Asa Singh Mastana (August 22, 1926 - May 23, 1999) was a Punjabi musician and singer best known for lending his voice to Bollywood movies. He became a popular singer in the 1940s. Most of his songs became Loke Geet. He was mostly paired with Surinder Kaur, Pushpa Hans, Madan Bala Sidhu and many more versatile female singers. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1985 by the Government of India and many others like the Smita Patil Memorial Award, and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1986. In 1989, the Punjab Government also honoured him with a State Award.
Asa Singh Mastana was born on August 22, 1925 in the village of Sheikhpura, Pakistan to his mother Mata Amrit Kaur and father Sardar Pritam Singh. After the partition of India in 1947, his family settled in Delhi. During this time, Mastana received musical education from Pandit Durga Parsad. While learning music, he also had a government job in a Bank in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. He retired prematurely from the Reserve Bank of India in 1981 to pursue music. In 1949, his first song was broadcasted on the radio. After that, he sang many ever-green popular songs. Asa Singh Mastana died on May 23, 1999, due to a long standing illness. He will always be remembered for his sweet voice. Although mainly remembered for his folk songs, he also released several Gurbani records.
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