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Published: 19 June 2022

Last Updated: 19 June 2022

At the age of 13, Surinder Kaur went to Lahore radio station so that they could audition her for singing on radio for childrens' programs. When she stood in front of the mike and sang, the officials were surprised. One of them said, "Her voice is that of a mature singer, we will not use her for kids programs, but will use her for folk songs." That day she became a radio singer. For her first recording, she was paid Rs 25. That amount was huge for her. When her songs were broadcast on radio, the whole family was listening to the program. All of their faces were full of joy. Everybody was hugging here and giving her their blessings.

From the book on her by Nindar Ghugianavi.

 Surinder Kaur, Narinder Kaur, Prakash Kaur (three sisters)

 Dolly Guleria (her daughter), Surinder Kaur, her husband Prof Joginder Sodhi.

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Published: 18 June 2022

Last Updated: 18 June 2022

I am happy to report that I have started a webpage on him on my website, with help and encouragement from his son Kailash Surendranath. 

I have recovered some material from a defunct site. 

So far I have added some photos and more than 100 songs.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

PS: If you have some material, audio, books, magazines, newspapers (NOT FROM THE INTERNET), I will be glad to consider it.

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Published: 27 June 2022

Last Updated: 27 June 2022

Updating the Hindi Film Geet Kosh and the associated database is a never-ending process. Because,

Two more artists identified in the Naya Daur song, ye desh hai veer javaanon kaa. Big thanks to Gabbah Shareef Bhalwan and his YouTube channel.

Naya Daur Song

He writes,

"This is one of the first bhangra scenes captured on film, from the 1957 movie Naya Daur. The video features Ustad Bhanna Ram playing dhol, and dancers Balbir Singh Sekhon and Manohar Deepak. Bhanna Ram was born in 1910 in Sheikhupura, Punjab (current day Pakistan) and learned dhol from Janab Mohammad Ali. Bhanna Ram is thought to be one of the 3 dhol masters from the pre-partition era, the other 2 being Ghuggi and Munshi Ram. [Gibb] Some things of note: 1) The use of sapp/kato: There's some debate as to when the use of kato and sapp was introduced to 'bhangra', so this video places that around 1955-56 at the latest. 2) 'Pagg' styles: It is quite apparent that the dominant style of pagg in this video is sialkoti gol pagg. Similarly, the dancers in other early videos like Jagte Raho also tie this type of pagg. It raises an interesting question since modern day bhangra is almost exclusively performed with a 'turla-tedi pagg'. Was bhangra traditionally performed with this type of pagg, or was it just the preferred method of Manohar Deepak's group? 3) Flips/Acrobatics: The flips and acrobatics may seem a little odd given the modern sense that they are inappropriate for bhangra. However, considering the baazigar background of Bhanna Ram, it is not surprising that they would infuse the dance with elements from that community. (note: it's obvious that the audio doesn't exactly sync with the video from watching Bhanna Ram strike the dhol. However, this is how it was recorded in the actual movie and is not a result of the youtube upload)"

I will add the names Ustad Bhanna Ram and Balbir Singh Sekhon to the list. I already had Manohar Deepak and Chaand Usmaanee.

Now You Know!

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