Kavita Vasnik, an iconic Chhattisgarhi folk singer often dubbed as lata Mangeshkar is fighting cancer for the past two years but this has not deterred her from singing and she continues to sing with the same passion and energy as she did before detection of the deadly disease.
Also popular as ‘mother of folk songs’ (lokgeeton Ki Mahtari), Kavita has been echoing the sky over Chhattisgarh and other states with her enchanting presentations based on Sua, Karma, Dadaria, Vihab Geet and Jasgeet etc.
Apart from singing, Kavita has played a crucial role in the field of water conservation by joining hands with State government’s ‘Save Water Campaign’. She had also donated one acre of her valuable land to state for water harvesting. “Chhattisgarh’s folk song and music is like teak in woods and like gold in metals”, she says confidently. The art lovers of Chhattisgarh were shocked to learn that Kavita has cancer. They pray for her recovery and this had helped her a lot in fighting with the disease.
Born in the family of Ramdas Hirkane, a resident of Bharkapara, Rajnandgaon, on July 18, 1962, Kavita was an ordinary girl except the passion for singing. Her singing was tuned in ‘Chandenigonda’, an institute started by Ramchandra Deshmukh to promote Chhattisgarhi folk art.With the passage of time her songs were recorded by the Music India Company in 1982. Her songs were aired by Akashvani centres and BBC london. Doordarshan Kendras have also telecast these songs with prominence.
Thereafter Kavita became a top Chhattisgarhi singer by rendering Sua, Bhujli, Gaura, Vivah, Bharthari and Pandavani.Differentiating between the existing generation of artists and those of past, Kavita says present generation seems to be less inclined towards folk music. “The market is flooded with meaningless music albums and videos. Some artists even perform obscene and vulgar and have tarnished the image of Chhatisgarhi tradition,” said Kavita. She appealed the new generation artists to carry forward the traditional legacy of Chhattisgarh and urged upon the women to focus on education for their development.