry from drawing pencil portraits was just a matter of luck and chance. During his brief tryst with the pencil, paper and eraser, the folk themes have been the hallmark of his muse.

The green hills have deeply inspired the poet in Narendra. His infatuation with these mute sentinels is clearly depicted in his immortal verses penned in their praise. The folk song: Vakh funde holu katiyun, Myaru bhi bachchpan, ukri saki'lyee, ukri ki laheiyee, Basant ritu maa jeyee..., is an ode to the rugged grandeur of the hills and dales and days of innocence spent in their lap.

Narendra's emotive lyrical verses present vignettes of a typical rural folk scene of Garhwal, be it the life of hardy highlanders, the hard life of Garhwali women, migration by men folk, environment, ecology, and so on. He has deftly handled the varied themes. To the magnificent hills which have earned an affectionate sobriquet of being the abode of gods and, of course, on the brave Garhwali jawans, who guard their motherland in the face of all oddities, Narendra has paid glowing tributes in his compositions: Dharti hamra Garhwalaa ki, bawan Garhu ku desh..." and "Dhaaram re thando mera, paharaa ki hawa thandi...

Narendra shudders at the very thought of migration, which is a perennial phenomenon in this hill heartland. Forced by circumstances, when men folk migrate to the plains of Punjab and elsewhere to eke out a living, their sturdy spouses shoulder the responsibilities of the hearth and home. The touching separation is more pronounced in these pulse-pounding compositions: Bhattkunu chhor swarg maa... and Na daur na daur undari ka bata....

He has been unequivocal as for the degradation of our environment and ecology is concerned. His emotive composition Na kata taun... drives home the point. On the burgeoning pollution of the sacred waters of the Ganga, Narendra minces no words: Maa ka dude laaj bhi ni rakhi jani, Gangaji... His yet another composition candidly traces the trauma of the Tehri Dam oustees: Kan bubalo, yo Tiri bazar suigoyryon ki dukan... This poignant composition virtually pushed him to the higher pedestal of fame. On humour, Narendra has composed He mera ghargoaddiya latta kala... and Jananyun ku mariyun chhon... and the soulful Rakhi song, Rakhari ku tyohar' ch aaj... depicts the eternal bond of love and affection between a sister and a brother.

Narendra, popularly known as the Rafi of Garhwal, has covered the entire spectrum of rural life of Garhwal in his compositions, be it the love songs, sad songs, harvest songs, festival songs, devotional and patriotic songs. Apart from being the indisputed king of audio albums of Garhwali folk songs. Narendra has to his credit, an anthology of 52 epic poems titled "Khuch kandi" and "Ganyun ki Ganga..." and Syanyu ko Samodar".

Being in the profession for two decades and a half, Narendra has added a new milestone to the Garhwali folk singing. His real success lies in his apt use of the typical Garhwali words, expressions, phraseology and of course, his flawless diction. And, his being sensitive to the Garhwali sensibility has fed him the needed impetus. Till date, he has 20 albums on varied themes, with "Dhebra Harch Gaini" (1982) being his maiden venture. His other albums are "Takon ki Maya", "Hosiya Umar", "Barah Masa", "Utha Jaga Uttrakhandyu", "Sandhya Bhajan", "Tapkara", "Burans", "Sau ku Note", "Juani ki Umang", "Barkha", "Chhibdat", "Kargile Ma Chhon", "Bhavan Garhu ku Desh", "Nayu Nayu Byo", "Chhujaloo", "Khudd", and "Rumuk". The ouvre of his Garhwal audio-film albums include "Gharjawein", "Kotheeg", "Beti Bavari", "Bantwaru", "Chhamm Ghunghroo", "Pynyoli", "Chakrachaal", and "Jai Dhari Devi".

Besides, he has scored music for the songs penned by other leading lyricists of the times. This is not all, Narendra also has scored music for almost all Garhwali films released so far and done playback singing along with the other singing celebrities of Bollywood, including Suresh Wadekar, Anuradha Paudwal, Sushma Shreshta and Veena Bandekar.

For his contribution to the preservation of the Garhwali folk culture, many cultural and social organisations across the country have honoured him. He has been decorated with the coveted titles, like Garh Lok Kavi, Garh Lok Gayak, Garh Gaurav and Garh Gayak of the Millennium. He was honoured with the prestigious Garhkala Shiromani Samman, while the "Uttrakhand Lok Sanskriti Sanman" was given to him by a Pauri-based organisation to mark the silver jubilee of his singing and writing career.

When asked about his dwelling more on the themes concerning the Garhwali woman, the down-to-earth singer says in a whisper, "I have always held woman in high esteem. She is a rare confluence of chivalry, courage and compassion. I have tried to present woman as an indulgent mother, a caring wife, an affectionate sister and a loving daughter in my compositions."

To yet another poser whether the songs penned by him and belted out in his golden voice are his autobiographical outpourings, Narendra sharply reacts: "I have been greatly influenced by the pangs and privations of others, which is the subject matter of my compositions. The only autobiographical aspect in them is that I, too, have closely watched them, realised them and lived them."

Narendra singh negi  confides in that his wife, Usha, who had been one of his incurable fans before tying the nuptial knot, is a great source of inspiration, moral strength "and, of course, his critic". She is a prolific singer, too. Daughter Ritu, and son Kavi too are great admirers of their papa.

And, finally, a word of caution for upcoming songsters and poets: "The brash-bold brand of vulgar songs and poetic compositions are a curse and bound to spoil our rich cultural heritage. The new crop of folk artistes must shun the tendency to ape the West if they are really at protecting and preserving their rich heritage''.