…its purely an effort, an attempt to keep alive whatever we sisters have inherited as a part of the family tradition…. Our Music .Music which was spoon fed to us since childhood …but in all its richness was re-introduced to me at a much later stage of life… for me its like getting back to the roots…but I want to make it sure that the world is also with me… since it is like love, the more you give all the more it grows….

Bhojpuri per se rings bell the moment it is spelled but for sure its depth is yet to be measured up . Firstly, Bhojpuri is not a language but it is a common noun for the all the dialects being spoken by the natives of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh ( Purvanchal). The folk repertoire of Bhojpuri, thus is very rich and varied. And its dominantly spoken in some or the other form in countries like Mauritius, Fiji Islands, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad n Tobago.

Not withstanding the statisitics I would like to take a few miutes of your reading to let you know what I exactly do. I am a trained Kathak dancer and apart from my profession of being in the canopy of olive green …in all my spare time ( which I can gather) I research in Bhojpuri folk and add to the exisisting repertoire. My mother Dr Pushpa Prasad is a folk singer herself and our Guru. As a tribute to her genre we the three sisters and one brother in our capacity best is trying to take the legacy ahead. My younger two sisters Nimisha and Piyusha Shankar and brother Aditya Shankar are the lead singers and I am the lead dancer. The troupe is called Surangama and our aim is to make the traditional songs and dances more colorful and aesthetically sound so that it has a global appeal. Nimisha also experiments to infuse new and creative sounds like jamming up with different bands and other international folk singers.

As a stage performer I in particular is very careful that the real essence is not tampered and the aura of the rustic beauty is transferred . I try to describe the song and narrate its meaning for a better understanding. What I have realized it that while performing if the audience is made understood the grammar of the music…it makes the entire sojourn more mesmerizing.

Let me give you an eg. Purvi is a particular form of folk song…now I on its genesis it has two meaning … first since it originated from the octaves each and every time it is called so. Secondly, during the era gone by, natives of Bihar and UP use to go to the eastern sides in search of work …and often forced to as bonded labours. so these songs were sung by the women folk to relieve themselves from the anxiety of the waiting period.

Thus every song has a particular rhythm and a meaning to it and my visualization is to become a narrator to let every discerning listener who is searching for this kind of song. And I have seen the pain of being uprooted and the relentless search the people of Indian origin are undergoing to find out their roots.

I think I understand my culture and would like to make it appear as stylish as what I think I am myself. My bhojpuri connectin is not only related to the fact that i am a born bihari. I was initiated intoit mch later in my life and career.For me its lie getting back to the roots.Its so colorful and heavenly hat i feel that i am the chosen one.

The article was published in the April edition of the magazine ME ..