Get on the ‘Bhangra Train’….

While attending my cousin’s wedding in New Delhi couple of weeks ago, I noticed a peculiar trend when it came to music being played at the wedding functions and the number of people on the dance floor. The thing was that whenever the DJ played any form of Bhangra music…the dance floor would get packed. When he played other filmi and non-filmi hindi music, people were enjoying but not as much. Now many of you might think..‘obviously at a Punjabi wedding people will dance to Punjabi music, cause most of them are Punjabis !!!’, well this wouldn’t be quite right since it was an inter-caste marriage, so we have loads of ‘Sindhis’ along with quite a few foreigners. They all seemed to have a ‘blast’ while dancing along the ‘Bhangra’ tunes and then who wouldn’t, according to me it’s one of the easiest tunes to dance to…all you need to do is ‘put both your hands in the air and move them slightly up and down while simultaneously shaking your butt’, just be sure to be wearing a long-lasting deodorant/perfume or the consequences could be drastic. And mind it, this observation was made before the ‘Kamikaze’ & ‘Vodka’ shots…so you can’t even say that my judgment was made under the influence of alcohol.

Now if you enjoy something so much, then according to me you should atleast be aware of some basic background knowledge about it. So here is a look at the evolution of ‘Bhangra’ music…it’s past and present.

What is Bhangra ?

Bhangra is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region in Southeast Asia. As many Bhangra lyrics reflect the long and often tumultuous history of the Punjab, knowledge of Punjabi history offers important insights into the meaning of the music. While Bhangra began as a part of harvest festival celebrations, it eventually became a part of such diverse occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. Moreover, during the last thirty years, Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop, house, and reggae.

The Origin of Bhangra

Although Bhangra has possibly existed since as long ago as 300 BC, over the past forty years it has experienced new highs in popularity and innovation. The term “Bhangra” has gradually evolved and now refers to many different sub-classes of dance and music for many occasions.

While Bhangra historians speculate the dance may have originated in the time of the wars with Alexander, no one is sure it existed until about five hundred years ago. Around the 14th or 15th Century, Punjabi wheat farmers danced and sang songs about village life to help pass the time while working in the fields. With time, these became part of harvest celebrations at Bhaisakhi (April 13) festivals, as the sight of their crops growing invigorated the farmers. From here the dance quickly moved through all divisions of class and education, eventually becoming a part of important occassion and celebration.

The Many Sub-Dances of Bhangra, Costumes & Instruments

Bhangra has developed as a combination of dances from different parts of the Punjab region. The term “Bhangra” now refers to several kinds of dances and arts, including Jhumar, Luddi, Giddha, Julli, Daankara, Dhamal, Saami, Kikli and Gatka.

Traditionally, men wear a lungi while doing Bhangra. A lungi is a colorful piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. Men also wear a kurta, which is a long Punjabi-style shirt. In addition, men wear Bhugaris – also known as turbins – to cover their heads. Women wear the traditional Punjabi dress, salvar kameez. A salvar kameez is composed of a long colorful shirt and baggy, vibrant pants. Women also wear duppattas, colorful pieces of cloth wrapped around the neck. Many Bhangra songs make references to the duppatta.

Many different Punjabi instruments contribute to the sound of Bhangra. However the primary and most important instrument that defines Bhangra is the ‘dhol’. The dhol is a large, high-bass drum, played by beating it with two sticks. The width of a dhol skin is about fifteen inches in general, and the dhol player holds his instrument with a strap around his neck.

Bhangra Today

Bhangra has come a long way in the 20th Century and has recently taken the entertainment industry by storm. In the 1970s and 1980s, many Punjabi singers from Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom emerged, setting the stage for Bhangra to become a hot new trend in dance music. Modern Bhangra artists, in addition to recording and performing traditional Bhangra, have also fused Bhangra with other music genres, such as hip-hop, reggae, house, and drum-and-bass.

