Queen Harish

Queen Harish
Queen Harish during a dance performance
Born	Harish Kumar 1979(1979) Jaisalmer,Rajasthan,India
Died	2 June 2019(2019-06-02)(aged 39–40) Jodhpur,Rajasthan
Cause of death	Road accident
Occupation	Dancer
Known for	Rajasthanifolk dances
Children	2

Harish Kumar(Hindi:रानी हरीश) (1979 – 2 June 2019) commonly known asQueen HarishorRani Harishwas afolk dancerandChoreographer.He was fromRajasthan,India. Harish was a person who worked to save or protect the losttraditionalRajasthani folk dance. His performances include various Rajasthani folk dances such asGhoomar,Kalbelia,Chang andBhawai.

Early life

Harish Kumar was born in 1979 inJaisalmer,Rajasthan to a family ofpeople who build furniture and other things out of wood.They belonged to the Sutharcommunity.Harish started dancing at the age of 13. His parents died at an early age, so he took updrag dancing,which mostly involveswearing clothes that are commonly associated with the opposite sex.He did it to support his sisters with money.Harish says,

“I am a man, who chooses to dance for a living. That's a reality that I will never ignore. I chose to make the Queen part moreregaland not comical.”

He was inspired by 'Annu Master' who had performed the first drag dance of Jaisalmer region, he started learning drag dance from him.He also practiced Americantribalstylebelly dancingandDancing in which dancers dance around a vertical pole,to make his body to perform allfemininemovements.

Career

Harish hasperformedGhoomar, Kalbelia, Chang, Bhawai, Chari and other folk dances of Rajasthan state in about 60 countries.He also taughtChoreographyto more than 2,000 dance students inJapan.His performance was one of the highlights of theJaipur Literary Melawhich takes place once in a year. He has participated in theRaqs CongreeinBrussels,theBelly Dancing FestivalinSeouland theDesiliciousinNew York City.In 2010, he has appeared in the realitytelevision program'India Got Talent' and went on to become the semi finalist.He has also appeared in severalBollywoodmovies such as Upadapdu (2003), Jai Gangajal (2016) andThe Accidental Prime Minister(2019).In 2007, he appeared in BritishMovie directorJasmine Dellal'sdocumentaryWhen the Road Bends… Tales of a Gypsy Caravan.Inassociationwith the government of Rajasthan, he ran a daily evening program in Jaisalmer called 'QueenHarish Program'.He had also been invited to perform atIsha Ambanipre-weddingcelebrations inUdaipurin December 2018. In that wedding he was seen dancing withAishwarya Bachchan's daughter.

Personal life

Harish was married to a woman and had two sons. On 2 June 2019, He was killed in a road accident on a highway in Kaparda village nearJodhpurin Rajasthan along with 3 other artists when they were travelling with other artists from Jaisalmer toAjmerin aSUV car.He was 39 years old at the time of his death.

Reacting to his death, the Chief minister of Rajasthan at that time,Ashok Gehlotsaid,

“Harish gave a new identity to Jaisalmer with his different dance style. His death is a big loss to the field offolk art.”