The mellow-throated nightingale. Review on Surinder Kaur

At every close she made, th' attending throng Replied, and bore the burden of the song: So just, so small, yet in so sweet a note, It seemed the music melted in the throat.

John Dryden

I pressed the Play button of the cassette player and a sweet voice filled the air of room with its heavenly effect.

Nee ek meri aankh kaashni ,duje raat diye needre ne mareya

The sweet ,refined and rustic voice of the singer combined with the rawness of Punjabi language had put me into a trance. I was spellbound and as soon as the song finished I came back to the real world and asked mi aunt:

Who is this singer auntie? She is wow !! I asked.

She closed her eyes for a moment and answered in voice filled with pride and reverence.

Ae Surinder Kaur hai puttar, Punjab di bulbul si oh

Actually a few years ago I came across an old recorded cassette on one boring Sunday morning. It was a gift to my brother who knew nothing of its content. Some ancient Punjabi folks is all he could explain to me when I asked about the cassette. So I decided to visit this aunt of mine who is very much into Punjabi music.

I pressed the Play button of the cassette player……and you have read in the beginning what happened afterwards.

This was my introduction to the legendary vocalist Surinder Kaur.

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No smooth ride:Being born in a conservative sikh family where singing profession for a girl was considered as a taboo it was no smooth ride for Surinder kaur. But her brothers stood by her and she started her journey in 1943 with a program on radio and what a journey it was which culminated with she blessing the Punjabi music with the greatest songs ever.

Entry of a legend:It was Ghulam Haider ,the forgotten legend who introduced her to Indian cinema at first through a small but powerful role against Dileep Kumar in Shaheed. Those of you who don’t know who Ghulam haider is must know that he was the man who introduced Sudha Malhotra In bollywood. He was the one who introduced Lata Mangeshkar and when the director rejected her he prophesized that lata would be the the singer of tomorrow. Still if you don’t remember him then remember the song vatan ki raah mein vatan ke naujavan shaheed hon.

Grooming of a legend: It was her late husband Sardar Joginder singh sidhu who attracted her to the great Punjabi poets of that time like Amrita Preetam, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Prof. Mohan Singh and Nandlal Noorpuri. She never looked back ever since and by lending her voice to the literary gems by these great poets she made them immortal. She sang a few song in movies as well but in her own words she never liked singing for movies . She said stage performances gives you the instant feedback whereas in movies you have to wait for days .

Surinder Kaur, PrakashKaur and Asa Singh Mastana: Together they created magic. I don’t think if any talk about Surinder Jee is complete without including These two great singers. She had a special bond with sister Prakash kaur. Whenever they sang together the tuning was remarkable . It was like God purposefully matched the pitch of their voice. Some of the popular numbers they sang together are Kala Doreya and Ari ve ari. Same was the case with Asa Singh Mastana ,together they gave some of the nicest duets in punjabi .

Surinder Kaur and daughter Dolly Guleria: The mother daughter duo was wonderful . As Surinder herself said that it was a great feeling seeing her daughter following her footsteps. Though mainly known as the daughter of Famous Surinder Kaur , Dolly as an individual too is a capable singer.

Final Word: This gifted daughter of the land of five rivers was awarded with numerous national and international honors and awards. She gave birth to a new style of singing and represented an entire era of singing. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I go on saying that she is literally worshipped and revered by her listeners and present day Punjabi singers.

They called her Nightingale of Punjab , Punjab Di Bulbul, Pride of Punjab and God know how many more adjectives and I believe she deserved every bit of it. Once in while there comes an artist of such caliber whose presence bless the art itself. Such is my conception of this great singer .

The angel of spring, the mellow-throated nightingale.

Christina G. Rossetti

Check out some of her songs at

https://apnaorg.com/music/kaur/

https://apnaorg.com/music/shiv-v-2/

Being a non Punjabi I may make mistakes in some places and I am not sure if this revu could do justice to this personality so please bear with me and correct me if I am wrong

Jai