Kumaoni Folk Songs
Jhoda, Chanchari, Nyoli, Bair, Jagar, Rajula–Malushahi and Bedu Pako: what they are and what they mean.
🎶 We explain the form, story and meaning of each song. Song lyrics and recordings belong to their writers, singers and labels, so please listen to official recordings by the artists. Families and singers can share recordings with us via Elders’ Stories with permission.
Jhodaझोड़ा
Song formA circle dance-song: dancers link arms and sway in a ring while a lead singer calls the lines and the group answers. Sung at fairs and festivals, especially around temple melas.
💬 What it’s about: Community, joy and togetherness; verses often praise local deities, places and seasons.
Chanchariचाँचरी
Song formA lively group song-and-dance with call and response, performed by men and women at fairs.
💬 What it’s about: Celebration and playful exchange between singers.
Nyoliन्योली
Song formSlow, melancholic songs of separation, often sung by women working alone in forests and fields.
💬 What it’s about: Longing for a husband away in the army or the plains, for the maternal home, or for lost love.
Bairबैर
Song formA singing contest in which two singers answer each other in improvised verse, often through the night.
💬 What it’s about: Wit, knowledge and quick thinking; audiences judge the cleverest answers.
Hudkiya Bolहुड़किया बौल
Work songSung during paddy transplanting: a hudka drummer sings and the women planting in the fields respond, keeping the rhythm of the work.
💬 What it’s about: Turning hard labour into a shared celebration and praying for a good harvest.
Jagarजागर
Ritual songNight-long ritual singing to invoke local deities, led by the jagariya with hudka, thali or dhol.
💬 What it’s about: Faith, healing and the stories of local gods like Golu Devta.
Rajula–Malushahiराजुला मालूशाही
BalladThe most famous Kumaoni folk epic: the love story of Rajula, a Shauka trader’s daughter, and Malushahi, a prince of the Katyuri line, sung by bards over many nights.
💬 What it’s about: Love across communities, journeys over mountains and the struggle to be together.
Baithaki Holiबैठकी होली
SeasonalSeated Holi singing in classical ragas, beginning in winter and continuing through Phalgun in homes across Kumaon, especially Almora.
💬 What it’s about: Spring, devotion to Krishna and the joy of the season.
“Bedu Pako Baro Masa”बेड़ु पाको बारो मासा
Famous songKumaon’s best-known song worldwide, popularised by composer Mohan Upreti. Its title says the bedu (wild fig) ripens all twelve months, while the kafal ripens only in Chait.
💬 What it’s about: Love for the hills and their fruits, and gentle teasing between friends. Often played by army bands as a symbol of the Kumaon region.
🪘 Instruments
Hudka (hourglass drum), dhol and damau (wedding and festival drums), turi and ransingha (curved horns), mashakbeen (bagpipe, played in processions) and thali (brass plate struck as a drum in Jagar).