SCOTLAND’S national musical instrument, the bagpipe entered the Uttarakhand hills through army troupes stationed in Garhwal and Kumoan during the British period. But, the foreign musical instrument has become a key part of the folk music in the hilly state in the one and a half century.

More and more youths are playing the bagpipe now. The wind instrument has intermingled with traditional drums of Uttarakhand such as ‘Dhol’ and ‘Damau’ to add melody to the Uttarakhand folk music.

The Garhwal Rifles and Kumoan Regimental centres have contributed tremendously in popularising the musical instrument in this part of the world. As an army band used to be a big draw in any social gathering, the glamour of the musical group inspired locals to become bagpipers.

While many traditional musical instruments such as ‘Dhol’, ‘Damau’ and ‘Ransingha’ are locally manufactured, for bagpipe the folk artists have to depend on markets located in Meerut. And the first preference of every artist is to look for a second-hand bagpipe.

Almora-based music historian Jugul Kishore Petsali says, “No written record is available of the time when folk artists began playing bagpipes in Garhwal and Kumoan. But, it is thought to have come here about 150 years back. It is said that the army posted here at that time had recruited local youths for the army band and even allowed them to take their instrument post retirement. In this way, bagpipes entered our society.”

Bagpipe is played with other traditional music instruments in the hills on occasions such as marriage ceremonies and other celebrations. Locally called as ‘Maskbin’ and ‘Masak baza,’ the use of bagpipe has enriched the local folk music.

Seventy-eight-year-old bagpiper Prem Dass, from village Pisyani in district Pauri, says, “It is a good sign that the number of youths playing ‘Maskbin’ is growing. In my youth I used to play Dhol, but after watching a fellow villager play a bagpipe I got hooked by it. I then decided to become a bagpiper and play it till now.”

Bagpipes are also played during Chudakarm (child’s first haircut). Folk artist Sohan Lal, from village Pujara in Tehri, says, “These days I am teaching three youngsters. Uttarakhand folk music is incomplete without Maskbin.”

The folk music groups in the hills consist of traditional drummers, bagpipers, etc. The ‘Chholia’ folk dance from Kumoan region too is influenced from the Scottish musical instrument. It is basically a sword dance performed during a marriage procession to keep the evil spirits away. The popularity of ‘Maskbin’ forced the traditional Chholia dancers to make room for bagpipers. Though this change also took place long time ago but the way the bagpipe caught the fancy of hill people narrates an amazing story of a musical instrument moving from army cantonments to villages.

—The Statesman / India

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2016