Hill song from U’khand becomes online sensation
Presented in a new avatar, a popular hill song from Uttarakhand has become an overnight sensation amassing over 10 lakh views within a day of it being posted online.
The melodious Jaunsari song ‘O Saathi O Saathi’ has been sung by Bollywood singer Jubin Nautiyal in collaboration with rapper Badshah.
MTV India channel posted the video song on social media platforms on March 24. It logged over 1 million views on social networking site Facebook alone by Saturday noon.
Originally sung by Jaunsari singer Khajan Dutt Sharma, the soulful track is a lover’s cry for his missing loved one.
The song is in Jaunsari dialect from Jaunsar, a hilly region in Uttarakhand that traces its origin from the Pandavas of the Mahabharata.
“A beautiful moment for Uttarakhand. Finally, our artistes in national platform are giving voice to something related to their identity,” posted Nikhil ‘Uttarakhandi’.
“Wow... finally it happened… want to hear more in our language,” wrote another user Atul Bhatt. Many were surprised to see rapper Badshah in a ‘soulful number. Singer Jubin, who hails from Jaunsar, said he’d always wanted to bring the spotlight on music of Uttarakhand hills. “I’d been looking for an opportunity to take the songs from our mountains to the national platform. So, when I got this chance, I immediately told the team that this (pahadi song) is what I want to do,” Jubin told HT over the phone from Mumbai. “I’m happy that people from all over the country are not only loving the song but are also curious to know its meaning and the language… I’m sure our pahadi music and culture will go places with such experiments,” said Jubin.
Jubin had earlier collaborated with Badshah for The Humma Song, the rejig version of the 1990s classic hit.
As a playback singer in Bollywood, Jubin has delivered several hits such as Zindagi Kuch Toh Bata, Meherbani and Tere Liye among others.
The video song was also aired on MTV Unplugged, a TV series that showcases popular musical artists, on Saturday night.