Bhangra Train arrives in England :

Bhangra was introduced to the UK in the early 1970s with the migration of many Punjabi singers. It created an entirely new stage for the performance of Bhangra music. However it was not until the early eighties that Bhangra moved from “secluded halls and venues to the bright lights of the clubs and cities of England.” First generation Asians were intrigued by their musical heritage, and helped bring Bhangra to the mainstream in their new country. Heera, Alaap, and DCS were some of the pioneer bands of Bhangra music in the UK, successfully combining Western drums and synthesisers with traditional Punjabi instruments.

In 1990′s Golden Star Malkit Singhtook the Bhangra world by storm early on in its career, with music, lyrics and singing that added a unique element to Punjabi music and ushered in a new era for Bhangra sounds in the UK. Subsequently, many singers including A.S. Kang and Balwinder Safri produced brilliant Bhangra music in the UK to move the Bhangra industry forward. The regular visits to the UK from India of Bhangra legends Kuldeep Manak, Evergreen Gurdas Maan, Hans Raj Hans etc. have not only helped to keep the Bhangra tradition alive but have also enabled the music to flourish and make a real impact on the UK charts.

Bhangra Pop & Remixes :

Many South Asian DJs, especially in U. K, have mixed Bhangra music with house, reggae, and hip-hop to add a different flavor to Bhangra. These remixes continued to gain popularity as the nineties came to an end. Artistics such as Bally Sagoo, Rishi Rich, DJ Sanj and RDB have fused Bhangra and Western music to make crossover music, which is becoming increasingly popular in the UK charts. Mundeya to Bach ke Rahi (Beware of Boys), by Punjabi MC, stayed in the charts for many weeks, and introduced contemporary and world musicians to Bhangra music. Some new bands, however, have been criticised for fusing folk tunes with Western beats. Although this trend can be seen as good news for the longevity of folk in the industry, it has led to accusations of plagiarism on the part of the music producers, with musicians remixing old songs rather than producing new sounds. It is precisely this remixing, however, which has caused the astounding rise in popularity of Bhangra music all over the world.

The continued success and growth of Bhangra music worldwide has provided the impetus for many different offshoots from traditional Bhangra. The most popular of these is Daler Mehndi, a Punjabi singer from India, and his music, known as “Bhangra Pop”. Mehndi has become a major name not just in Punjab, but also all over India, with tracks such as Bolo Ta Ra Ra and Ho Jayegee Balle Balle. He has made the sound of Bhangra-pop a craze amongst many non-Punjabis in India, selling many millions of albums. Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment is the selling of 250,000 albums in Kerela, a state in the South of India where Punjabi is not spoken. Bhangra music has also had and continues to have a great influence on Bollywood movies.

Bhangra train arrives at your local gym :

One of the fitness industry’s stars, Sarina Jain is the founder and creator of the “MASALA BHANGRA WORKOUT”. Sarina Jain is an irresistibly energetic fitness personality and choreographer who has pioneered the introduction of Indian bhangra dance to the forefront of fitness with her series of unique and intense workouts. She has also successfully created dance routines for music videos, commercials, cultural festivals and concerts utilizing her knowledge of bhangra, Indian classical dance, salsa, hip-hop, and other dance forms. She has been recognized as the “Indian Jane Fonda”, being the first South Asian fitness icon to introduce Indian dance to fitness enthusiasts everywhere, and make major headlines in news media in the US and throughout the world.

Future destination of Bhangra music

Beginning as a form of lively folk music performed at harvests in the Punjab, Bhangra has evolved remarkably over the past five hundred years. The music now fully represents the culture of the Punjab region, and the struggles of its people in their long and storied history. Moreover, the music still evolves today, incorporating elements of many different kinds of music from around the world, while still existing in its traditional form. Thanks to this diversification, Bhangra now reaches a larger audience than ever, all over the world. Bhangra competitions at universities in England, Canada, and America, as well as Southeast Asia, help to further the dance’s popularity. A person can easily expect Bhangra to continue its movement into mainstream culture well beyond the 21st Century.

*Sources
1. Bhangra: Punjabi Beats Go Global
2. Simply Bhangra
3. HISTORY OF FOLK DANCE (BHANGRA)
4. Masala Dance