For the love of Gujarati...

Jyan jyan vase Gujarati, tyan tyan sadakaal Gujarat, they say. (Wherever a Gujarati resides, it’s Gujarat forever there). And who knows this better than Pritee Varsani who has made it her life’s mission to keep Gujarati alive in Britain through the medium of music. She was among the artists who had the rare honour of performing in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II as part of the events held to celebrate her 70-year reign in 2022.
Varsani’s claim to fame remains ‘Rangeelu Gujarat’,a cultural extravaganza that she first organized in the UK in 2016.Around 27,000 Gujarati-origin people had participated in the event.
Born and raised in Britain, she has her roots in Kutch. A die-hard fan of everything Gujarati, she has made garba, folk and wedding songs popular among UK’s youngsters in her inimitable style which incorporates a fusion of Gujarati and western music.
Talking to TOI, she said, “The older generations of Gujaratis used to listen to Gujarati songs, but the children these days are not interested. For them, Indian culture means Bollywood movies and songs. But even then, the movies don’t work for them because some of them make jokes on Gujaratis and then the youngsters feel embarrassed. ”
Since western music is widely accepted among the youngsters of Indian-descent, she decided to change the tunes of Gujarati songs to suit their tastes. Varsani has nine albums to her credit, and she also organizes live concerts.
Initially, she too used to beltout Bollywood numbers until a visit to Kutch and Rajkot a few years ago made her fall in love with Gujarat’s culture and music. “Something just changed in me when I began listening to santvani and dayro. I realized I was enjoying them so much more. The rich music from the region that I had exposed myself to was transforming me and soon I found myself singing Gujarati songs,” she says. The rest is history.
Parle Patel, a popular stand-up comedian in the UK with his roots in Karamsad, has produced many of Varsani’s music albums.