Himachal Excellence Awards 2016

Rajiv K. Phull

In our endeavour to honour different personalities of the state and salute their devotion in their respective fields of specialisation, Himachal This Week last week carried achievements of Dr. Sushma Sood who became Himachal’s first gynecologist to get membership of The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (RCOG), a professional association based at London in UK. It is also a sort of world record that a mother took RCOG membership after her daughter who was already a member of this association. This week finds the mention of folk singer Sunil Rana who has a dozen albums to his credit. He is also a regular folk singer at Akashwani, Shimla and Dharamshala since 1999. In addition, he has been performing at different stages on various occasions in north India.

Folk Singer Of The Year Sunil Rana

Citation: Born on December 12, 1979, Himachali folk singer Sunil Rana is a household name in Himachal. A regular singer at Akashwani Shimla and Dharamshala from 1999, he has about a dozen albums  to his credit and is a regular performer in almost all festivals and programmes in north India. He has also put in efforts to popularise Himachali folk songs at international level.For his remarkable achievements in the field of folk singing and popularising Himachal folk songs at international level, Himachal This Week confers on him Himachal Excellence Award 2016.

Hailing from Naddi village near Dharamshala, Himachali folk singer Sunil Rana is a household name in Himachal. He has been singing folk songs regularly on Akashwani Shimla and Dharamshala since 1999. He came out with an album of traditional bhajans in 2005. Since then Sunil Rana has to his credit nearly a dozen more albums. Some of them include Lok Ramayan, Parampara, Pratha, Mehak Maati Ki, Husan Paharan Da, Gaaddi Virasat, Shiv Vivah and others. Having worked on folk songs, he also produced three documentary films. One of these, Katril Othu Getham (Music in Wind) was produced by a Singapore based TV channel that had worked on folk songs of all states of India. Folk singers had prepared these folk songs together at international level. Singapore channel had also aired this documentary in which Sunil Rana had performed live in fusion. He has been performing consistently in programmes and festivals in north India and working on different projects currently. One of his albums was released by Sambh Sanstha during 2015 Paragliding World cup held at Bir-Billing. An effort was put in to translate all songs in English for spreading it worldwide. It was a unique effort to popularise Himachali folk songs at international level and was appreciated by paragliders and other tourists during the World Cup. Born on December 12, 1979 in Naddi village, Sunil was attracted towards singing since childhood due to musical environment prevailing in his house. Later, he started singing regularly when he joined college under the guidance of music teacher. Sunil Rana says that parents had a great influence in his life. The popular folk singer is thankful to all, including teachers, friends and others for motivating and encouraging him in the singing field.

-By Pawan Sharma/ Dharamshala

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