Folk Music Artist and Vidya Bharati alumni Rakesh Upadhyay- popularizing Indian folk songs internationally

Music is an invariable part of every Indian citizen. With its rich cultural diversity, our country is a treasure trove of  folk music and almost every state of India, has its own unique form of music. Even though this category of music has lost a bit of its popularity with the advent of contemporary music, it still remains an integral part of traditional festivals and celebrations. 

Some of the earliest records of folk music dates back to the Vedic times and some historians are of the view that Indian folk music is as old as the country itself. This form of songs are not only tools of enjoyment but are bearer of Indian culture, tradition and unwritten history.

Hailing from Karaundi village, Rakesh Upadhyay, who is an alumnus of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Deoriakhas, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh and a well known Bhojpuri Folk singer of international repute. He had studied  in Saraswati Vidya Mandir, till class V. After completing his schooling, he later on went to do Diploma in Elementary Education and Masters in Ancient History.

Though Mr. Upadhyay has been involved with music practice from a very young age and had already made a name for himself within the country, his first international performance was in the year 2005 in Durban, South Africa. He further went on to perform  in Bangkok (Thailand) in 2007,  as well as in Oman and the Netherlands in 2011.

Along with performing internationally, Mr. Upadhyay has performed all across India, among which few of the noteworthy performances are as follows:

• On the occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashthami, he performed in front of Uttar Pradesh’s Cheif minister Shri Yogi Adityanath at Guru Gorakhnath Mandir.

• On occasion of Mahashivratri celebration, in 2017, he performed at Baba Ghuishar Nath Dham, Pratapgarh.

• In 2018, he took an active part in Ayodhya Ramayana Mela

•  In January 2019, he participated at Divya Khumbh, Prayagraj

• Performed Bhajan at Ayodhya Diwali utsav in 2019

• He has also recorded several tracks for T- Series

In his long and illustrious career, Mr. Upadhyay has received several honours, recognition and awards, such as :

• Honoured by UP Sangeet Natak Academy, in 2016

• Awarded with ‘sarvashreshtha vijeta’ by ETV UP

• Honoured by Gorakhpur’s collector on the occasion of Republic Day

• Received Global Youth  award in 2005

• Honoured with Bhojpuri Ratna Samman in 2006, by Dainik Jagran, Gorakhpur

• Received Ratna Prakash Samman in 2006, by Ratna Prakash Memorial Sansthan, Gorakhpur and much more.

Vidya Bharati Purv Chatra Parishad privileged to have such a talented musician as a member of the Vidya Bharati alumni community.

If you are a Vidya Bharati alumni and would like to share your achievements with the community, kindly email us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org and we will get in touch with you.