Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana (Nairobi)

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana was born on 15^th December 1935 in the village of Dalli-Bhogpur in Jalandhar. He was born to Mata Kishan Kaur Ji and Sardar Jagjit Singh Ji. At the age of 5, he was sent to learn basic Gurmukhi from his father’s elder brother who was a Nirmala saint by the name of Sant Parmatma Singh Ji. Sant Parmatma Singh Ji was in charge of one of the ‘deras’ in Amritsar under the care of Mahant Daya Singh Ji. After learning the basics of Gurmukhi, Diwana Ji attended public school. As this was before the partition, Urdu was being taught in school and once Punjab was divided in 1947, his school shut down. At that time, there was worry that Urdu would not be used anymore and learning it would not have any value in India, so he was sent to the Gurdwara to continue learning Gurmukhi. He was started on ‘Panj Granthi’ and ‘Das Granthi’ before proceeding to do ‘Paath’ from Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Bhai Raghbir Singh Ji belongs to the Ramgharia Sikh community, who are noted for their skills in carpentry and other artisan occupations. His family members were also involved in wood and metal crafts. This led him to follow in their footsteps. However, he kept in frequent company of Sant Parmatma Singh Ji. He would follow Sant Parmatma Singh Ji for Kirtan programs and would accompany Sant Ji on the ‘dholki’. One day, Sant Parmatma Singh Ji mentioned to Diwana Ji that it was his wish for someone in their family to do Kirtan. This idea became embedded in Diwana Ji’s mind and he then decided to learn Kirtan. In 1952, Diwana Ji went to the village of Nangal, Hoshiarpur to learn Kirtan from the renowned maestro, Prof. Darshan Singh Komal. He spent around one year with Komal Ji and learned approximately 20 Raags from him. During this time, he would also accompany Komal Ji for various Kirtan programs to gain more experience.

After leaving Nangal, he went back home and into his family trade. As he was able to do ‘Paath’, he would also take part in ‘Akhand Paaths’ regularly and sing a couple of Shabads during the ‘Paath da bhog’ ceremony. He became friends with a school teacher. This gentleman would attend the Kirtan programs and then join Diwana Ji for tea and a chat after the programs. One day, he commented that Diwana Ji had a very sweet voice and did beautiful Kirtan. Then he asked, “Why don’t you do Kirtan full-time?” In those days, most villagers liked to hear explanations and related ‘Parsangs’ about the Shabads being sung. So, Diwana Ji replied that he had not learned much Punjabi and would not be able to explain well. The teacher told him that it was not too late for him to learn and he could further his studies by attending college. This was a life changing moment for Bhai Raghbir Singh Ji. At this point of time, he was already married with one child. However, he was really keen on the idea and he went to Jalandhar the next day to inquire about college admissions. After finding out about courses in YMS College, he returned home and informed his family of his intentions. His mother was very happy to hear this and she told him that she would support his studies. She gave him a monthly allowance of Rs. 100, which was a large sum at that time. He bought a bicycle with his first allowance and he would cycle 25 kilometers to Jalandhar for his classes. He completed the Budhimani, Vidhwani and Gyani courses in linguistics.

After completing his studies, he found it difficult to secure programs. This led him to continue working as a carpenter. One day, the same teacher who had initially motivated him to study, came to check on him. Diwana Ji told him that nobody knew about him and he was not able to get booked for programs. So, the teacher suggested that he should join a ‘jatha’ first and make a name for himself before forming his own. With a clear direction now, he joined the ‘jatha’ of Bhai Sardara Singh Dardi, a popular ‘Dhadhi’ of his time. Shortly after Diwana Ji joined the ‘jatha’, they started performing Kirtan. Diwana Ji accompanied Bhai Sardara Singh Dardi for 5 years. During these 5 years, Diwana Ji sent his younger brother, Kirpal Singh to learn music. Kirpal Singh Ji attained a double MA in music and soon after, Diwana Ji formed a ‘jatha’ with his brothers. His elder brother Nirmal Singh Ji accompanied on the tabla and Kirpal Singh Ji played the tanpura. Shortly after that, they got another tabla player, so Nirmal Singh Ji started accompanying on the side harmonium. Diwana Ji wanted to experiment with something different, so he bought a mandolin and learned from his violinist cousin. Their ‘jatha’ became quite popular at that time and this resulted in many offers from abroad. As Diwana Ji was adept in Kirtan and ‘Paath’, many Gurdwaras were requesting him to fill the role of resident Granthi and Kirtani. He received offers from Afghanistan and Singapore, but he did not take those up. Later, he received an offer from London and as his permit was approved and he was ready to leave, fate took a different turn.

One day, he was invited to perform the Anand Karaj ceremony of a young couple. The groom and his family were from Kenya. They were very impressed by him and they offered to arrange for him to work in Kenya. He told them that his permit for the United Kingdom (UK) was already approved and he was planning to move there. However, they insisted that he visit for a few months at least, before going to the UK. He agreed to this, and left for Nairobi, Kenya in 1971. Months turned to years and as fate would have it, he lived in Nairobi for 26 years. He served as a Granthi at the Ramgharia Gurdwara in Pangani. However, he also travelled to other parts of Africa such as Tanzania, Zambia etc. for Kirtan programs. He has also travelled to the United States and United Kingdom. In 1982, he returned temporarily to his village in Bhogpur to build a house for retirement and then went back to Nairobi. He moved back to India permanently in 1997, and currently lives in his house in Bhogpur, Jalandhar.

Diwana Ji is the second out of four brothers. His eldest brother, Nirmal Singh Ji has passed away. The third sibling, Sarup Singh Ji has retired from teaching and is currently based in the United States. His youngest brother, Kirpal Singh served as a professor of music, but is also now retired and teaches music from his home.

Diwana Ji has four sons and his elder two are living with him in Punjab. Another son lives in London and one of his sons is the world-famous Punjabi musician, Sukhbir Singh, who is now based in Dubai. Diwana Ji used to travel regularly to Africa for Kirtan programs before the covid-19 pandemic hit. Since then, he does Kirtan in nearby cities and villages. His son, Rajinder Singh Ji accompanies him on tabla. Diwana Ji has also taught Kirtan to many people over the years, including Veer Manpreet Singh from the UK. Another of his students, Satnam Singh used to travel from Zambia to India to learn Kirtan from him.

If anyone has more recordings of Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana to share, please contact us.

The recordings below are from a program in Nairobi, Kenya on 23rd June 1972. Recordings courtesy of Bhai Harbans Singh Suraj. Please ‘right click’ and ‘save link as’ to download audio files. Enjoy!

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – 01 Prem Lago Har Teer

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – 02 Maan Karo Tudh Oopre

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – 03 Thakur Binti Karo (Bhairo)

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – 04 Dhan So Vela Jit Darshan Karna

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – 05 Apne Satgur Ke Balhare

The Asa Di Vaar below is a live recording from 2001. This Asa Di Vaar was obtained from one of Diwana Ji’s Soundcloud pages which can be accessed by clicking ‘here’.

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 1

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 2

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 3

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 4

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 5

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 6

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 7

Bhai Raghbir Singh Diwana – Asa Di Vaar part 8

The large batch of recordings below were also obtained from a few of Diwana Ji’s accounts on Soundcloud. Those accounts can be accessed by clicking ‘here’ and ‘here’.

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