Bhupinder Singh's initiation into music began in narrow bylanes of Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 20

His initiation into music happened in the narrow bylanes of the walled city, but his voice has left a lasting impression on not just his avid listeners, but also those he worked with. With the demise of singer Bhupinder Singh, 82, in Mumbai, the holy city has lost its gem. Bhupinder Singh was born in Amritsar in 1940. His father Prof Natha Singh was a musician, vocalist and teacher.

According to historian Surinder Kochchar, Bhupinder’s father ran a small music academy in Katra Sher Singh, which was once a hub of music schools in the city. “Very little is known about Bhupinder’s family as they moved out soon after he was born. Before the Partition, the area around Khairuddin Masjid had all music shops and schools. It was a music hub of the city. His family soon moved out of the city and his growing-up years were mostly spent in Delhi and later, he never really kept his connection with the city,” he shared.

According to AIR (Jalandhar) host Poonam, the singer’s family also lived in Jalandhar for a brief period and owned a house in Jawahar Nagar. While Bhupinder Singh’s relationship with his hometown Amritsar was a lesser-known fact, even for his fans and admirers in the city, tributes poured in from cinephiles and artistes who have grown up listening to his ghazals.

“His voice was soulful and unique that put him quickly on a par with renowned artistes of his time, including Mohd Rafi and many others. Though many people know him for his ghazals, his collaborations with Gulzar and RD Burman presented a different style of his singing. Songs like ‘Jab andhera hota hai…’ from Raja Rani (1973), ‘Ek Hi Khwab…’ (1977) from Kinara and ‘Pyar humein iss mod pe le aaya…’ from Satte Pe Satta (1982) were unusual and very different from most of his songs at the time,” said Gurpratap Khairah, assistant professor from Hindu College and a cinephile.

In Ek hi Khwab, the guitar improvisations were done by Bhupinder as he was well trained in western guitar. He also inspired a generation of music artistes from the city.

His family also lived briefly in Jalandhar

• Bhupinder Singh was born in Amritsar in 1940. His father Prof Natha Singh was a musician, vocalist and teacher. According to historian Surinder Kochchar, Bhupinder’s father ran a small music academy in Katra Sher Singh, which was once a hub of music schools in the city
• According to AIR (Jalandhar) host Poonam, the singer’s family also lived in Jalandhar for a brief period and owned a house in Jawahar Nagar. While Bhupinder Singh’s relationship with his hometown Amritsar was a lesser-known fact, even for his fans and admirers in the city, tributes poured in from cinephiles and artistes who have grown up listening to his ghazals

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