Folk singer dies on stage during a TV channel launch in Nagpur,cremated in Mumbai Folk singer Vitthal Umap,who died on the dais at a function in Nagpur on Friday night,was cremated at Dadar on Saturday. Umap was 80 and active as a folk singer and performing artiste till his last breath. At Nagpur,he was to perform at the launch of Lord Buddha Channel. After the inaugural function,he was felicitated and was to start his programme when he hailed Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lord Buddha thrice and collapsed. He was rushed to a private nursing home where he was declared dead before admission. He had told his family in Mumbai that he wanted to attend the function as this could perhaps be my last public programme. It turned out to be true. Umap,a Dalit,was born on July 15,1931 in a chawl at Naigaum in central Mumbai. He was attracted to the Ambedkar movement at an early age and started performing when he was just eight years old. Those were the days when Ambedkar was trying to create awareness among the Dalits through folk songs and street plays. Umap has over 1,000 folksongs to his credit,has acted in 10 films including Babasaheb Ambedkar,Tingya and Vihir. A master of folk music forms,Umap sang powadas,tamasha,koli songs,gondhal songs,Vasudev songs and quawwalis and often spread social messages through them. Some of his memorable performances were seen in plays Abhak Dubhak Tibhak,Are Sansar Sansar,Khandobache Lagin and Jambhul Akhyan. In 1983,his troupe was awarded the first prize at an international folk arts event held at Cork,Ireland. Umap is survived by five sons and three daughters. His body was brought to Mumbai and taken to his residence at Kannamwar Nagar,Vikhroli by the Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale and PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Among those who visited his residence were Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan,Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray,Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray,Mayor Shraddha Jadhav,Congress MP Eknath Gaikwad,Minister for Women and child development Varsha Gaikwad,minister for water supply and sanitation Laxman Dhobale and former minister Chandrakant Handore.
