Madhuri Barthwal née Uniyal is a folk singer of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, India. She is the first woman to be a music composer in

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

. She is said to be the first female musician from Uttarakhand to become a music teacher. On

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

in 2019 she was awarded the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

. She was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

India's fourth highest civilian award in 2022 by the Indian government in the field of art.

Life

Barthwal's father was a singer and a sitarist. After she graduated she spent several years as a music teacher at a college. In her spare time she was composing for All India Radio in Nazibabad. She became an enthusiastic supporter of the

Folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

and she created the radio programme "Dharohar" which was dedicated to the region's heritage and it's folk music. She is said to know every musical instrument that has been used in Uttarakhand. She has helped to record the music of other musicians. As a teacher she has inspired several to become professional musicians amongst the many hundreds that she taught. She has sung with her fellow Garhwali singer

Narendra Singh Negi Narendra Singh Negi (born 12 August 1949), also referred as 'Garh Ratna' and 'Bob Dylan of the hills' is one of the most prominent folk singers, composer and a poet of the Garhwal and Uttarakhand who prominently sings in Garhwali language. Repo ...

. Barthwal's work was recognised with the

, which was presented by

, the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

in recognition of the sixty years she had dedicated to music, broadcasting and teaching. The citation noted that she had "devoted her life" to the preservation of music. The award ceremony was held at the President's palace,

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

, on

in 2019 in New Delhi. About forty women received the award that day and three of the awards were given to groups. The Minister of Women and Child Development

Maneka Gandhi Maneka Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. She served as a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, and is a member ...

was there and afterwards the awardees met the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barthwal, Madhuri Living people Indian folk singers People from Uttarakhand Indian radio people Culture of Uttarakhand Indian composers Indian women singers Year of birth missing (living people) Nari Shakti Puraskar winners