Music
The Heer from Denmark
by KHUSHWANT SINGHPunjabi singers make way - there's a new kurri on the block!
Meet 33-year-old Danish pop-star, Anita Lerche, whose songs 'Gal sun lo Punjabio (Listen, O Punjabis)' and 'Gori (Fair Damsel)' are making waves on radio, TV and the internet across the Punjabi-speaking - as well as dancing and singing - world.
Riding high on her first solo Punjabi release, 'Heer from Denmark', I caught up with Anita at Hoshiarpur, a town in Punjab where she has been residing for the last year-and-a-half with friend Anurag Sood and his family.
"I freaked on the Punjabi dhol beat and fell in love, the moment I heard it," says Anita who first came to India in 2005 on a trekking trip to the Himalayas. Having already recorded songs in 16 different languages, as well as an English album "I Love a Piano" under her belt, Anita found herself singing with the Kulu tribals in their native language in the village of Shilla.
Anurag Sood, a Hoshiarpur resident who runs trekking tours in the Kulu Valley, brought Anita to Hoshiarpur to record the Himachali song.
When in Punjab, Anita had her first real immersion in the Punjabi language and culture. Inspired by the joie de vivre of the land, a new song, "Gori", and a love-affair with the land, were born.
"We initially wrote the lyrics in Roman for her and worked on her accent," describes Sood, who believes that Anita's initiative will go a long way in promoting Punjabi culture the world over. Her first song was a take from legendary singer Surinder Kaur's "Lathe di Chaadar"'.
"Punjabi singers have long been going to the west to get the westerners to dance to their tunes, but I'm here to reverse the trend. I've come to Punjab to make the Punjabis dance!" - is how Anita explains her song, "Gal sun lo Punjabio".
"The best part about Punjabis is that they are very spontaneous and just jump and start dancing wherever, whenever music starts playing," she exclaims. "I never need to ask the audience twice."
Anita has been flying to and fro from Denmark to complete her East and West commitments. Hailing from a middle-class family that runs a dry-cleaning shop in Copenhagen, Anita can now often be seen shopping through the bazaars of the Kashmiri Market deep in the heart of the city in Hoshiarpur.
Fully entrenched in the Punjabi circuit, Anita now plans to travel the world with her Punjabi show and already has a tour link-up with famous Punjabi hip-hop singer, Jazzy-B. Already wowing crowds in Europe, she arrives in the U.S. in May, to be quickly followed by a sweep across Canada.
It's "Balle Balle Goriye" all the way.
Conversation about this article
1: Jaspal S. Soni (Hacienda Hts, USA), May 11, 2007, 3:36 AM.
Sometimes, one appreciates a tree's beauty more from afar than while standing in its shade. No wonder, at a recent university contest of Bhangra dance, African-American students earned the top-prize! This Heer from Denmark is on her way to take Bhangra to a higher level. Isn't life all about evolution? Every aspect of our life is constantly in a state of evolution. (Would you consider adding a video/audio clip to enhance this excellent write-up?)
2: Editor (Canada), May 31, 2007, 2:55 PM.
A reader has responded: http://www.popupshop.dk/anitalerche/ should get you the audio clip.
3: Harinder Tagore (Delhi, India.), July 20, 2007, 10:51 PM.
Our youth should step up and take responsibility for their cultural heritage. If the lady from Denmark can sing in Punjabi ... and in 16 other languages ... why can't they? Keep it up, Heer, you have done a wonderful job. God bless you.
4: Kuldip (Leeds, England), August 20, 2007, 3:38 PM.
I love her songs.
5: Satwant (New York, U.S.A.), October 30, 2007, 8:57 AM.
You've got to be kidding me. A white girl singing about how great it is to be a "gori?" Don't we have enough of this in our songs already, without a "white" woman singing about it? Don't we have enough of the kala-gora issue amongst us? Why is gora/gori always better? Why is a Punjabi girl who is "gori" considered more beautiful than her darker sisters?
6: Nirmal (Amritsar, Punjab), November 04, 2007, 10:55 AM.
You want to hear authentic and beautiful Punjabi music? Here - try http://kiranmusic.com/ (Kiran Ahluwalia).
7: Ravinder Poria (Karnal, India), February 25, 2008, 3:39 AM.
A good singer! I am a fan.
8: Sanjhay Lok (Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan), May 10, 2008, 5:07 AM.
Very nice. Love, peace & sanjh!
9: Aman (India), February 28, 2009, 1:51 AM.
Excellent.
10: Sanjay (Punjab), November 17, 2010, 3:48 AM.
I love your music.
11: Hari Thandi (Leeds, United Kingdom), September 28, 2013, 8:03 AM.
You are on top of the world. People love you.