The great Asa Singh Mastana laid to rest
chaddha
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
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NEW DELHI, MAY 24: A large fan following attended the funeral of renowned
Punjabi folk singer Asa Singh Mastana, who died here yesterday at the age of
73 after a prolonged illness. Mastana is survived by a son and a daughter.
Born in Lahore in 1926, Mastana was initiated into music by Durga Prasad
Kathak. He was soon attracted to Punjabi folk music.
Mastana, alongwith the `singing sisters' Prakash Kaur and Surinder Kaur, had
begun broadcasting on radio and signed contracts with HMV while still in
Lahore, and continued to pursue music in Delhi. He visited several countries
and sang for some films, apart from continuing to broadcast.
Mastana had retired prematurely from the Reserve Bank of India in Delhi in
1981 to pursue music.
Mastana, who had become famous for his rendering of the ballads of Heer
Ranjha and Mirza Sahiban, later took to singing lighter songs. Of these,
Kaali teri gut, tey paranda tera laal ni, Balley ni Punjab di aie sher
bachiye, were the more popular.
The singer had won several awards and honours, which included the the Dilgir
award of the Punjab Government in 1981, the Punjab Akademi award, the
Padmashri in 1985 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award a year later.
The last rites were performed this morning amidst a large gathering of
admirers who remembered fondly how the singer had brought some cheer in
their lives with his rendering of lively folk beats from Punjab.
Although the end came yesterday, Singh, known for his rendering of love
songs, had become disillusioned and begun losing his memory soon after his
wife's death in 1990.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Sangeet Natak Akademi, among
others, have condoled his death. In his message, the Prime Minister said
Mastana had earned great fame and popularity and had taken Punjabi folk
music to great heights. Mastana will be remembered for popularising Punjabi
songs, he added.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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