Renowned Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa passed away on Sunday following a prolonged illness. She was 77.
The folk artist breathed her last at a Amritsar based hospital here. Gurmeet Bawa, wife of Punjabi folk singer Kirpal Bawa, was best known for her long ‘hek’ (opening of a song while singing to create a melodious voice with an unbreakable wave) for about 45 seconds. She came to the limelight when she started performing on Doordarshan. She was the first Punjabi female singer to appear on the national television channel.Born in 1944 in Kothe village of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, Gurmeet Bawa became popular across the country after singing the Punjab folk song ‘Jugni’.
During her career, Gurmeet Bawa received many accolades including the State Award by the Punjab government, Sangeet Puraskar by the Punjab Natak Akademi, the national Devi Ahilya Award by the Madhya Pradesh government and the Shiromani Gayika Award by the Punjabi Language Department.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi expressed grief over the singer’s demise.”Shocked and saddened to hear the news of Gurmeet Bawa Ji’s demise. Her contribution to Punjabi folk music is indelible. My sincere condolences, thoughts & prayers are with her family,” Channi posted on Twitter.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Higher Education & Linguistics Minister Pargat Singh have expressed profound grief over the demise of eminent folk singer Gurmeet Bawa. In a press communique, S. Randhawa said that Gurmeet Bawa carved out a niche for herself with her soulful and melodious voice and served the Punjabi folk music for more than half a century. She was particularly known for her ‘Hek’, said the Deputy Chief Minister.
Pargat Singh said that Gurmeet Bawa was passionately devoted to Punjabi Mother Tongue, Culture and Folk Music whose passing away has left a void which would never be fulfilled. S. Randhawa and S. Pargat Singh prayed to the Almighty to grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss and shared the grief with family members, friends and relatives.
