Monitoring Desk: “No Punjabi wedding in Delhi, Punjab, the other side of Radcliffe Line, and even other parts of the world like Toronto, is complete without the songs immortalized by late Surinder Kaur”.
This is observed by writer and journalist Vivek Shukla in his article “Delhi wedding season: why Punjabis still groove to the tunes of ‘Kalaa Doriyaan’, ‘Latthe Di Chaadar” published in Patriot India.
He believes that Punjabi marriage events are colorless unless they have a texture of immortal songs sung by Surinder Kaur like Sadda Chiriya Daa Chamba Re Assi ud Jaan, Kala Doriya Kunde Naal… and Latthe Di Chadar Utte Saleti Rang Maiya…
“All these songs, sung by Surinder Kaur, are immortal numbers and Punjabis identify with them greatly. They have the fragrance of the land of five rivers, Punjab. When they listen, they are transported back to their roots,” says Trilok Deep, a noted Hindi and Punjabi author.
Surinder Kaur has done yeoman service to Punjabi folk music with her deep, soulful voice. Her sister Prakash Kaur was also a very accomplished singer. Both sisters sang together for several decades.
Related Story: Surinder Kaur —The voice of Punjabi mothers
Born in Lahore, Surinder moved to Delhi after partition. In Delhi, she got married to Joginder Singh Sodhi, a professor of Punjabi at Khalsa College, Karol Bagh. They lived in Roop Nagar. For many decades, she was a regular face at marriages of the rich and famous Punjabis of Delhi.
She started that evening with the all-time favourite, ‘Jutti Kasuri, Paeri Na Poori, Haaye Rabba Ve Sanu Turna Peya, Haaye, Haaye Rabba Ve Sanu Turna Peya, Lathe Di Chadar Utte Saleti Rang Mahiya, Kala Doria, Sarke Sarke Zaandiye Mutiyari.
These songs were written by various well-known Punjabi poets but were made popular by Surinder
Surinder Kaur drew inspiration from the Sufi Kafi of Bulleh Shah and poets like Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Nand Lal Noorpuri, Amrita Pritam, and Mohan Singh.
Read the complete article by Vivek Shukla by clicking this link
