1. Dr Basanti Bisht is a well known folk singer of Uttarakhand, famous for being the first woman singer of the Jagar folk-form of Uttarakhand.
12 Facts About Basanti Bisht
1. 2.
The Jagar form of singing is a way of invoking deities, which is traditionally done by men but, Basanti Bisht broke the practice and today is a well-known voice, and is trying to preserve this traditional form of singing.
3.
Basanti Bisht married an artillery soldier at the age of 15 and remained a housewife for the large part of her life.
4.
Basanti Bisht says that grew up listening to her mother's jagar songs.
5.
Basanti Bisht was the 1st batch of 03 girls who studied till class 5th in her village school which was a mile away from her village.
6.
Basanti Bisht took her first tentative step towards professional musical training, when her daughter's teacher started teaching her how to play the harmonium.
7.
Basanti Bisht started singing in public after that with a focus on bhajans, film songs, etc.
8.
Basanti Bisht had the blessings of people to be elected as the 1st Lady Pradhan in 1996 of her village.
9.
The ancient folk traditions of the hills of Uttarakhand were no longer being sung and Basanti Bisht took it on herself to search for old lost songs and later render them in the same old tunes.
10.
Basanti Bisht's singing is known for its slightly nasal voice production, the sing song style, and the slow pace of rhythm all of which are typical of the Garhwali singing style of Uttarakhand.
11.
Basanti Bisht's husband retired as a Naik from the Indian Army.
12.
Basanti Bisht's son is a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force and her daughter retired as Captain is married to a Colonel in the Indian Army.