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Himachal minister sings green songs
By Baldev S. Chauhan, Indo-Asian News Service

Shimla, Oct 9 (IANS) Worried at the shrinking forest cover and wildlife in Himachal Pradesh, the state's forest minister has lent his voice to a music album that spreads the message of conservation.

The producers of the cassette are hoping to attract more listeners as Forest Minister Ram Lal Thakur, a well-known amateur singer of native Pahari songs, has sung for it in Hindi along with half a dozen other professional singers.

"It has taken me three years to pick a dozen folk songs which for generations have voiced the need for preserving forests and wildlife," said Achar Singh Parmar, one of those who selected the songs.

"One of the most popular songs is that of a hunter king and his environment-loving queen. When the king hunts down a beautiful peacock, the queen in grief leaps down a deep gorge," Parmar told IANS.

"Such songs will spread the green message not only in Himachal but also in other states," he hoped.

The Himachal Pradesh forest department has produced the cassette. Parmar said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would release the 12-song cassette here on Oct 12.

The songs have been picked from the folk culture of Himachal Pradesh and will be broadcast on state-run radio stations.

The album will also be distributed across the hill state among scores of forest department offices, which will then play them at village-level afforestation programmes to spread the environment message.

It will also be commercially sold.

"Let's see how it goes, we are not ruling out an English version by leading English singers to spread the message further," said Parmar.