Famous Punjabi people vocalist Gurmeet Bawa, prevalently known as ‘Lambi hek di malika’ (the sovereign of singing in a drawn out breath), died on Sunday.
Bawa, who lived with her family in Amritsar, was conceded to a clinic on Saturday evening after she fell debilitated, her relatives said.
She was 77.
Bawa was not keeping admirably after the demise of her little girl Lachi Bawa, likewise a Punjabi people vocalist, because of malignant growth in February last year, it is learnt. She was known for her long ‘hek’ (singing in single breath) that she could hold for record 45 seconds.
She was one of the artistes known for singing ‘Jugni’ after Alam Lohar and was the primary Punjabi female artist to sing on Doordarshan.
Bawa was brought into the world in 1944 to Uttam Singh and Ram Kaur at Kothe town in Gurdaspur locale. Her mom kicked the bucket when she was only two. Around then, young ladies were not permitted to examine or go out without the elderly folks’ consent. Yet, Bawa, who tried to be an educator, breezed through JBT assessment and turned into the principal lady from her space to be an instructor.
She was hitched to Kirpal Bawa, a Punjabi people vocalist from Dera Baba Nanak, and the couple had three little girls, of whom Lachi and Galori Bawa became artists.
Her renowned tunes are ‘Liade chamba, lavan ghare de kol’, ‘Kaharo doli na chayao… . mera babal aya ni’ among others. ‘Ghorian’ (Punjab tunes sung on a man’s wedding) and ‘Mirza’ (a tune depicting adventure of Mirza-Sahiba), sung by her, likewise became well known.
Bawa was met with the state grant by the Punjab government in 1991, Sangeet Puraskar by the Punjab Natak Akademi, the public Devi Ahilya Award by the Madhya Pradesh government in 2002 and the Shiromani Gayika Award by the Punjabi language division in 2008.
She was additionally granted the ‘Rashtrapati Puraskar’ by the Bharti Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Noted Punjabi author and artist Gurbhajan Gill, who was near the Bawa family, said, “She instructed in a school close to our town Aliwal. She was referred to in my space as a radio vocalist at that point. No vocalist could contend her in pausing her breathing for such a long time. She was among not many vocalists who kept Punjabi society music alive.”
Old stories Research Academy president Ramesh Yadav said, “She sang on the tune of ‘alghoza’, a matched woodwind instrument utilized by society artists in Punjab and encompassing regions separated from other conventional instruments.”
Punjab lead representative Banwarilal Purohit and boss clergyman Charanjit Singh Channi mourned the artist’s demise. Channi tweeted, “Stunned and disheartened to hear the fresh insight about Gurmeet Bawa Ji’s downfall. Her commitment to Punjabi people music is permanent (sic).”
