India is witnessing a cultural revival: folk singer Malini Awasthi

Hindustan Times

06-05-2025

New Delhi, Folk songs that have been buried for years are now making a comeback just like old traditions, says renowned singer Malini Awasthi, who has worked for years on documenting and popularising the genre in India and beyond. India is witnessing a cultural revival: folk singer Malini Awasthi
The Padma Shri awardee, a classically trained musician, is famous for her mastery over folk songs in dialects such as Braj, Bundeli, Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Kashika - a mix of Bhojpuri and Hindi spoken in Varanasi.
She can easily traverse through complicated classical ragas, ghazals and songs in folk traditions like kajri, chaiti, dadra, phaag and sohar.
"I feel very happy that folk songs that were buried for years songs that people knew but weren't sung anymore are now being listened to around the world... Folk songs are an integral part of our culture and carry the memory of our people. For example, if you go to villages, every wedding has at least 50 different kinds of songs connected to its rituals.
"India is witnessing a cultural revival and old traditions are being accepted again and that's true for folk songs as well. Fame, money, work that's ok but the satisfaction that you get when your purpose is fulfilled is different," Awasthi told PTI in an interview.
The singer, 58, started at a time when the scene was dominated by vulgar songs, especially in Bhojpuri. And it has taken her four decades to establish an alternate identity as the folk queen of India, she said.
"Our language has given us so much respect and dignity, and yet, some artists turned it into something vulgar. People who didn't know the depth of the language would judge it based on just these songs. My competition was with a kind of singing where women were more often seen as products.
"But what I was doing was different - I was singing about farming, songs related to sowing and harvesting seasons, about rains and lack of it, songs that children sing when they play, songs about childbirth and festivals. That took time to change."
Awasthi, who has sung only a limited number of Bollywood songs despite many offers over the years, said it was hard to resist the temptation.
"Who doesn't like to sing for films? But the strength to say no that the lyrics are not good enough, so I won't sing it that kind of strength in a singer is rare. Most performers don't think too much. They feel, 'It's just a song and it does not matter how it is shot.' But I drew a line."
Growing up in a family of doctors in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, Awasthi said she always had a fondness for music and her mother, though not a singer, recognised her talent early.
"And that was such a blessing. She encouraged me a lot — I was around five or six years old and started learning classical music under the guidance of Ustaad Rahat Ali Khan sahab. There was a beautiful musical atmosphere around.
Her father, a doctor, would often be visited by Bhojpuri-speaking patients and a young Malini would pick up the dialects from them.
"So when I sing classical music, ghazals — and especially when I sing folk songs — it all flows naturally.'
Awasthi said she slowly veered towards folk music despite her classical training as she realised that while people loved her rendition of classical songs, she would see their eyes change when she sang folk songs.
She started performing professionally from the age of 19 that gave her a sense of independence from an early age whether it was opening her own bank account, earning money or performing with seniors.
"I learned to read audiences: what they liked, what they didn't understand, when they were with you and when they weren't. That was tremendous training," she said, adding that her pace slowed a bit with marriage, kids and responsibilities but she never let the music go.
And that's why, she has learned to keep pace with times when it comes to technology.
"If I want the younger generation, glued to phones and screens, to listen to old songs, I have to be tech-friendly. Whether that's social media or uploading songs to YouTube — I had to evolve.'
Awasthi said she never prepared a list for the songs that she performs at concerts. They all are dictated by audience demand.
"Our gurus told us to memorise everything because in times of need, the diary won't help... As I gained experience and could read audiences better, I learned that it's both easier and more challenging to flow with them. That confidence only comes when you have 200-300 songs ready in your memory bank.'
"I believe music — especially folk music — should flow like a pure, natural stream. It needs a heart and mind, not a script or a notebook.'
What's the next goal for her now? Teaching and documentation of folk is her reply.
"These traditions shouldn't disappear. Yes, they are in books, but we need documentation of 'surs' too. That's why I do workshops every year. We teach folk songs... many married women see me performing regularly, and they realise they too can have a career in music and live a life beyond family," said Awasthi.
The singer runs non-profit organisation Sonchiraiya, which is dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian folk and tribal arts.
Awasthi said when she is singing in a foreign country be it South Korea or Spain, she always tries to convey the emotion behind the folk song that she is about to perform through an interpreter and sometimes on her own in English.
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