Artist: Geetaben Bhil.
Vocals: Lok Sangeet.
Folk instrument : Harmonium.
Village: Ratanpar, Khadir Bet, Kachchh.

With a stirring melodic voice, that soars the emotions of the crowds, Geeta created a vocal style that is completely her own.

Geeta’s success is a rare occurrence in Kachchh folk music scene. Music is a way of life for many a women in Kachchh. They croon their favorite folk tunes going about their house-hold chores, cooking lunches, taking care of the house needs, and singing away songs of different moods and genres as the hours pass by.

It’s been a challenge to figure a career in folk music for Geeta. “It was very confusing at first. Women sing. But in confined premises of home or at the local get-togethers like marriage functions or in festivals. But very rarely as an artist on the stage.” says Geeta.

Geeta performed for the first time outside of her village in 2015. And on a stage in front of city audience in Bhuj. “Kala Varso was looking at that time for women artists to perform for the folk concert on International Women’s Day on Mar 8^th, 2015. The folk concert evening was to celebrate the unheard voices of women folk music artists of Kachchh.”

“It took lots of persuasion from Kala Varso to convince my parents to allow me to perform at the event. I was young and unmarried. And they had many questions. What would the society think? Was it ok to break the norms and perform in public platforms?” says Geeta.

“But everyone in the village knew about Kala Varso and the work they have been doing in the areas of Folk Music. And few elderly women folk music artists too were participating in the International Women’s Day Concert.”

Since then, she went on to perform in more than 150 programs across India including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi and shared the platforms with other famous folk music artists like Kirtidan Gadhvi, Divaliben Bhil.

The local traditions and the local way of life had a remarkable influence on Geeta’s music. She grew up listening and imitating her mom, who is also a well-known singer in her village.

Famed for her song ‘Tildi’, Geeta is well versed with the folk genre of Lok Sangeet and the folk songs by Divaliben Bhil, Hemant Chauhan.  She also plays the instrument Harmonium.

She participated in Kala Varso’s training initiative ‘Reeyaz Shala’ in 2016 and 2019 to hone her Sur, Taal and Lai capabilitites, and studio-recorded for the Reyan album by Kala Varso.

Geeta’s success has been an inspiration for many other young girls in Khadir region to pursue music as a profession. But Geeta is not content with her journey so far. “The audiences love the energy and emotion I bring to the stage. But opportunities to perform are still very hard to get by. I want to regularly perform at the cultural events and cultural festivals across India and even abroad. Lots of hard work goes everyday in pursuit of those musical dreams of mine.”