Punjabi Music

The colorful state of Punjab, with its rambling farmlands and hardworking, fun-loving people also boasts of a diverse cultural legacy. Besides an age-hold history, the state also has its native Punjabi music, a cheerful and lively form of traditional music.

The Punjabi’s are industrious and assiduous people who firmly believe in the combination of work and play. For leisure they seek entertainment in lively music and dance. The most popular and enjoyable form of Punjabi music is bhangra. Today however this traditional form of music has propagated into the trendy and happening house, retro, hip-hop, reggae and electronic music and is in vogue not only inn India, but also in United Kingdom and also the United States.

Punjabi folk music is varied and highly rhythmic. Western Punjab is the root of the traditional dhol, mahiya and boli music styles. Punjab also has several renowned exponents of vocal music whose harmonious voices that are accompanied by the resonance of instruments like the dhol, tumbi, dhad sarangi, algoza and Ektara.

The quintessential Punjabi bhangra is more of a dance form performed during Baisakhi, than a musical expression. It gained popularity as a performing art only after India’s heart wrenching partition in 1947. Slowly Bhangra evolved into fusion music with its own genre. Accompanied by several percussion instruments, reverberating cheerfully, the lively songs accompanied by colorful dance are enjoyed by the masses of Punjabi people.

Thirty years down the line, a unique genre of music, the Pop Bhangra was born in the United Kingdom. It was a melodious blend of Punjabi lyrics with western instruments. Currently, a popular form of pop and dance music, modern bhangra has been considerably influenced by reggae and the American rhythm and blues.

Daler Mehendi, Hans Raj Hans, Gurdaas Mann, Jazzy B and Punjabi Mc are some of the leading proponents of modern bhangra music.