FROM PRAKASH KAUR TO MOOSE WALA, AN EVOLUTION IN PUNJABI MUSIC

With my fondness and taste for Punjabi songs, I belong to the era when Prakash Kaur, Surinder Kaur, and Asha Singh Mastana reigned the music waves in their traditional style.

In that file, Shamshad Begum and Mohammad Rafi stand out with such popular numbers, “kachi kali si nazuk dil mera , “jag wala mela yaro lagga bari da.’

Going further back, I often hum K.L. Sehgal O Sohne Saqia Meri Gali Vi Phera.., pyala dil da tut gaya te pher ki hoya, main buq which pi lavan ga saqia do ghut pilanda jayeen.And I still enjoy the style of Lal Chand Yamla Jatt, Tere Ni Karara, Das Main Ki Pyar Wichon; and Ramta’s melodious voice.

I got stuck in the grooves of the outdated vinyl with the music and style of yesteryears.

From the old melodic genre, the maximum I moved forward was when Malkiat Singh emerged from the London Punjabi music culture with ‘tutuk tutak tutiya, the meaning I still have not understood. But the song became overwhelmingly popular in India and worldwide, where Punjabi established their roots.

Malkiat Singh revolutionized the music of Punjab, giving it more rhythm and variation than the traditional rendering. From then on, Punjabi music gave birth to Bhangra music, where the beats of the ‘dhol’ stand out.

After Malkiat’s innovation, Punjabi music has gone into free exploration with a rich infusion of western music, reggae and rap styles.

The latter was the genre in which controversial but talented singer and lyric writer, late Sidhu Moose Wala, excelled. With his talent, Moose Wala certainly leaves his marks in the evolution and diversification of Punjabi music that cuts across nationalistic and linguistic barriers, making it part of world music.

-Promod Puri