Karnail Singh Paras (28 June 1916 – 28 February 2009) was a Shiromani Kavishar award-winning Kavishar of

Indian Punjab Punjab () is a state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, a ...

. He is the father of former union minister and

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...

politician

Balwant Singh Ramoowalia Balwant Singh Ramoowalia (born 15 March 1942) is an Indian politician from Samajwadi Party. His father Karnail Singh Paras was a well-known Kavishar. Balwant Singh started his political career with student politics as a general secretary of S ...

and Canada based writer Iqbal Singh Ramoowalia. One of his granddaughters is married to famous

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

singer and actor Harbhajan Maan.

Early life

Paras was born as Karnail Singh on 28 June 1916, to father Tara Singh of Ramoowala village and mother Ram Kaur, in his maternal grandparents' village of Mehraj of

Firozpur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

(now

Bathinda district Bathinda district is in Malwa region of Punjab, India. The district encompasses an area of 3,385 square kilometers. By area, Bathinda district is the second-largest in Punjab, after Ludhiana district. It is bounded by Faridkot district and ...

) in

British Punjab The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched from the Khyber Pass to Delhi; and from th ...

. His father died when he was only 14. He was sent to a dera for the study of

Gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

where his teacher noticed his intelligence and called him, ''Paras'', that was fixed for ever as his last name. He was very fond of singing from his childhood. In 1938 he married Daljit Kaur of village Boparai. The couple has 6 children; 4 sons and 2 daughters.

Career

Paras was inspired by Kavishar Mohan Singh Rode. After the performance of Mohan Singh at ''Mela Maghi'' at

Sri Muktsar Sahib Sri Muktsar Sahib ( ), often referred to as simply Muktsar, is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality at 117,085, making it the 14th large ...

, Paras met and told him about his love for singing and also recited a poem of his own. Being happy on listening to the poem, Mohan Singh took him as his student. Paras joined his team and learned singing/ Kavishari from Mohan Singh. Paras' first performance on stage was at ''Roshnian Da Mela'' at Jagrawan. His first performance on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

, in 1954, made him popular. He also performed in Canada, England and the United States. Bhasha Vibhag Punjab honored him with ''Sharomani Kavishar Award'' in 1980–81.&6 He has about 20 students but Gursewak Maan and Harbhajan Maan, the well known

singers today, are the shining stars of them. His relationship with Harbhajan Maan got closer as one of his granddaughters, Harmandeep Kaur, is married to Harbhajan Maan. He also wrote songs for Maan brothers. Harbhajan Maan's first album, ''Ishq De Mamle'' featured 7 songs written by Paras.

Discography

After his first performance on

Jalandhar, in 1954, he got high popularity and

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

recorded his first record featuring the Kavisharis, ''Kyon Pharhi Sipahian Ne, Bhaino Eh Hansaa Di Jorhi'' and ''Hai Aaun-Jaan Bania, Dunia Chahun Ku Dina Da Mela''. After that he recorded about 20 records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paras, Karnail Singh Kavishars Punjabi-language singers Punjabi-language lyricists People from Bathinda district 1916 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers

Early life

Career

Discography

See also

References