Though the participation of female artists increased over the years, there is no substantial change in the participation of women as audience. With the boom of technology, these events got recorded on video tapes and cassettes, reaching almost every household. The Saang was gradually replaced with Ragni competitions to gain popularity among masses. With time, female artists got access to this heavily male dominated music and theatrical art form. Thus, male artists would cross dress and play the role of female characters. Initially, Ragnis were performed by male singers and women weren’t allowed to participate in a Saang. Other prominent figures in this field were Dada Mehar Singh, Pale Ram, Mange Ram, Sudesh Sharma and many more who took the folk culture to the masses.
The Saang and Ragni form of theatre was popularised by Dada Lakhmi Chand, a very revered personality in Haryana who has composed many Ragnis on various themes that gives us a glimpse of the Haryanvi culture. Ragni is a kind of folk music performed in a Saang (a musical theatre).
They are conducted at different places in Haryana and give a platform to local artists. The exact history of these competitions in not known. Some of the currently famous pop singers started their career through the Ragni competitions which have become another face of Haryanvi pop culture. In the final line, the husband threatens to use force if she says no to his sexual advances. In the entire song, the wife is seen expressing her reservations about having sex with a husband who has a heavy build because she is fragile and might get hurt. The same accusation has earlier been made against Sapna Chaudhary.Īnother very famous song Solid Body portrays the scene from a wedding night. The song wasn’t received well by the older generation who accused her of spoiling young girls and misrepresenting the Haryanvi culture.
At one place she also advocates court marriages, removed from the usual ritualistic ceremonies.
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There is also a line that goes, “ Kapde ki taraha ye yaar bhi badalati, marzi ki karti ye kisi ki na sunti”, which translates to mean that girls are also free to not stick to just one partner but choose lovers as they wish. It features scenes showing women sharing and enjoying intimate moments with their partners in public, juxtaposed with the lyrics, “ Ashiqui mein chhora se bhi tez ghani chhori hain” meaning girls are far ahead as compared to boys when it comes to expressing desires. To depict such sequences as an everyday instance in a state that already records a high rate of violence against women is extremely problematic. Moreover, the song at one place captures a moment where the husband beats up the nagging wife with a stick, which is portrayed to be normal. The primary reason behind designing such clothing for women was restricting their mobility, and at the same time ,making them presentable to the male eyes.
The argument that earlier, women used to take pride in wearing a Daaman mimics the similar argument that the women in the West liked to wear corsets. But one needs to understand that the Daaman weighs around 10kg and it becomes extremely inconvenient to carry while performing household and field work. It has been seen as the cultural symbol of Haryana along with Ghunghat/Ohla (Lugaai ki sharm ka gehna). Daaman- Chundari was the traditional attire worn by the women of the generation of my grandmother. The most watched Haryanvi song on YouTube is 52 Gaj ka Daman which is said to represent the Haryanvi culture where the wife demands her husband to buy her a Daaman, refusing to fetch water from the well otherwise. In the past few years, the Haryanvi music industry has also been attracting wider public attention due to increased internet connectivity and easier access to YouTube content. She was the third most googled person in India, leaving behind Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. In recent times, the Haryanvi music industry and its pop culture has caught mainstream attention especially with the huge fan following garnered by dancer and stage performer Sapna Chaudhary, who has now become a household name. Haryana has nurtured numerous sportspersons, politicians and is known for its cuisine as well.ĭespite, like every other place, Haryana too has its own challenges in terms of the lowest female sex ratio at birth, and the presence of social structures like the khap panchayats that are infamous for issuing farmans against women, restricting their liberty and mobility in public spaces. It was also one of the states that made the green revolution a success and today, it is the second largest contributor to the central pool of food grains. Haryana is a state with a rich culture and history that goes far back to the Indus valley civilization.