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Chimpta
The literal meaning of Chimpta is tongs. Along the timeline, simple Chimpta has developed into a customary musical instrument with the addition of jingles to add sonorous sound to it. Chimpta is predominantly used in folk music of Punjab; religious music of Sikh community and Bhangra music.
Chimpta is played by a person; holding the Chimpta near its joint in one hand and making its two lose ends to strike against each other.The metallic jingles on the two arms of Chimpta produce a chiming sound on striking of the arms and creates a tempo for the song.Chimpta is used in association with drum and dancers in Bhangra and some celebration ceremonies as well.
Design
Chimpta is categorized in conventional music instruments mostly used in folk music of Punjab. It is made up of a metallic strip mostly made up of iron or steel and is bent in the middle so as to create two-arm structure. The arms of Chimpta are ornamented with metallic jingles tied loosely. The player of the instrument strikes the two arms at regular intervals to produce a rhythmic sonorous sound.
The number of jingles varies from one Chimpta to another and can range up to even seven on each arm. The Chimpta with less number of jingles are used by Bhangra dance performers and folk singers, while as Chimpta with good number of jingles or rings are used by people at village festivals and other occasions of celebration ceremonies.
Playing Positions
Chimpta is played by the person by holding the instrument on its joint or the bend in one hand and sometimes the second hand is placed on the two arms of the Chimpta. The player makes the two arms of the Chimpta to strike against each other on regular intervals of time to produce a tempo beats for the music. Jingles attached to the arms add to the chiming sounds of the instrument. The Chimpta player can play the instrument in sitting or standing positions.
Notable Players
Alam Lohar
Born in a blacksmith family in pre-independence era, Mohammed Alam Lohar was a well known singer of folk music of Punjab. Lohar died due to an accident in late 1970. His ancestral village is in Pre-Independence Punjab and now lies in Pakistan. He made ‘Jugni’ song and label popular among the people and formulated an indigenous way of singing folk music depicting tales also known as Vaar. He developed more than 30 ways and forms of Waris Shah’s version of ‘Heer’. He has outperformed all other artists in selling his albums which he had started to record from his early teens.
Kamal Heer
Popularly also known as Kamal Heer, Kamaljeet Singh Heer is a musician from Punjab and a notable player of Chimpta. Kamal is the youngest of the three musician brothers, the other two being Manmohan Waris and Sangtar. Kamal was born in 1973 and has attained a place of esteem in Punjabi folk music with his on stage performances that are a display of his art. The musician brothers organize Punjabi folk music shows round the globe, where they showcase their own music. Their shows have been a success everywhere and have a huge fan following. Kamal got married to Gurjit Kaur Birring.
Arif Lohar
A Pakistan based folk singer named Arif Lohar is another notable player of Chimpta. His display of playing Chimpta is world renowned and is now associated with the instrument. Born to legendary singer Alam Lohar, he has progressed in his father’s footsteps but in an innovative way of introducing new ways of playing. Arif started to sing to keep the family tradition going on and has excelled in the art. His singing of folk music of Punjab has made a notable contribution the music and is considered one of the greats of Punjabi heritage music and singing.
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