The first Punjabi folkstar

Harjap Singh Aujla pays tribute to the Nightingale of Punjab,
Surinder Kaur, on her 80th birth anniversary

AFTER Noorjehan, Surinder Kaur has undoubtedly been the most recorded and most popular Punjabi singing star of the 20th century.

Surinder Kaur was born in Lahore in a traditional Sikh family in November 1929. The only music she grew up with was the Punjabi folk songs sung at weddings, festivals and other functions in the heartland of Majha in what was the then Central Punjab. Surinder Kaur’s illustrious elder sister Parkash Kaur was her first mentor.

Parkash Kaur was blessed with a naturally melodious and highly flexible voice. Prakash was the first one to spot the special talent in Surinder Kaur, who was 10 years younger to her. She then started taking Surinder Kaur along when she went to sing at various functions.

It was during one such function in 1943 that Jiwan Lal Mattoo, a Programme Executive in All India Radio, Lahore, noticed the melodious voice of Surinder Kaur. Mattoo was also responsible for discovering the great Mohammad Rafi.

Parkash Kaur was already a radio artiste by then. Surinder Kaur made her professional debut on Radio Lahore in August 1943. She learnt many things from Mattoo, who gave her some valuable tips during auditions and during her early singing career that helped her in improving her style.

Budh Singh Taan, another singer-cum-music director working with All India Radio Lahore, initiated Surinder Kaur into the basics of classical music.

Surinder was a quick learner. Seeing her talent, soon another music director, Master Inayat Hussain, took her as a pupil and started composing tunes for Surinder Kaur for local recording companies.

Surinder Kaur’s oldest recorded Punjabi folk songs were "Dhol sipahiya ve, kithe gyon dil laake" and "Haaye na vass oye no vass badlaa, aje na vass oye kaaliya", the tunes for both these songs were composed by Master Inayat Hussain. Surinder Kaur cut her first duet "Mawan te dhiyan" with sister Parkash. This was also an Inayat Hussain’s composition for the HMV label, which marked the rising popularity of these sisters.

In 1947 after the Partition Surinder Kaur migrated to India. Within months of her arrival to Ferozepore, renowned music director Master Ghulam Haider invited her to Bombay. In 1948, Surinder went to Bombay. She recorded her first song under the music direction of a popular duo Pandits Husnalal Bhagatram for film Pyar ki Jeet. The lyrics were "Itne door hain huzoor, kaise mulaqat ho."

Soon after Master Ghulam Haider recorded three songs in Surinder Kaur’s voice for a Dilip Kumar-Kamini Kaushal starrer blockbuster movie Shaheed.

Working with Ghulam Haider was a great learning experience for Surinder as Haider prepared her for recording after a month-long of repeated rehearsals, which helped her tremendously. Surinder later again sang for Ghulam Haider in film Kaneez (1949).

Another music director Vinod, who had known her since her days in Lahore, too, recorded a couple of songs in her voice. Vinod also gave an opportunity to Surinder Kaur to sing a duet with Talat Mahmod for a Punjabi film Mutiar.

This marked the beginning of her duet songs with many famous singers of her time because soon after she recorded three duet songs with another well known playback singer Mukesh for the film Dada under the music direction of Showqat Dehlavi. She also sang a solo song for Dada. All four songs established Surinder Kaur as a singer of repute and she became a much sought-after artiste. Music director Allah Rakha recorded one duet with Mohammad Rafi in film Sabak, which became an instant hit.

During her years in Bombay Surinder Kaur sang for India’s finest music directors, including Ghulam Haider, Husnalal Bhagatram, C. Ramchandra, Khurshid Anwar, Showqat Dehlavi, Allah Rakha Qureishi, Vinod, Shyam Sunder, Hans Raj Behl and S. Mohinder.

In 1952, Surinder Kaur moved to New Delhi, where she established herself as the queen of Punjabi folk and country music. In Delhi Surinder was again lucky enough to work with people like Kundan Lal Bhoot, K. Panna Lal, Pandit Amar Nath (Second), Mujaddid Niazi and Kesar Singh Narula. S. Mohinder also composed tunes for one of her best-selling long-playing records.

Surinder Kaur recorded more than 2,000 Punjabi songs to emerge as the undisputed queen of Punjabi folk singing. Most of her songs have attained immortality, among them being duets with other legendry Punjabi folk singers, including Asa Singh Mastana, Rangila Jatt and Didar Sandhu.

Surinder Kaur was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982, the Millennium Singer award and then with the Padma Shri in 2006.

After a career spanning 50 years of active singing, the Nightingale of Punjab, as Surinder Kaur was affectionately called, died in June 2006 in New Jersey, USA, after a prolonged illness.

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