Surinder Singh

Surinder Singh, one of the two brothers (the other brother S. Tejpal Singh) known as Singh Bandhu, the famous exponents of Hindustani Classical music and Sikh Devotional music (Shabad Kirtan), was born on 16 August 1937 in Lahore. Both the brothers started learning music during his childhood from their elder brother G.S. Sardar. Surinder Singh, after doing his graduation joined his brother and both brothers did their Masters in music from Allahabad University (Prayag Samiti) some other prominent persons from whom they learnt different musical styles and shade included Sh. Amir Khan, the founder of Indore gharana. S. Surinder Singh worked for some years at All India Radio and then in Income Tax Department.When he was an Income Tax Office at Mumbai his fame as a Classical singer individually as well as of the Musial duo Singh Bandhu had spread far and wide. He left the job and concentrated on his music. Initially Tejpal Singh and Surinder Singh gave solo performances.

However, in 1970-71 they performed together for the first time on AIR National programme and became famous as Singh Bandhu. Gradually, the Duo became one the greatest of the vocalist duos. The extra ordinary synchronization between the two brothers made everybody spell bound. In 2004 both the brothers were given is joint Sangeet Natak Academy award from India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. S. Surinder Singh also got Padam Shri from the Government of India in that vary year. Both the brothers had performed shabad for the television film, ‘Tamas’ (1987) Directed by Govind Nihlani including ‘Deh Shiva Bar Mohe’, ‘Avar Na Sujhai’ and ‘Jo Larhe Deen ke Het’. S. Surinder Singh (his brother is no more alive) has raised the heads of the Sikh community by setting highest record of excellence in classical singing. He is really a great role-model in this field. His wife Padma Sachdev is the first modern woman poet of Dogri language. The great poetess and novelist also write in Hindi. Thus, the celebrity couple has emerged as role-models in their respective fields of music and literature respectively.