“I prefer to learn from gaining experiences”- Rajesh Ahir
Childhood and Family
Rajesh Ahir, born on 2nd January 2000, in a small village called Dhaneti in the district of Kachchh is a young folk artist in the Gujarati music industry. In today’s time, he is one of the most successful folk music singers, who has learnt music from his mother Sabhi Ben Ahir. His mother used to sing not only at home functions but has done many stage shows. He used to accompany her during her shows, and from that, he has garnered interest in music. He believes that music is in his blood since his maternal grandfather and even his great-grandfather were also singers. According to him whatever he has learnt from his mother, he is now presenting in front of everyone in his own style. He has now completed his MBA from GLS University, Ahmedabad, and has a dream of starting his own business very soon. His father is a businessman. In recent times he is helping his father in his business. Though he is not sure whether he will carry that legacy on, but he knows that with time he will fulfil his dream of becoming a very successful businessman.
How music is a part of Rajesh’s life?
Music was always a passion for him and it will always be. He never thought of taking the profession of music commercially, nor he wants to be a professional singer. He does it out of passion. Since his entire family was into music, and he was associated with them since childhood, so he was always into music. He understands beats and rhythms from childhood. During his initial years of stage performance, he had stage fright. He didn’t know what to perform and how to perform. But with regular practice and dedication, he overcame that, and now he feels that doing a stage show is very easy for him. He always wanted to concentrate on Gujarati folk music, and even today he is famous as a Gujarati Folk singer. He started off with a very casual normal YouTube video which became a massive hit with views of around 6 million. Even during his leisure time Rajesh is busy singing and creating new songs. Now, he is getting offers from the Gujarati film industry as well. He is talking with a few directors and producers about a few musical projects but he has not finalized anything yet.
Gujarati Folk songs attract him emotionally
Many people have asked him why he prefers to sing only Gujarati folk songs, when today’s young generation is more into rock, hip-hop, Bollywood, and English songs. According to him, he can connect with the folk songs of Gujarat. He loves the tradition, culture, and ethics Gujarat has. With his songs, he tries to revive the Gujarati traditional culture. He wants to make the younger generation realise the rich cultural value of Gujarat. He is very proud of his culture and hence wants to focus more on that. Even when he performs on stage or anywhere he prefers to wear traditional Gujarati costumes to make it look more authentic. He loves Meera Bai Bhajans, and Shree Krishna Bhajans and tries to perform these as more as he can.
His popularity as a singer
Though he mainly sings folk songs from Gujarat, but he has created an original song as well with his mother. The song ‘Man Na Mohan Ji’ has views of 2 lakhs in just a few days. For him, his mother is his greatest inspiration who has supported him a lot. His mother is his greatest and the most valuable critic of his work. She guides him in every step and teaches him what is right and wrong. Though his father does not have much expertise in music, but he also supports Rajesh a lot.
His first Instagram reel was with the song ‘Veero Maro’. He had uploaded a small video portion of it where he sang the song. But it became a massive hit and had more than 2 million views. It was then that he decided to make it a complete package and uploaded it on YouTube. Very recently he has uploaded his new song ‘Kano Dwarika Vado’ on YouTube and it has nearly about 6 million views. He was a very popular singer even during his school and college days. He used to participate in different cultural programs in school and college not only as a singer but also as a dancer. Even today his teachers call him and praise him after he releases a new song.
Handling Fan followers
He considers himself very lucky to have so many followers at such a young age. He tries to meet his fans whenever he can because he believes that they have made him. He gets many calls from his fans and he talks to them whenever he can. Many kids are his followers who send him voice notes and videos, and even he interacts with them in video calls. He gets ecstatic with so much love, and he believes this is his real earning- his fandom.
His life’s motto
The only thing he keeps saying to himself is that he should do something different from other artists. There are many Gujarati singers, but he should never flow in the same direction, rather he should flow in the opposite direction and will make his mark. He wants to do something which will be praiseworthy and different from others.
What does he preach to others?
He always says that everyone should give proper respect to every artist be it a singer, dancer, painter, or whoever. This is not only for artists but for all human beings. If you can not respect others then you will never get respect from others as well.
He requests every person from Gujarat to support the industry. He requests every parent to teach their kids more about the amazing Gujarati culture. It is very important that we should value our own culture and follow the tradition.
