Champawat youth wins singing reality show
BD Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, September 9
Pawandeep Rajan, a 21-year-old youth from Champawat district, has made Uttarakhand proud by winning a TV singing reality show organised by a national channel last week. He belonged to the community of traditional singers known as Badgi, Auji and Hurakiya in the state.
Pawandeep got a hero’s welcome on his arrival here after winning the prize. He later performed at his hometown Champawat, Lohaghat and Pithoragarh.
Pawandeep won the first prize in the Voice of India programme organised by a TV channel in Mumbai. He defeated several conte stants who ere well trained in music by well known gurus. “I had trained my son since his early childhood. He developed interest in music as our family had an atmosphere of music and singing traditionally,” said Suresh Rajan, a Kumauni folk singer and Pawandeep’s father.
Pawandeep’s maternal grandmother Kabutari Devi is also a well-known folk singer who has given performances at the All India Radio stations in Rampur, Najibabad and Lucknow during her young age.
Suresh Rajan said he trained his son in classical music since his childhood and taught him how to play tabla at the age of three. “When Pawandeep showed talent and started performing in stage shows, I decided to advance him in solo folk singing as well as mainstream Hindi songs,” said Suresh Rajan.
Traditional Badgi or Badi people, who were known as Gandharvas in the ancient times, used to earn their livelihood by singing and dancing and entertaining their landlords. The latter used to give them protection in return to their performances.
“The musical potential of the community is yet to be tapped and made competitive at the commercial level. Pawandeep has shown the way to other members of the community to hone their talent and come forward in the commercial field of singing and dancing that has abundant scope,” said Viplav Bhatt, organiser of the Pawandeep’s programme in Pithoragarh.
