Exclusive Interview With Meena Rana
Date of Birth: 24th May 1975
Interview By: Vinay Dobhal | Editor: Namrata Naithani | Posted on 22th September 2010
Tell us about yourself?
I am one of the folk singer of Uttarakhand. I am in this profession for last 19 yrs. I did schooling from Bathla Memorial Girls Senior Secondary School,
Rajpur Road, Delhi till 9th standard and then from Girls Inter College (GIC) Mussoorie. My elder sister and her Husband Ram Lal ji stay
in Mussoorie. I did rest of my schooling staying with them.
After getting married to Sh. Sanjay Kumola we came and settled in Delhi. He is a Music Director by profession and runs a music studio
Surabhi Multi Track Sound Studio named after our daughter.
Who is your Guru?
To be frank I have not got any formal training from anywhere. Since my childhood I am a big fan of Lata ji. I take my parents, my elder sister Uma and my brother Mohan as my Gurus because I din’t get chance to learn from others. What I have learned has learnt from them only.
Where I am today is possible only because of the continuous support which I get from my husband and my family.
Tell us about your singing journey.
I started singing at a very early age when I was just a student. It started when I was staying with my elder sister Uma in Mussoorie. There was one Akashwani Club and there I got my first chance to perform. Mukesh Lal Kumola ji, who is my relative now, was the President of that club.
That time I was not so fluent in Garhwali so I performed a Hindi song Naino Mein Badra Chhaye. That went so good that for this I got so much appreciation from the people and media.
Mani Bharti ji and Puran Singh Rawat ji was also there to witness my performance. After few days they contacted Sh. Ram Lal ji and asked him if he can allow me to sing for them. Everything got sought after his permission and so I came to Delhi for my first recording. It was my first break
for the movie Nauni Pichadi Nauni. I was in class 10th that time.
In the year 1993 I got my first break after which initially I sung for many albums with my elder sister Uma Rana. I got so many chances and sometimes got rejected too reason being my voice was not so matured that time. But with time maturity came in my voice.
In the year 1996 Pritam ji gave me a chance to sing in one of his album. Then Negi ji heard me and gave me chance to sing with him. Till now I have performed with almost all the renowned singers of Uttarakhand like Gajendra Rana, Anil Bisht, Virendra Rajput, Manglesh Dangwal, Dinesh Uniyal and many others.
Till now I have sung more than 11,000 songs for 2,000 albums or more in languages like Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, Jaunpuri, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Kargali, Balti and in Hindi. It includes my more than 500 songs which I have sung in Ladhaki. Uttrakhandi music has got limited audience. As an experienced artist what you think is required to make it more popular and improved?
Uttarakhandi music has already improved much. We can see young generation liking and enjoying their music. This has come possible due to the change which has taken place. Today Uttarakhandi music has gone fast. People are enjoying, love to dance on those fast beats. For old generation slow and traditional songs are still available. In last few years we saw that lot new and inexperienced faces came up with their music albums which ultimately brought the quality of Uttarakhandi music down. Do you still think that this kind of change is blessing for Uttarakhandi music?
Yes. We can take it as a blessing because before it was so limited but today it is popular among many people and you can see young generation joining it.
Yes in past such incidents happened where both audio and video got launched but with senseless music and cheap lyrics. But now as Censor has come into the picture the situation is under control. What you think can be done to save Uttarakhandi Music / Movie Industry?
There are lot many things which we can do to save Uttarakhandi Music / Movie Industry.
First thing is we should respect Copyright rules and must follow them. Today we can see copying music is so easy but one must think of the money and time a Company is spending to launch an album. People generally forget that violation of such rules results in huge loss for the music company. So if you really respect us and our music then please follow the Copyright policy. Start buying rather than copying and help the Uttarakhandi music survive.
Second thing is Uttarakhand must have its own Television Channel like other states are having. Other states have their own channels to broadcast their movies, serials and programmes. Let the Uttarakhandi channel come then we can get our programmes telecasted there. Right now movies are coming but getting dumped due to lack of proper platform. It will not only help those producers but will also spread Uttarakhandi Culture nation wide. Which are your latest and upcoming albums?
My latest albums are Mohana and Chandra. Mohana was a big hit. Chandra is my solo album released by Rama cassettes. The audio is available in the market and video is expected to be launched on 8thNovember.
In this album I have written and sung one song saying We Are Uttarakhandi And We Are Proud To Be Uttarakhandi. As 9th November is Uttarakhand Divas so we thought it will be a correct time to release it.
Other album is Lalita Cho Chum produced by Vinod Jethuri. Inspite of living in Dubai Vinod has done a successful attempt to write beautiful Garhwali songs. Songs are sung by Gajendra Rana and me along with new singers Geeta Chandola and Arjun Rawat. Music has been given by Sh. Sanjay Kumola, my husband. Would you like to say something to your fans and to young generation coming to Music field?
First of all I would like to thank each one of you for your support. For young generation I would say that today achieving your goals is not as hard as it used to be decades back.
Today parents are supportive and singing platforms are easily available. Only thing which is required next is your talent. If you have that in you then get yourself trained, learn music, understand it and then move ahead. About our website aboutUttarakhand.com
Thanks a lot to you and your team for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts with all the people of Uttarakhand. I wish you all a good luck.
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