"I come from Jamshedpur which is mini-India, so I never saw any opposition from anyone for singing bhajans (hymns in the Hindu tradition), but after I became famous, I got a phone call from someone who objected to my singing such hymns while wearing a turban", Lakhbir Singh Lakha told SBS Punjabi.
Mr Singh was in Melbourne to perform at Shri Durga Temple on the weekend. Popularly known as 'Lakha', this is Mr Singh's first visit to Australia.
“This is a very quiet country,” says Mr Singh as he talks about experiences visit Down Under.
He began his singing career from Kolkata-based popular Bollywood singer Usha Uthhup’s studio, where he first sang non-religious songs.
“I’ve sung film songs in Hindi, Bangla, Odiya. Also in the Sufi genre. But singing bhajans is my preferred style. I grew up in a religious atmosphere. There was a gurdwara and a Radha-Krishna temple near our house in Jamshedpur. As a schoolboy, I sang at both places. I don’t have any formal training in singing. Baba Nanak is my guru and Shiv ji has blessed me immensely. I began my professional singing career from the famous Shiv temple of Deoghar in Jharkhand,” says he charting the course of his musical journey.
Mr Singh, now a highly sought after bhajan singer, is based out of Mumbai.
Being a Sikh, Mr Singh wears a turban, and often wraps a red Mata Di Chunni (headscarf offered to Hindu Goddess Durga) around it. He often wears a gold pendant depicting Hindu deities. He has a tilak (vermillion mark) on his forehead and a mauli (red sacred thread) on his wrist when he performs. That makes for a very uncommon attire.
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Has someone ever taken any objection to this crossing over of religious customs and simply, even for the kind of songs he sings?
He says he didn't face any criticism for singing bhajans when he was growing up in Jamshedpur, which is an amalgam of various religious communities in the eastern-Indian state of Jharkhand. However, eyebrows were raised later, when he became famous.
"When I became famous, a Sikh gentleman called me and questioned why do I sing in praise of Goddess Durga? I questioned him back that if he believes in Akalpurakh (idea of God in the Sikh tradition), then Ma (mother) Durga is also a power of the same Akalpurakh. so what's wrong in praising that,?" says Mr Singh with a laugh.
“I have a temple at home with idols of Hindu deities on one side and Guru Granth Sahib on the other. I recite Nitnem and Rehras (morning and evening prayers in the Sikh tradition) every day and also do pooja (worship in the Hindu tradition),” says Mr Singh.
Listen to this interview in Punjabi by clicking at the player at the top.
