Surinder Kaur (November 25, 1929 - June 14, 2006) was an Indian singer and songwriter. She was one of the best Punjabi singers in India and Pakistan. In her career spanning nearly six decades, her repertoire included Punjabi Sufi of Bulle Shah and verses by contemporary poets like Nand Lal Noorpuri, Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh, and Shiv Kumar Batalvi. In total, she recorded more than 2000 songs. She received the Nanak Akademi Award in 1984, and Padma Shri in 2006. Guru Nanak Dev University conferred her a Doctorate Degree in 2002. Due to her sweet voice, she is popularly known as 'Punjab De Koyal'.
Surinder Kaur was born to a Punjabi Sikh family in Lahore. She was the sister of Parkash Kaur and Narinder Kaur. She made her professional debut with a live performance on Lahore Radio in August 1943. Following the partition of India in 1947, she and her parents relocated to Ghaziabad, Delhi. In 1948, she married Professor Joginder Singh Sodhi, a lecturer in Punjabi literature at Delhi University. She later started a career as a playback singer in the Hindi film industry in Bombay. Her husband supported and encouraged her work, and he passed away in 1976. She settled in Panchkula in 2004 to build a house in Zirakpur. On December 22, 2005, she suffered a heart attack. In 2006, a prolonged illness promoted her to seek treatment in America. She died in New Jersey hospital on June 14, 2006 at the age of 77 years. She was survived by three daughters namely Dolly Gularia, Nandini Singh, and Pramodini Jaggi. Her immortal voice will motivate other artists to practice the Punjabi Folk music tradition. There is no comparison of her sweet voice with others.
Comments