Mahavir Nayak (born 26 March 1942), is a nagpuri singer and songwriter. He is an exponent of Theth Nagpuri music, which is a genre of typical Nagpuri music, based on traditional Nagpuri folk music. He is the recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award (2022), Lok Kala Ratna Award (2014) and Praful Samman (2019) for his contribution in folk music.

Life

Early life

He was born in the village of Uruguttu in the

Kanke block Kanke block is a community development block in the Ranchi Sadar subdivision of Ranchi district, Jharkhand, India. Geography Kanke is located at ' Kanke CD block is located on the Ranchi plateau proper. It has an average elevation of above mea ...

Ranchi district Ranchi district is the most populous district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is the district headquarters. It was established as a district in 1899. History Iron slag, potsherds and iron tools have been ...

on 26 March 1949, on the day of Ramnavami. His father, Khuddu Nayak, was a folk singer. His father was a

Mardani Jhumar Mardani Jhumar( also Mardana Jhumar) is a Nagpuri folk dance performed by men in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It is performed after harvest in fair. Men wear ghongroo, hold sword, shield and dance in a circle by ho ...

dancer. He learnt folk music in the arkhra, the village ground. He was getting chances to sing songs in school on Saturday. He was appreciated by his friends for his songs and he wished to become a singer.

Career

He joined Heavy Engineering Corporation in 1963. He started writing songs. He tried to preserve traditional nagpuri music. He is the singer of theth nagpuri songs, which is typical Nagpuri music based on traditional Nagpuri folk music since 1962. He was invited by

Bisheshwar Prasad Keshari Bisheshwar Prasad Keshari, popularly known as Dr BP Keshari, was an educationist and writer. He was a prominent leader in the movement for a separate state, Jharkhand. Life Early life Bisheshwar Prasad Keshari was born in Pithoria in Ranchi dis ...

to the Nagpuri Sansthan, where he came to know about the poetry of Nagpuri poets such as Hanuman Singh, Barju Ram,

Ghasi Ram Mahli Ghasi Ram Mahli (17 January 1859 – 1937) was an Indian Nagpuri-language poet. He was a poet under the patronage of Nagvanshi Lal Thakur of Thakurgaon. He was the first poet of the Nagpuri language, whose book was published in 1911. Early lif ...

and Das Mahli. Then he started composing nagpuri music with Dr Bishweswar Prasad Keshari. He started to sing on stage in the year of 1976. In 1977, he started organizing stage programs and gave the elderly singers the opportunity to sing. He has sung in more than 1000 stage shows. He is known as king of Vinsaria, which is a title given by the people of

Simdega district Simdega district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Simdega town is the administrative headquarters of this district. This district is the least population density district of jharkhand(2011).This district was ca ...

. He gave an audition and joined the radio and television show in 1984. Then he sang several songs on radio and television. He also composed many songs for the movement of the separate Jharkhand state. In 1985, he established the Kunjban organization with folk artist

Mukund Nayak Mukund Nayak (born 15 October 1949), is an Indian artist. He is a folk singer, songwriter and dancer. Nayak is an exponent of Nagpuri folk dance Jhumar. He is recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Early life and family ...

and other artists, to teach traditional nagpuri music to the young generation. He went to

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

for a show in 1992. On 31 March 2021, he retired from HEC. He had written around 300 songs and collected 5000 songs written by old poets. He also organised the Nagpuri poet conference in

Hatia Hatia is a town and railway station in Ranchi district, Jharkhand, India. Etymology The name "Hatia" derive from "Hat" which means "market." The Hat was established by King of Barkagarh Ani Nath Shahdeo. Geography Location Hat ...

. He has been a member of Chotanagpur Sanskritik Sangh since 1971. He published the magazine ''Darpan'' in 1993, which has songs written by many old poets. According to him, the Theth Nagpuri music is a form of classical music. Its song and dance are based on festivals and seasons such as

Jhumar Jhumar or Jhoomar (also called Ghumbar in Sandalbar area) is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Multan and Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, also thrived in Sandalbar areas (Faisal abad, Jhang, Chiniot, Nankana Sahib, To ...

, Pawas, Udasi and Fagua. It includes social, ethics, culture and literature. Modern nagpuri songs have been affected by pollution.

Awards and honours

In 2014, he was awarded the Lok Kala Ratna Award. In 2020, he was awarded Praful Samman for the year 2019. In 2022, he was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nayak, Mahavir Living people People from Ranchi 1942 births Indian male folk singers Singers from Bihar Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award