Singh Bandhu is an Indian musical duo composed of brothers Tejpal Singh (b 1937) and Surinder Singh (b 1940), exponents of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

and

Sikh music Sikh music, also known as Gurbani Sangeet (; meaning ''music of'' ''the speech of wisdom'')'','' and as Gurmat Sangeet (; meaning ''music of the counsel or tenets of the Guru'')'','' or even as Shabad Kirtan (), is the classical music style that i ...

(

shabad kirtan Shabad may refer to: *Shabad (hymn) or Shabda, term meaning word in Sanskrit *Shabad, Telangana Shabad is a town and a mandal in Ranga Reddy district in the state of Telangana in India. Its name is sometimes written as Shahabad. It is situated ...

). In 2004, Tejpal Singh and Surinder Singh were given a joint

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

from India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. Also in the same year, Surinder Singh was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. By this time (year 2004), the elder brother Tejpal Singh had become reclusive and had mostly stopped singing in public due to poor health.

Biography

They started learning music during their childhood from elder brother G.S. Sardar. They also did Masters in music from

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

. Subsequently, they learned

khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

singing from Amir Khan, the founder of

Indore Gharana Indore gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music. It was founded by Amir Khan, who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan and amalgamated their style. Amir Khan grew up ...

. They also performed shabads for the television film, '' Tamas'' (1987) directed by

Govind Nihalani Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema, particularly the movement of parallel cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Aw ...

, including ''

Deh Siva Var Mohe Deh Shiva Bar Mohe Eha (Gurmukhi: ਦੇਹ ਸਿਵਾ ਬਰ ਮੋਹਿ ਇਹੈ) is one of the most celebrated and widely quoted hymns by Guru Gobind Singh. History It is taken from the Chandi Charitar Ukati Bilas composition of th ...

'', ''Avar Na Sujhe'' and ''Jo Lare Din Ke''.

Personal life

Surinder Singh, younger of the duo, married

Dogri language Dogri (Devanagari: ; Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Western Pahari group, primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speake ...

poet Padma Sachdev (1940–2021) in 1966. Padma Sachdev was a

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

(1971) and

(2001) recipient who wrote poetry in two languages, Dogri and Hindi. The couple first lived in Delhi, but later shifted to Mumbai where Padma Sachdev died in 2021 due to old age. The couple had one daughter, Meeta Sachdev.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandhu, Singh Indian musical duos 20th-century Indian male classical singers Hindustani singers Performers of Sikh music Living people Sibling musical duos Indian Sikhs University of Allahabad alumni Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Khyal singers