The Bhojpuri language
has produced excellent singers but unfortunately the music makers have done no
justice to the Bhojpuri music industry. Let’s take the music from the
yesterdays when Mohammad Rafi and Mannda Dey used to sing classical Bhojpuri
music for Bhojpuri and Hindi film industry that was considered as folk songs.
But nowadays, Bhojpuri music is considered as vulgar and very people wish to
associate with it. However in recent days, there has been a sort of revival of
the Bhojpuri music industry. For instanc, the popularity of Bhojpuri Nirgun and
devotional songs has been on the rise thanks to the likes of singers such as
Kalpana Patowary and not to mention the most famous of all Bhojpuri stars
Sharda Sinha. Sharda Sinha can be considered as the true and only worthy
torchbearer of a rich legacy of Bhojpuri vocals. Who can forget her excellent
Chhaat puja songs like this one?
Here are some other
great Bhojpuri singers including some from the Hindi music industry:
Sharda Sinha, Manoj
Tiwari, Pawan Singh, Prem Sagar, Chhotu Chaliya, Anand Mohan Pandey, Bharat
Sharma Vyas, Prem Sagar, Radhe Shyam Rasiya, Rashmi Agarwal, Pawan Singh, Guddu
Rangila, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Malini Awasthi, Ramayaga
Rama, Poonam Singh, Vipul Nayak, Sonu Nigam and many more.
About Bhojpuri Language
Though India is categorized as a country, in reality it is a continent in itself. It is country with so many religions, traditions, food, cultures and languages that no place will look similar to one another. The appearance of the country keeps changing at a distance of few miles. The people start speaking all together a new dialect once you cross a boundary of a region. For a language to stand out in this milieu and create a niche of its own is no easy task, but Bhojpuri which is not even a official language of India has achieved this impossible task. Some of the great politicians, freedom fighters, leaders, actors and other famous personalities have lent their own style to this language. Apart from the national official language Hindi, Bhojpuri is one of the most widely spoken and understood local language of India.
Bhojpuri – a dialect of Hindi
Due to cultural reasons, the language is
considered to be a dialect of the language Hindi. Many lovers of the language
are working to give it a separate status as it will face the danger of
extinction if it is not recognized and promoted in the present era where local
languages are taking a back seat. The advent of internet and globalization has
brought English language to the forefront and pushed other languages behind.
Without proper promotion and encouragement, the language which is loved by many
people may die out soon. It has already been forgotten in the country of
Pakistan, where the Mujahirs spoke the dialect earlier. Today they speak only
Urdu. The same fate has been seen in the countries of Guyana and Trinidad,
where people are forgetting the language and not many people are able to even
recognize it anymore. The activists who are working for the official status of
this language hope to see that it will be included in the 8th
Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Only some of the languages out of 1,652
different dialects spoken in India are known outside their own region. Bhojpuri
spoken by nearly 33,099,497 according to the 2001 census is one of those languages
that have been recognized, used and loved all over the country. It is estimated
that nearly 200 million Indians speak the language which even if not spoken, is
recognized by many more people of India, especially those who speak Hindi. The
people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand speak Bhojpuri
besides it usage in countries like Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji, and Trinidad &
Tobago.
Bhojpuri language is one of the important
languages of the Bihar state besides Angika, Magadhi, Maithili and Bajjika.
Though it has spread to other parts of the world, the roots of the language
still lay in the state of Bihar. The schools of Bihar teach the language as a
compulsory subject to students up to intermediate level, though the students
have a choice to study at higher levels.
Bhojpuri Literature
Unlike many languages of India which were
influenced by foreign invasions, Bhojpuri is an independent language which was
in use since ancient times. The rich and famous Bhojpuri literature holds
testimony to this. Kabir with his touching soulful nirgun poetry brought the
language to be noticed by everyone, though there had been the Siddha and Naths
who had written poetry in the language earlier. The rich literature of Bhojpuri
language has been enriched further with works by Rahul, Sankrityayan, Vivek
Rai, Bhikhari Thakur, Teg Ali Teg, Ramdatta Shukla, Ram Garib Chaube and many
more. Deviksaracarita, Badmasdarpan, Jangal me Mangal and Nagari Vilap. The
folk literature of Bhojpuri language is so famous that are enjoyed by
non-speakers of the language too. Among the folklores the Kijari songs and
dramas of Bidesia are very popular.
Though Bhojpuri is a language of Bihar
state, it has no connection with Maithili, which is another language of the
state and little similarity to Magahi. It is much closer to Hindi, Braj bhakha
and Awadhi languages. Though today Bhojpuri has made a mark of its own, earlier
it was considered a part of Hindi language by the government.
Besides literature, Bhojpuri language has left its impression on films and television too. It is only language of Bihar that makes full length films. The language has had great impression on Bollywood too. There are many characters in the Bollywood movies that speak the dialect and are characterized in a certain way. One of the most popular characters is a simpleton with heart of gold who is stunned to corrupt ways of the city. It has nearly half a century of movie making which has seen some historical cinema being made in the language. Mahua and Hamar TV are two of the very popular TV channels of the language which are viewed by people who love the language.
