People spend their lives in providing for their family, putting money for their old age, collecting property to be passed on to future generations. These accomplishments are considered the acme of middle class decency. Few, however, think of an entire region as their family, embracing the hills and meadows of their motherland as their own without aspiring to own a plot of land.
For them, acquiring a deeper knowledge of their art is the greatest treasure life can offer. In a world that values material riches, such a mentality is more frowned upon than praised.
Such a man was Chander Singh Rahi, the veteran folk singer, poet, composer and researcher of the regional music of Uttarakhand, who breathed his last in the early hours of January 10. “Janam bhar romantic rahe (I was always a romantic),” he said to this correspondent once in a bittersweet reference to his lifelong passion that overlooked common sense of the financial kind.
Rahi’s passing away in New Delhi this past Sunday brought to rest a lifetime devoted to the art of his people.
Though his voice brought balm to a listener’s heart, Rahi, who had begun broadcasting on the All India Radio since 1963, was often in his later days frustrated by the musical trends that ensured authentic regional music like his found few takers and turned folk singers from across India towards a ubiquitous imitation of ‘Bollywood’ music. For those who love the authentic music of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, however, he has been an object of reverence.
Rahi’s example was an inspiration to artists beyond his circle of disciples. Few would contest his popularity has indirectly guided numerous Uttarakhand artists currently performing.
Holistically talented, he had the advantage of being able to perform, rather than merely research or document the existing forms. Rahi had, over nearly six decades of single-minded work, collected thousands of songs covering various folk forms of Uttarakhand, including both the Kumaon and Garhwal divisions. These include Sanskar Geet, Khuder Geet, Pandavani, Jaagar, Chaunfla, Thadiya and others.
He could also accompany himself on the lesser known instruments of the region, including the dhol and damau (drums), the thaali and the damroo among others, executing rare tala patterns unique to this music. In addition, thanks to his classical training, he correlated the ragas and other musical technicalities of the forms, documenting them in monographs and explaining their significance in lecture demonstrations.
He also contributed to the literature of the region by writing songs. His collections include “Dil ko Umaal”, “Dhai”, “Ramchhol” and “Geet Ganga” among others. It was in 1966, when, trekking to meet the poet Kanhaiyalal Dandriyal, a young Chander Singh Negi composed a geet and presented it to his mentor. Recognising his creativity on the go, Dandriyal gave him the epithet ‘Rahi’ (traveller), which remained with him.
Chander Singh was the son of Dilbar Singh and Sundara Negi. His early musical training was under his father, who too is remembered as a fine singer of the region. His knowledge of classical music was honed under Keshav Anuragi and Guru Bachan Singh.
Coming to Delhi from his native Garhwal in search of a livelihood like so many of his compatriots, the young Chander Singh never allowed his passion for music to be submerged by social or economic pressures.
The family remembers when in 1975 he had managed to save a couple of thousand rupees, his wife Sudha Negi suggested they invest in a plot of land. Instead, he spent the money on producing a cassette of folk songs.
Yet today, in the tiny outer room of their Shakarpur residence where members of the Uttarakhand community, fellow artists and admirers gather to pay their respects, there is no rancour, only an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what a lone passion can accomplish.
“He lived for his art and for the community at large,” says the youngest son Rakesh Bhardwaj, a rhythmist in the band Euphoria. “He did not interact with us as children in the way other fathers might have, because he lived for a larger cause. In his later years I talked to him and tried to understand him as an artist.”
The eldest son, Virendra Negi, a vocalist and music director, says, “When great people live amongst us we think of them as normal humans but after their passing you realise they were sants.
Our father was like that. He was, as they say in the mountains, a jogi type of man. He had no attachment to objects.”
The entire family is involved in some aspect of music but they agree that Virendra is the torchbearer of his father’s musical legacy.
“While Rakesh and Satish play the tabla, and our sister Nidhi Thakur is a singer, it is to our elder brother that our father passed on the bulk of his learning,” says Mahendra Negi, the fourth sibling, a director and producer in various production houses.
Virendra’s children too are pursuing Hindustani and Uttarakhand music at an advanced level.
Intensely aware of the responsibility to safeguard the musical legacy of Rahi, Virendra says he is in touch with Najibabad Doordarshan Kendra which has a number of archival recordings of the artist that merit public dissemination.
He also mentions a factor his father did not take much cognisance of. “Wherever people may want to start anything in his (Chander Singh Rahi’s) name, I want to ensure that they register with us,” says Virendra.
