Music in Uttaranchal : Narendra Singh Negi

Shri Narendra Singh Negi is considered to be the voice of Uttaranchal. He is perhaps the most widely recognized singer of the hills. His voice resonates with the Uttarakhandi languages he sings in (mostly Garhwali, but sometimes Kumaoni) and is as prolific to the Pahari genre.

Perhaps the most well known singer of Uttaranchal, Shri Narendra Singh Negi, has a mellifluous voice that transcends barriers of language. His rendering of songs instantly inspires the hill folk to stand and up and move with the music.

Narendra Singh Negi has lent his voice to several successful albums including the phenomenal work on the Jagars of Shri Nada Devi Raj Jaat in association with Dr. D.R.Purohit. Narendra Singh Negi has also worked extensively for the propagation of the hill folk music. He has evolved an improved version of the Dhol-Damau.

Negi and movement
We will make you account for your repressive activities, one day
We will answer your sticks and bullets, one day
Until that day comes
Until this place is developed
The flame of revolution will keep burning in Uttarakhand

This poem, written by the young Garhwali poet and singer Narendra Singh Negi, expresses the struggle of the people belonging to Uttarakhand, a region in the northern part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in the Himalayan mountain range. Since the days of the independence struggle, there has been a strong tradition of protest in Uttarakhand -- from the Chipko movement to save the forests, the anti-liquor movement and the anti-Tehri dam struggle to the movement for a separate hill state.

Negi's song expresses the frustration of the Uttarakhandi people with a government, which has exploited their forests, restricted their employment opportunities and denied them basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity, schools and hospitals. Negi is the product of a strong cultural movement that has developed in Uttarakhand -- a movement of artists, poets, singers and actors using cultural and artistic forms to further the struggle.

Some of his most popular songs include:

- Thando re Thando mero pahad ki hawa thadi pani thando...

- Chali bhey motor chali...

- Ghuguti Guraund lagi...

- Na ukaal na undar...

Reference: http://www.greenleft.org.au