

If Haryanavi dancer Sapna Chaudhary enjoys mega stardom in Haryanvi pop dance, mesmerising crowds with her fetish moves, Rajkishan did it for two decades as a refined and passionate singer and a lyricist of ragnis and kissa. His soothing and mellifluous voice is almost rare to match in the Haryanavi singing and will continue to delight or console us. In Gari Kesari competition, he, despite being severely ill, sang three ragnis at the importunities of the invitees, and went into a coma. In spite of a generational shift in taste, technology and lifestyle, he remains one of the most heard Haryanavi artistes on the internet. Despite limited stage facilities and musical instruments (Gharva and Bainjo), his amazing control over the breath, tone, tune, rhythm, syllable and intonation, and a fabulous range and numbers make his songs timeless and him a versatile singer. His duets with Sudesh Sharma, “Ghar ki malik ban bethi katti likad gya dar tera” (Nautanki), “Kis tariya tu bada baag mein lagi” (Jullaf Kaur) and “Bewaris ki daal gaal mein” (Jaani Chor) are stupendous. His duets with Sudesh Sharma, Pale Ram and others prove him dominating in tonal quality and clarity. The ragnis he sang from soul and with easeful throat, “Karke ghaal tadapti chhodi jaan kyun na kaad lega” (penned by Mehar Singh), “Vo raja ki rajdulari mein sirf langote aala su” (Shiv Parvati), “Talai khadya kyun rukke marai” (Raja Gopichand), “Lahore zile mein chhota sa ek Banga gaam suna ho rai (Shahid Bhagat Singh), “Ek bey rani ghada thwade jaata kona thaya” (Raja Harishchandra), “Aati jaati police kaidiyo ka” (Veer Haqeeqat Rai), “Besak se kangaal pati” (Roop Basant), “Chakva chakvi sune bolte dhyan Bhoop ka firgya” (Anjana Pawan), “Bistar par te chala uth ke” (Chap Singh Somvati), are a few to mention.

#Haryanvi ragni kissa full
His stage performances, which sometimes lasted for full night, attracted thousands of ragni-lovers across the state. When Rajkishan’s ragni were played on radio in the evening from Akashwani Rohtak, people would stick to the radio and wouldn’t move till it was over. The kissa Rajkishan sang include Anjana Pawan, Seth Tarachand, Shri Krishna Sudama, Padmavat, Raja Veer Vikramajit, Shahi Lakadhara, Jaani Chor, Shahid Bhagat Singh, Raja Harishchandra, Heer Ranjha, Nav Ratan, Raja Mordhaj, Shiv Parvati and Narsi Ka Bhaat among others. Rajkishan sang around 40 kissas involving 2,000-plus ragnis in all. One kissa may comprise 25-35 ragnis in addition to the brief narrative of the story. In 1976, he started attending Haryanvi ragni competitions and soon became the first choice of many leading cassette companies getting scores of ragnis and kissa recorded. He did try and became one of the top tireless melody kings of Haryana. His teachers inspired him to try and showcase his talent in Haryanavi ragni. He started singing in the school bal sabhas. He completed his early education from a nearby village school in Rajli Gari. If the singer-lyricist Pt Lakhmi Chand is regarded as the Shakespeare of Haryana in the music genres of kissa (singing-based-plot), saang (theatrics) and ragnis (lyrics), Rajkishan Agwanpuriya is regarded as the Mohammed Rafi of Haryana in terms of the finesse and texture of singing, voice and melody.īorn on September 8, 1955, in Agwanpur village of Ganaur subdivision of Sonepat district, Rajkishan was the second eldest among six brothers. The ragni, saang and music-lover generations of the 1950s-90s in Haryana were simply enchanted by several names - Pt Mange Ram, Pale Ram, Fauji Mehar Singh, Dhanpat Singh, Pt Jagannath, Baje Bhagat, Karampal Sharma, Master Satbir, Sarita Chaudhary, Neelam Chaudhary, Paasi Nayar, Sudesh Sharma, Madhu Sharma and, of course, Rajkishan Agwanpuriya (see pic).
