Balappa Hukkeri (1911–1992) was a singer of folk songs and Bhavageete

Bhavageete

Bhavageethe is a form of expressionist poetry and light music. Most of the poetry sung in this genre pertain to subjects like love, nature, philosophy etc, and the genre itself is not much different from Ghazals, though ghazals are bound to a peculiar metre...

s in Kannada language

Kannada language

Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

 and a freedom fighter in his early years. He is mainly credited for popularizing Sugama Sangeetha

Sugama Sangeetha

Sugama Sangeetha , is a semi-classical form of Indian music, influenced by both systems of Indian music. All states have Sugama Sangeetha of their regional language. Metrical poetry written in the regional language is set to tune by composers...

 in North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

, just like P. Kalinga Rao

P. Kalinga Rao

Pandeshwara Kalinga Rao was a Bhavageete and Sugama Sangeetha singer and composer in the Kannada language who was known as the "Monarch of light music in Kannada" He popularised Kannada Bhavageete, a form of music which derives lyrics from popular poetry and devotional works...

 who popularized the art form in South Karnataka. Several prestigious awards have been conferred to him including Sangeet Natak Academy award and Karnataka Sangeeta Nataka academy award.

Early life

Balappa was born in Murgod, a small village in savadatti of Belagavi district. He was named after his musician uncle. Balappa was drawn to theater at an early age due to family influence and started participating in local drama companies as an actor-singer. Even though he started training in Hindustani music by Shivalingiah Gavai, his interests were inclined towards lighter form of the music such as theater songs, Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 abhangs, vachanas and folk songs.

Singing career

In his thirties, Balappa participated in Indian freedom movement. He was going from village to village singing patriotic songs for which he was arrested and jailed for six months. He gave away family's gold and silver to the National security fund during India's war with China

Sino-Indian War

The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...

. He also worked as a field worker in the Department of Agriculture, travelling from village to village, singing songs on farming methods and family planning. During this time Balappa was drawn towards the writing of Navodaya writers in Kannada such as D.R. Bendre, Betageri Krishna Sharma and Anandakanda and started singing Bhavageete

Bhavageete

Bhavageethe is a form of expressionist poetry and light music. Most of the poetry sung in this genre pertain to subjects like love, nature, philosophy etc, and the genre itself is not much different from Ghazals, though ghazals are bound to a peculiar metre...

s based on their poems.

Balappa's singing style was unique mainly because of the way he wove both the elements of classical and folk traditions into it. He used to travel to remote villages in Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 and Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 in order to collect folk songs. He never wrote down folk songs and knew hundreds of them by rote. During his singing career Balappa never used anything but a Tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

 and Harmonium

Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...

 for accompaniment.

Soundatti Taluka Muragod village

Awards and honors

• Sangeet Natak Academy award - 1980
• Karnataka Sangeeta Nataka Academy award
• Tulsi Samman
  Tulsi Samman
  The Tulsi Samman is a prestigious arts award presented annually by the government of Madhya Pradesh state in India. The award is named after Tulsi Das, an Indian saint, poet and philosopher, best known as the author of Rāmacaritamānasa, an epic devoted to Lord Rama. This award is presented for...