Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi)

Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji was born on 10th July 1954 in Delhi. His family was living at a squatter settlement located at Bela Road near Gurdwara Sees Ganj Sahib at that time. His father was in the military and after the partition in 1947, they relocated to Delhi. He got a job in the Military Engineer Services (MES) and was stationed at Lal Qilla. Initially, they were living in the military quarters in Lal Qilla, but then they moved to Bela Road. Between 1958 to 1959, the Indian Government relocated the families from the squatters to a flat complex in Nehru Nagar. They lived in those flats for a few years before moving again to a house near Ashoka Hotel. Next to their home was a Hindu temple. His mother used to go to the Gurdwara every morning to perform Kirtan, and in the evenings she followed her friends to the Hindu temple next door for Aarti. As a little boy, Amarjeet Singh used to accompany her and he had an interest in playing the dholki. Unfortunately, there was no dholki in either of these places, so he brought along an empty ghee tin and played the beats on it while his mother sang. His mother also used to write ‘Kavitas’ for him to recite during Gurpurabs, and this got him interested in going to the Gurdwara more frequently.

When he was in Class 2, they moved to Raghubir Nagar and their house was right next to the Gurdwara. Here, he met Giani Mukhtiyar Singh Dilbar. Their first meeting was a moment of amusement. Dilbar Ji was performing Kirtan and when Bhai Amarjeet Singh saw that, he ran to his house and grabbed his empty ghee tin and came running back. He sat in front and played in perfect rhythm with Dilbar Ji. After the Kirtan, Giani Mukhtiyar Singh Ji laughed and asked who is this boy with the tin. Giani Ji was impressed and offered to teach him to play the dholki. Giani Mukhtiyar Singh Ji’s father was a well known dholki player and he had also learned the art. On a side note, Giani Mukhtiyar Singh Dilbar is also Bhai Gurmeet Singh Shant’s cousin. Bhai Amarjeet Singh learned the dholki from Dilbar Ji for over 2 years and at the same time, Dilbar Ji’s wife taught him Gurmukhi. After mastering the dholki, he became very popular in Delhi and was known as Amarjeet Singh Kala ‘Dholki Wala’. He accompanied many renowned artists such as Asa Singh Mastana, Surinder Kaur, Charanjit Ahuja, Surjit Singh Surjit and others.

One day, he went to the home of Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji, who served as Head Raagi in Gurdwara Sees Ganj Sahib in the 1950s and 1960s. He was friends with one of Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji’s son, Parampreet Singh and had made a casual visit. Coincidentally, Parampreet Singh was ill that day and they had a Kirtan program that evening. Parampreet Singh said that he felt too sick to go and that they should take Bhai Amarjeet Singh in his place. However, Bhai Amarjeet Singh said that he only knew how to play the dholki. Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji handed him the tabla and asked him to play. He played well, and it was decided that they would take him along. The three of them got onto one bicycle and Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji took over Parampreet Singh’s role of riding the bicycle. It took 45 minutes to reach their destination. Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji was very pleased and offered to teach him tabla and Kirtan. One of Bhai Amarjeet Singh’s other Kirtan teachers was Bhai Than Singh of Delhi, who was the son of renowned classical Kirtani, Bhai Balwant Singh.

There was a Kathakar in Delhi by the name of Master Tara Singh. He did not do Kirtan himself but used to sit beside the Kirtani and provide Katha on the Shabads being sung. Once, he requested Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji to follow him for a program. Before this, Bhai Amarjeet Singh had never taken the central role of the jathedar and was nervous about it. However, on Master Tara Singh Ji’s request, he went along and the Sangat appreciated his Kirtan very much. Master Tara Singh Ji told him to remain as the jathedar from that day onward.

Although he used to perform Kirtan regularly, Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji was also involved in the music industry accompanying artists for concerts, wedding performances and on the radio. He picked up many instruments along the way such as the accordion, drums and mandolin. In the music industry, he was known as Raja among the artists due to his charitable nature. Since his nickname was ‘Kala’, they called him ‘The Black King Orchestra’. Once while accompanying a band for a wedding program in Rohtak, he had forgotten his ‘hair fixer’ for his beard. After the program, he was approached by an elderly man who said “Sardarji, what are you doing with this band of musicians and dancers? You have such a beautiful beard and charisma. With your talents, you should devote yourself to performing Kirtan instead”. Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji took those words to heart and stopped performing with artists. From that day onward in 1972, he devoted himself completely to Kirtan and performed regularly in many Gurdwaras in Delhi such as Rajouri Garden, Patel Garden, Keerti Nagar and more.

He accompanied Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji and sons to Banares for some time and during their stay there, Bhai Gurkirat Singh Ji passed away. After his death, they decided to return to Delhi. They got onto the train and as it passed through the city of Lucknow, they decided to get off and spend a night at the Gurdwara in Lucknow. Coincidentally, the Gurdwara was looking for a Kirtani jatha. Seventeen jathas had applied for the position before that, but the Gurdwara committee members were not very keen on any of them. When they saw the three of them walk in with their instruments, the committee requested them to perform Asa Di Vaar and evening Kirtan the next day. After their program, they were asked to stay in Lucknow if they wanted to. Such is the play of Waheguru Ji that with one unplanned stop, they ended up staying in Lucknow for around two and a half years.

After their stay in Lucknow, they made a tour to Kabul, Afghanistan in 1980 for 3 to 4 months. Subsequently, Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji went to Canada, but this time as a tabla player. Bhai Balwant Singh Khushdil was looking for someone to accompany him and Bhai Amarjeet Singh volunteered. While in Canada, Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji formed his own jatha and stayed on in Canada for two and a half years. Shortly after returning to Delhi, he made a trip to the UK in 1983. During his third trip to the UK a few years later, there was an opening of a Granthi’s position in one of the Gurdwaras in Southall and then in Grays, so Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji stayed on. After that, he moved to Gillingham, Kent and has been living and serving the Sangat of Gillingham for the past 38 years. If anyone has more recordings of Bhai Amarjeet Singh Ji to share, please contact us.

The recordings below are from 1985 and these were contributed by Veer Gurpuran Singh Milkhu who operates the Classic Puratan Kirtan channel on Youtube. Please check out his channel for more wonderful treasures. Please ‘right click’ and ‘save link as’ to download audio files. Enjoy!

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Aao Ji Tu Aao Hamare

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Aavo Sajna Ho Dekha Darshan Tera Ram

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Anand Bheya Vadbhaag Jio

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Anchal Gehke Saadh Ka

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Asa Di Vaar

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Aukhad Tero Naam Deyal

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Awal Allah Noor Upaya

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Deenan Ki Pritpal Keray Nit

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Dhan Dhan Hamare Bhaag

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Har Jan Bolat Sri Ram Nama

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Har Pekhan Ko Simrat Man Mera

Bhai Amarjeet Singh (Delhi) – Jina Disandareya Durmat Vanjey (Chandrakauns)