Dear all,
It gives me immense pain to read a website which has been designed to destroy a mission and organization called virasat and REACH. As Vipul Dhasmana has written Virasat has its origin in SPIC MCAY programees of 1993. In 1998 the Virasat organizers also included the Uttarakhand folk presentations every day during the festival giving them a slot of 45 to 60 minutes. The duration which was later extended to 90 minutes. Artistes and group of repute commonly known have been invited so far from all over Uttarakhand. They include Kabotri Devi, Prahlad, Harda Surdas, Hemraj Bisht, Diwan Karnwal, Gokul Bisht, Bhuwan Cha Lahri, Gokul Bisht, all the artistes of Yug Manch, Bhuwan Ram’s Chholia orchestra, Chandan Bohra’s group, Basanti Bisht’s group, Devradi’s group from Sunaun village, Jagar singers of Nauti, Marchgha group of Chhinaka, Prem Lal Hindwal of Josdhimath, Tolchha group of Lata, Shiv Charan and Bachan Dei beda singer, Narendra Singh Negi (three times before the sad event) Kala Darpan, Barkot group, Sonara group, Hanol group, Nand Lal Bharti (five times). Besides Reach has instituted Virasat Samman for the cultural performers of Uttarakhand and the same has so far been received by Shri Narendra Singh Negi, Girish Tiwari Girda, Jhusia Damain, Bachan Dei, Jataru Lal, Ganga Ram Raj, and Bishweshwar Dutta Saklani.
Will any one of you ask all of these groups how REACH has treated them and How REACH has upped its ante in the matter of payments to the folk artistes of Uttarakhand after the painful incident of Kauthik 1995 organized by Garhwal Sabha which utterly failed to pay even travel cost to the artistes and they had to fetch for their bus fares by selling their music instruments like dhol and damun. Ask Roshan Dhasmana the Secretary of Kauthik 1995(I still have the poster of Kauthik 1995)
Dear friends you are suffering from an amnesia which leads you to believe that Dehrdun is Uttarakhand
The sad episode with Narendra Singh Negi was the direct fall out of a political tussle between the artiste and the all powerful Congress Party. REACH was made the sacrificial goat by the politicians ( I also include all the so called cultural scholars except Vipul Dhasmana in the list as politicians and not cultural performers). How can I forget the concocted news story published by one of the journalists saying that Narendra Singh Negi would sing “nauchami Narain’ in Virasat on the day. The story irked all the Congressmen and hundreds of calls were made to REACH office to stop Negi from singing it. Neither Negi ever intended to sing the song nor did the journalist care to ask him because the latter had ulterior motives in publishing the story.
THE DIRECT OUTCOME OF THE TUSSLE WAS KEEPING AWAY SHRI NARENDRA SINGH NEGI BY AKHIL GARHWAL SABHA FROM ALL PROGRAMS INCLUDE POETRY CONVENTION IN ITS UTTARAKHAND FESTIVAL THE SAME YEAR.
THIS DECISION ALSO LEAD TO VIOLENT PROTESTS BY UKD.
Here is the politics:
The blog writers deliberately forget Akhil Garhwal Sabha’s insulting diplomacy (as they had received funds from Tiwari govt.) The reason is simple : Garhwalis can wisely insult their Garhwali artist. But REACH which is composed of the members of all regions of the country including 114 Garhwalis was immediately dubbed as an anti Pahari group in spite of all its commitments to Uttarakhand culture.
I challenge all those engaged in the cultural researches and production and presentation of Uttarakhand folk arts to do a single dhol workshop for 30 days which REACH has already done in 2001 and documented the system of six valleys of Garhwal. Could these groups and scholars produce an art form like Chakravyooh which REACH has done by working in Gandhari and Mangoli villages of Rudraprayag district by holing two 30 day workshops? REACH has held a seminar on the kind of challenge Nanda Devi Raj Jat will face in 2012(27th Oct ,2007). REACH has produced an audio album on Nanda Devi Jagars in 2006.
REACH BRINGS TOGETHER THE FOLK LIFE OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AND ALSO OF THE WORLD . MY PAHARI BHAIS ARE JEALOUS OF THIS PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF REACH. HENCE THEY WANT TO KILL REACH AND DRIVE A PAHARI MAIDANI WEDGE IN DEHRADUN.
I know certain disgruntled journalists of Dehradun who have personal differences with R.K.Singh who miserably failed to provide sufficient hospitality to them whenever they visited Virasat festival or the journalists were irked by the school going volunteers who are not some time solicitous to the visitors who are expecting courtesy.
Thousand Curses to such sensitivity which conspires to kill and organization whose work is only to contribute its mite to the cultural scene of Uttarakhand
