MOHAN UPRETI

MOHAN UPRETI

1928 Almora – 1997 Delhi

Indian writer, music composer, and theater director Mohan Upreti, is widely considered one of the greatest composers of Indian theater music of all time. For his enormous contribution to reviving Kumaoni traditional music, Upreti is remembered. Most typically, his admirers associate him with the well-known folk song “Bedu Pako, Bara Masa”.

EARLY LIFE

Mohan Upreti was born in 1928 in Almora, Uttarakhand. In his early life, he was greatly influenced by trade union leaders like P. C. Joshi. He later went on to become a prominent leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and is also considered Upreti’s mentor. He was profoundly affected by Uday Shankar’s artistic output at the India Cultural Centre in Almora because of Shankar’s efforts to combine traditional and classical elements in his performances.

EDUCATION

He did his graduation from Allahabad University in around 1940s – 1950s. In response to the Indian independence movement, the artistic community established the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) and the Progressive Writers Association. Mohan Upreti couldn’t ignore this burgeoning movement and established his theater company, “Lok Kalakar Sangh,” while still a student at Allahabad University.

CAREER

He met ‘Guru’ Mohan Singh ‘Reethagadi’ Bora from Almora who was renowned hurkiya (one who plays instrument hurka. a traditional percussion instrument), a folk performer who influenced him immensely. Upreti became his “Shishya” and went on to learn different styles of songs, performances, and ballads and even adopting of hurka which was associated with lower caste performers. Upreti soon began his theatre group in Almora called ‘Lok Kalakar Sangh’ (Folk ArtistCollective).

He tried to conserve and put forward the Kumaoni culture of Uttarakhand through establishing institutions like the Parvatiya Kala Kendra (Center for Arts of the Hills), which he constituted in Delhi, in 1968. He along with B.M. Shah is predominantly believed to be the one who revamped the theatre culture in Uttarakhand. Some of his famous works influenced by Kumaoni and pahadi culture are Ramleela’, ‘Lal Gulab’, ‘Inder Sabha’ and ‘Amir Khusrau’.

Mohan Upreti’s life was devoted to folk art and music. He performed many programs in association with music composers Salil Choudhary, Umar Sheikh and actor Balraj Sahni.

Algeria, Syria, Jordan, Rome, Thailand, thirteen Uttarakhand folk tales like Rajula-Malushahi, Rasik-Ramoul, Jitu-Bagdwal, Rami-Baurani, AjubaBafaul and Ramlila were translated into Pahari dialects (Garhwali, Kumaoni) and stage direction.

Performed in 22 countries including North Korea. Musically directed the plays of Ghasiram Kotwal, Ali Baba, Uttar Ramcharit, Mashriki Hur and Amir Khusro etc. Upreti, who founded the Art Artists Association in Almora in 1951, trained more than one and a half thousand artists and presented more than 1200 programs.

Some of these musical pieces were later recorded by Upreti for the Gramophone Company and the All India Radio Program. Additionally, he taught at the National School of Drama and wrote music for several Doordarshan productions, notably the “Ek Tha Rusty” series from the 1980s, which was based on short tales by Ruskin Bond. During his lifetime, Mohan Upreti traveled to 22 countries and spread the culture of Kumaon everywhere. In one of his interviews, he remembers singing Kumaoni Holi in a desert in Africa.

The Parvatiya Kala Kendra still continues to perform in Delhi, through his wife Naima Khan Upreti and brother Bhagawat Upreti, the Parvatiya Kala Kendra still performs in Delhi. His most auspicious and appreciated work was the song ” Bedu Pako Baramasa.”The “Bedu Pako Bara Masa” is somewhat considered as the unofficial anthem of the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand.

ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS

AWARDS

He was awarded in 1962 by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi for his remarkable contribution in the field of music direction and theater for presenting folk culture in an innovative form through stage medium.

He was awarded by the Indian Natya Sangh in 1981 for music direction, for folk dances by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1985.

Hindi Sansthan, Government of Uttar Pradesh honored him with Sumitranandan Pant Award, he was also rewarded with the famous Golden Bear award at a function held in Jordan.

Although in 1997, he died in New delhi, his esteem presence is quite prominent in the world of culture. A new play is presented by the organisation he founded, “Parvatiya Kala Kendra,” each year on the anniversary of his birth. His biography, Mohan Upreti – The Man and His Art, was published by the National School of Drama in 2006 and was authored by theatrical critic Diwan Singh Bajeli. The tune of the song “Bedu pako” will forever remind us of him. When Jawaharlal Nehru ji heard this song from his throat, he named Mohan da “Bedu Pako Boy”.