Ratan Kahar

Ratan Kahar is a singer and songwriter of Bhadu and other folk songs from Birbhum district in West Bengal. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from West Bengal ^[1].

Songs of the soil

His citation gives his date of birth as 1 January 1945, and says he lives in Suri, Birbhum, and has performed on stage since he was nine ^[2]. Bhadu and Alkap songs are folk traditions of the area ^[2].

He began by writing new words to existing Bhadu and Alkap tunes and soon moved on to songs of his own ^[2]. He has written and set to music at least 250 to 300 original Bhadu and folk songs, many about the lives of ordinary, overlooked people ^[2]. Well-known folk singers such as Swapna Chakraborty and Purna Das Baul have sung his songs, including “Boroloker Biti Lo” ^[2].

Still singing

He has performed on radio and television, and still rises before dawn to sing the devotional morning songs known locally as tahal ^[2]. He has been honoured by the state’s information and culture department and receives a small monthly artist’s allowance from the West Bengal government ^[2].