Bhai Dalip Singh & Harinder Singh Fakkar

The original ‘jatha’ of Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar, Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar and Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar was formed in 1986 when their father, Bhai Jagtar Singh Fakkar passed away while on tour in America. These talented siblings trace their roots to the Rababi tradition of music. Their grandfather, Bhai Sarmukh Singh Fakkar and granduncle, Bhai Gurmukh Singh Fakkar served as Hazoori Raagis in Sri Nankana Sahib prior to the partition in 1947. Following the division of Punjab, their family settled in Patiala along with many other Rababi families from Nankana Sahib.

The eldest of Bhai Jagtar Singh Ji’s five sons was Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar, followed by Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar, Bhai Inderjit Singh Fakkar, Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar and Bhai Himmat Singh Fakkar. Like most Rababis, all of them were initiated into music at a very young age from home. During his teenage years, Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar also received guidance from various maestros of the Patiala Gharana such as Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, Ustad Baqar Hussain and Pandit Devi Dutt. Subsequently, he spent five years learning the intricacies of classical music from Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana. Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar also trained his younger brothers with all the knowledge and skills he obtained from these maestros. In addition to the training he received from his older brother, Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar also learned from Ustad Baqar Hussain. Following the death of their father, the duo of Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar and Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar became very popular and performed in various Raag Darbars and classical concerts. Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar provided tabla accompaniment with them. Their style combined the features of both Patiala and Sham Chaurasi Gharanas.

In the year 2000, Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar made a trip to Malaysia with Bhai Inderjit Singh Fakkar accompanying him on the side harmonium and Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar on tabla. Some recordings were made then and have been uploaded onto a separate webpage dedicated to Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar. Sadly, Bhai Harcharan Singh Fakkar passed away in 2003 at the very young age of 34, leaving behind one son, Bhai Lal Singh Fakkar. With his passing, there was a void that could not be filled. It took over two years for Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar to take up the mantle of ‘jathedar’. Although Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar was mainly trained in tabla, he had also picked up singing from his father and older brother. In his teenage years, he began tabla lessons from Ustad Iqbal Hussain from the Delhi Gharana while he was based in Bombay. Ustad Iqbal Hussain was a popular tabla accompanist in the Bollywood industry. Bhai Dalip Singh Ji learned from him from 1978 to 1982. In 1982, Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar moved back to Patiala and proceeded to learn from Ustad Savraj Ali Khan who was a disciple of Ustad Habibuddin Khan of the Ajrada Gharana.

After the passing of Bhai Harcharan Singh Ji, Bhai Dalip Singh Ji spent two years training rigorously in the art of vocals and Raag ‘vidhya’. He narrated to me that during those two years, he would feel the presence of his late brother reminding him about various compositions and Raags. He would wake up in the middle of the night remembering a certain composition and practicing it until morning. In 2006, he formed his own ‘jatha’ with his son, Bhai Jaspal Singh Fakkar on tabla and his nephew, Bhai Lal Singh Fakkar on the side harmonium. Between 2003 to 2006, both of them were sent for training to Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar who was based in Bombay at that time. After forming the ‘jatha’, their first performance was in Gurdwara Sees Ganj Sahib in Delhi. They performed there for a period of one month and gained popularity during this time. Subsequently, they returned to Patiala and continued to perform at various Kirtan Samagams throughout India. Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar also has a natural talent for delivering Katha and delights the Sangat with various ‘sakhis’. Since Bhai Harinder Singh Ji was living in Bombay while Bhai Dalip Singh Ji lived in Patiala, it was not often that they performed together. However, whenever their schedules aligned, they would perform together at some Kirtan Darbars such as the annual Samagam organised by Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen in Alwar, Rajasthan. They also made a tour to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in 2013. It was Bhai Harinder Singh Ji’s wish to make another trip to Malaysia with a violinist accompanying him. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years ago before the trip came to fruition.

Accompanying them in most of the recordings below are Bhai Lal Singh Fakkar on vocals and Bhai Jaspal Singh Fakkar on tabla. Bhai Lal Singh Fakkar was also trained by Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar and he has now formed his own ‘jatha’ which is gaining popularity worldwide among Gurmat Sangeet enthusiasts. Bhai Jaspal Singh Fakkar learned ‘tabla’ from his father, Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar. If anyone has more recordings of theirs to share, please contact us.

The following recordings were made during their tour to Malaysia in 2013. These recordings feature Bhai Dalip Singh Fakkar, Bhai Harinder Singh Fakkar, Bhai Lal Singh Fakkar and Bhai Jaspal Singh Fakkar. Please ‘right click’ and ‘save link as’ to download audio files. Enjoy!

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