Famous People from Uttarakhand in the field of Art and Culture :

Gunanand Pathik :

Gunanad Daangwal Pathik (1914 or 1915 - 2000) was an Indian freedom fighter who played a leading role in the Tehri uprising.

He is known for his translation of Ramayan to Garhwali Ramayana (called Gadh Bhasha Lila Ramayana), making it easier to be used in plays (Ramlila) in Garhwal region and compositions of folk and patriotic folk songs. Poet Manglesh Dabral has written in his poems about Gunanand being a Marxist, who was present at Communist rallies and made some of his revolutionary songs on folk tunes.

He died in 2000, at the age of 85 and is survived by his wife, Manorama, two sons and two daughters.

Girish Tiwari :

Girish Chandra Tiwari "Girda"  (10 September 1945 – 22 August 2010) was a scriptwriter, director, lyricist, singer, poet, organic culturist, literary writer, and social activist in Uttarakhand.

Born on 10 September 1945 in the village of Jyoli near Hawalbag in Almora District of Uttarakhand, he attended school at the Government Inter College in Almora and later schooling at Nainital. After meeting renowned lyricist and writer Late Brijendra Lal Sah, he realized his potential for creativity.

At the age of twenty-one, Girda met social activists at Lakheempur Khiri and got influenced by their work in the society. These meetings at such a tender age changed the life path of Girda and made him a creative writer and a social activist. He has been associated with the famed Chipko Movement and later with the Uttarakhand Andolan.

 He has directed famous plays like "Andha Yug", "Andher Nagri", "Thank you Mr. Glad" and "Bharat Durdasha". Girda has written plays including "Nagare Khamosh Hain" and "Dhanush Yagya". Girda edited "Shikharon ke Swar" in 1969, and later "Hamari Kavita ke Ankhar" and "Rang Dari Dio Albelin Main". His latest compilation of poems and songs specially focusing "Uttarakhand Andolan" and "Uttarakhand Kavya" was published in 2002.

He took voluntary retirement from the post of instructorship in the Song and Drama Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and thereafter joined the Uttarakhand movement, and took to full-time creative writing. He was one of the founders and member of the editorial board of PAHAR, a Nainital-based organisation involved with promotion of Himalayan culture.

Bedupako, the folk genome tank of Uttarakhand has published a small collection of Poem's in original voice of this legendary personality. 

He died on 22 August 2010.

Legacy :

Pahar group is compiling a book – "Girda Samarga" – which includes hundreds of his creative writings, songs, poems, essays etc.

Meena Rana :

Mina Rana is a famous Uttarakhandi singer. She has released many Garhwali and Kumaoni music albums. She is considered to be one of the best female singers of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and even said to be the Lata Mangeshkar of Uttarakhand

Narendra Singh Negi :

Narendra Singh Negi (born 12 August 1949) is one of the most prominent folk singers of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Born on 12 August 1949 in Pauri Village nearby Pauri town in Pauri Garhwal District (Uttarakhand), Negi started his career in Pauri Garhwal (Uttrakhand).

Negi started his music career by releasing "Garhwali Geetmala". These Garhwali Geetmalas came in ten different parts. As these Garhwali Geetmalas were from different companies he was finding it difficult to manage them. So he finally switched into releasing his cassettes by giving them separate titles. His first album was titled Buraans, after a flower found in the hills. He has sung over 1,000 songs.

He has also given his voice in Garhwali movies such as Chakrachal, Gharjawai, and Meri Ganga Holi Ta Maima Aali. Bollywood singers Udit Narayan, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Purnima, Suresh Wadekar, Anuradha Paudwal, Jaspal also sung in Garhwali films under his music direction. Purnima sung many Garhwali songs with him.

Although he mostly composes his music in the folk genre, his lyrics depict a huge range of anxieties, tensions and human insights of the people of Uttarakhand. Songs like "Naya Zamana Ka Choron" which shows generational disparity, "Bol Chitthi Kile Ni Bhezi" depicting the innocence of adolescent love and "tehri doobhana lagyun cha" which shows the pain of people losing their homes because of the tehri dams are some of his hits.His song "Nau Chami Narayana" about government corruption created quite uproar among that times congress government led by Narayan Dutt Tiwari. Most of young singer are singing Narendra Singh Negi song and make mashup.

Chander Singh Rahi :

Chander Singh Rahi (born Chander Singh Negi, 28 March 1942 – 10 January 2016) was a prominent folk singer, balladeer, musician, poet, storyteller, and cultural conservator from Uttarakhand.

In recognition of his deep devotion to the music and culture of Uttarakhand, he has been described as the "Bhishma Pitamah of Uttarakhand folk music".

Rahi was born Chander Singh Negi to Dilbar Singh Negi and Sundara Devi in a Giwali village in Maudadsyun.He belonged to a modest Ghadiyal family from the Nayar Valley of Pauri in Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Rahi and his brother, Dev Raj Rangeela, learned the tradition of Pahari (originating from the hills) music from their father, a singer of the jagarmusic of Uttarakhand.

Rahi learned the foundations of Pahari music, including age-old traditional songs, musical instruments, and the cultural practices associated with the music of the Himalayas, early in life. As a child, he accompanied his father on traditional musical instruments, including the thakuli, the damru, and the huruki. Rahi learned Indian classical music with Keshav Anuragi and his guru, Bachan Singh, much later in his adult life.

He sang more than 550 songs in the Garhwali and Kumaoni languages. His work was available on more than 140 audio cassettes. He performed live in over 1,500 shows across India. Some of his celebrated songs include "Sarg tara junyali rata ko sunalo", "Fyonladiya, Dekh hilma chandi ku batana", "Chaita ki chaitwali", "Bhana ho rangeela bhana", "Satpuli ka senna meri bau surila", "Tile dharu bola Madhuli", "Tyere chadri chhutgye pichhne", and "Sauli ghura ghur". His first recorded album, Sauli ghura ghur, was a commercial hit.

Rahi collected and curated more than 2,500 age-old traditional songs covering various folk forms of Uttarakhand including "Khuder Geet", "Sanskar Geet", "Barhai", "Panwara", "Mela Geet", "Jhaura, Pandavani", "Chaunfla", "Thadiya", and "Jaagar". His book, A Comprehensive Study of the Songs, Musical Instruments, and Dances of the Central Himalayas, was to be published by Uttaranchal Sahitya, Sanskriti evam Kala Parishad. He was also an avid collector of folk musical instruments of Uttarakhand. He was a holistically talented artist who could sing, write, compose, and play many rare Uttarakhand instruments. He also had an excellent understanding of the intricacies and significance of his craft. Apart from his creative pursuits, Rahi was deeply passionate about conserving and propagating the music of Uttarakhand. He was considered to be a treasure trove of knowledge of the musical culture of Uttarakhand, which he continuously researched, represented, and explained to his listeners. Rahi was known for his knowledge of the folklore of all of Uttarakhand, from Jaunsar to the Jauhar Valley.