Haryana’s Rafi who was a household name in the eighties

Satyawan Malik

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The ragni, saang and music-lover generations of the 1950s-90s in Haryana were simply enchanted by several names — Pt Mange Ram, Pale Ram, Fauji Mehar Singh, Dhanpat Singh, Pt Jagannath, Baje Bhagat, Karampal Sharma, Master Satbir, Sarita Chaudhary, Neelam Chaudhary, Paasi Nayar, Sudesh Sharma, Madhu Sharma and, of course, Rajkishan Agwanpuriya (see pic). 

If the singer-lyricist Pt Lakhmi Chand is regarded as the Shakespeare of Haryana in the music genres of kissa (singing-based-plot), saang (theatrics) and ragnis (lyrics), Rajkishan Agwanpuriya is regarded as the Mohammed Rafi of Haryana in terms of the finesse and texture of singing, voice and melody.

Born on September 8, 1955, in Agwanpur village of Ganaur subdivision of Sonepat district, Rajkishan was the second eldest among six brothers. He completed his early education from a nearby village school in Rajli Gari. He started singing in the school bal sabhas. His teachers inspired him to try and showcase his talent in Haryanavi ragni. He did try and became one of the top tireless melody kings of Haryana.

In 1976, he started attending Haryanvi ragni competitions and soon became the first choice of many leading cassette companies getting scores of ragnis and kissa recorded. 

Kissa is a tale told through ragnis. One kissa may comprise 25-35 ragnis in addition to the brief narrative of the story. Rajkishan sang around 40 kissas involving 2,000-plus ragnis in all. The kissa Rajkishan sang include Anjana Pawan, Seth Tarachand, Shri Krishna Sudama, Padmavat, Raja Veer Vikramajit, Shahi Lakadhara, Jaani Chor, Shahid Bhagat Singh, Raja Harishchandra, Heer Ranjha, Nav Ratan, Raja Mordhaj, Shiv Parvati and Narsi Ka Bhaat among others.

When Rajkishan’s ragni were played on radio in the evening from Akashwani Rohtak, people would stick to the radio and wouldn’t move till it was over. His stage performances, which sometimes lasted for full night, attracted thousands of ragni-lovers across the state. The ragnis he sang from soul and with easeful throat, “Karke ghaal tadapti chhodi jaan kyun na kaad lega” (penned by Mehar Singh), “Vo raja ki rajdulari mein sirf langote aala su” (Shiv Parvati), “Talai khadya kyun rukke marai” (Raja Gopichand), “Lahore zile mein chhota sa ek Banga gaam suna ho rai (Shahid Bhagat Singh), “Ek bey rani ghada thwade jaata kona thaya” (Raja Harishchandra), “Aati jaati police kaidiyo ka” (Veer Haqeeqat Rai), “Besak se kangaal pati” (Roop Basant), “Chakva chakvi sune bolte dhyan Bhoop ka firgya” (Anjana Pawan), “Bistar par te chala uth ke” (Chap Singh Somvati), are a few to mention.

His duets with Sudesh Sharma, Pale Ram and others prove him dominating in tonal quality and clarity. His duets with Sudesh Sharma, “Ghar ki malik ban bethi katti likad gya dar tera” (Nautanki), “Kis tariya tu bada baag mein lagi” (Jullaf Kaur) and “Bewaris ki daal gaal mein” (Jaani Chor) are stupendous. Despite limited stage facilities and musical instruments (Gharva and Bainjo), his amazing control over the breath, tone, tune, rhythm, syllable and intonation, and a fabulous range and numbers make his songs timeless and him a versatile singer. In spite of a generational shift in taste, technology and lifestyle, he remains one of the most heard Haryanavi artistes on the internet.

Rajkishan left us too soon. In Gari Kesari competition, he, despite being severely ill, sang three ragnis at the importunities of the invitees, and went into a coma. He died on May 13, 1994, at just 44. His soothing and mellifluous voice is almost rare to match in the Haryanavi singing and will continue to delight or console us. If Haryanavi dancer Sapna Chaudhary enjoys mega stardom in Haryanvi pop dance, mesmerising crowds with her fetish moves, Rajkishan did it for two decades as a refined and passionate singer and a lyricist of ragnis and kissa. He is above all Haryanvi singers, at least above all his contemporaries.

A ragni for every emotion

• With nothing vulgar and crass, he sang ragnis for every emotion — love, pity, anger, heroism, disgust and terror. The melancholy mind in “Naukar aalla farz aaj tane nibha akhir diya re” (Raja Harishchandra) and “Savitri mera jee ghabrave sar godyan mein dharle” (Satyawan Savitri) is sung with staggering notes. Creating rasa (performance) and bhava (aesthetics) for infatuated King Madansen in Chand Kiran, his soulful rendition in “Chakar chadta aaya konya sodhi mein sharer”, “Bematlab kyun bakti hey bandi teri ekkal mari kisne”, “Re dekhya jab Chand Kiran ka mahal, baba nae li maar plaathi”, “Mein kyun bhanji marun thare bandhe prem ke paale mein” is thunderous, captivating and timeless. 
• His patriotic ragni “Sau sau padain musibat beta” (Bhagat Singh) and “Ghadi na bitti na pal gujre ek utara jahaj sikar te re, barsan lage phool Bose pe haath mila Hitler te” are emotionally gratifying.
• With musical, dramatic and poetical tapestry in the ragnis in Bija Sorath, “Tu sabka rukhala ram se, mera bhi kariye dhyan eikali ka ji lakadya ja se”, “Biyabaan mein rahte-rahte kyukar baaje taan teri”, “Bojh mari nau maas, isi badmaas kon hatyaari, jann ke gyi fenk julm kara bhari”, “Sar pe dhar do ghad chali saari panhihaari o ram”, “Ishq bura janjal jagat mein tudwade se yaari ne”, and “Nyu tere aage rona padgya balakpan ka yaari”, he became a household name in Haryana in the ’80s.

(The writer is Associate Professor of English, Govt. College, Jind)