Gita Ray Barman

Gita Ray Barman is a singer, composer and lyricist of Bhawaiya, the folk music of North Bengal. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from West Bengal ^[1].

The music of North Bengal

Bhawaiya comes from the Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal and neighbouring parts of Assam and Bangladesh ^[2]. Its songs often speak of the lives of elephant drivers, buffalo herders and cart drivers, and of the loneliness of the women they leave behind ^[2]. It is usually accompanied by instruments such as the dotora, sarinda and flute ^[2].

Singer and teacher

Barman was born on 15 February 1976 and grew up in Sarbeswar Joyduar, a remote Cooch Behar village, and earned a history degree from Cooch Behar College ^[2]. She learned Bhawaiya from Dinabandhu Sarkar and later from Nibaron Ray and Sunil Chandra Ray ^[2].

She first sang on All India Radio, Siliguri, as a child and has been an A-grade artist there since 1992 ^[2]. She came first in the West Bengal state Bhawaiya competition in 1998 ^[2]. She has composed and recorded many songs, and around 30 students now learn Bhawaiya song and dance at the music school she runs ^[2]. She has also acted in the award-winning Rajbanshi films Bihan and Ek Fota Pani ^[2].