Celebrated Punjabi folk singer Amarjit Gurdaspuri dies at 92

Neha Saini

Amritsar, February 24

Eminent folk singer Amarjit Gurdaspuri breathed his last on Thursday at the age of 92 at his home in Udhowali village in Gurdaspur. Gurdaspuri was counted among the very few left folk artistes of his generation, who has shared stage with legendary Punjabi folk singers Surinder Kaur and Asa Singh Mastana.

His contribution to Punjabi folk music is nothing less of a legend itself. Gurdaspuri was a celebrated folk singer, song writer and a stage performer. His famous rendition of “Heer” is still recognised by eminent contemporary artistes and critics for its distinctiveness.

Despite his huge contribution, he never went into making commercial profits with his music. His voice and rendition of “Heer” has been archived in the digital library at the Virsa Vihar as part of singing heritage. Kewal Dhaliwal, who recorded Amarjit Gurdaspuri and late Gurmeet Bawa’s voices as part of a documentation project, expressed grief over his demise.

“He was among the versatile artistes of Punjabi folk tradition and kept a low profile all these years due to his disconnect with recent collusion of Punjabi music. We had honoured him 20 days ago at a function in Chandigarh. His loss will be definitely felt,” said Dhaliwal.

In his 55 years of preserving Punjabi heritage through his music, Gurdaspuri performed with Surinder Kaur and Asa Singh Mastana. While Jalandhar Radio recorded many of his songs, but he never recorded his album. Punjab Arts Council Chairman and noted poet Padam Shree Dr Surjit Patar, noted writer Ninder Ghugianvi were among those who expressed deep sorrow over the death of Gurdaspuri. Gurdaspuri was recently awarded the Punjab Gaurav Samman by the Arts Council.