Gifted with the most melodious voice, Basanti Bisht is popular among people for singing Jagar(folk song of Uttarakhand). Basanti’s story is very inspiring for everyone who thinks age can be a barrier to starting something new. Basanti was born in the remote village of Luani in Chamoli, Uttarakhand.
She started learning Jagarfrom her mother when she was very young. She grew up listening to her mother’s jagar songs. In an interview, she said, “I have grown up singing this traditional folk along with my mother and many festivals in my village made me love this music more and deep”.
She was among the first batch of three girls in her village who went to school. They all studied till class 5 in a school in her village which was miles away from her home. Still, she managed to study and became the first girl in her village to get the first rank in the District Board Examination of 5thstandard. She was also awarded the scholarship of rupees 20 for three years to complete her further studies but she couldn’t do it. Because the village had no school beyond class 5.
She started singing Jagar as a profession in her mid-40s. Her husband appreciated and motivated her to learn more about music but Basanti felt shy because of her age. Later she moved to Jalandhar with her husband, where she wanted to start learning music from ‘Pracheen Kala Kendra’. After learning to play harmonium from her daughter’s music teacher, she started singing in public.
Basanti is a very bold woman who was elected as the first lady Pradhan of her village in the year 1996. Her primary aim is to preserve the dying culture of Uttarakhand. She says, “It’s the divine and magical ‘DevBhoomi’ that has always kept me inspired”.
Basanti has a dynamic personality. She always dresses in the traditional clothes of Uttarakhand. She usually wears Pakhula(a black shawl drape worn like a dress in several areas of Uttarakhand). Furthermore, she wears a large ‘tikka’ that runs from her nose to her forehead. Basanti has always been very concerned about preserving the tradition and culture of Uttarakhand.
Basanti Bisht has been shortlisted several times for the Padma Shri award and at the age of 63, she finally received the most prestigious Padma Shri Award (country’s fourth highest civilian award for arts and music). She is a true inspiration for us all.