SPOTLIGHT: BACHAN SINGH BEDIL

As I met this 50 years young, Aquarian graduate and a Punjabi Lyricist- of international fame- for the first time, in Surrey BC, I found him to be a soft spoken, a deep thinker and a humble personality. This was my first impression. And you know, one does not afford a second chance to create a first impression.\n\nWhen I asked him where he took the first breath of his life, he started rummaging into his past and with a deep breath he added, “I was born in village Badrukhan [ Distt Sangrur] to a farmer family of S Gurdev Singh (father) and Late Srdni.Mukhtiar Kaur(mother). He is eldest among the three brothers; others namely, Brother Dalbir Singh and Sukhbir Singh.\n

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For a song to be an evergreen\nhit, an accomplished singer\nhas to sing in rhythm, with\na hearty feel, and the lyrics\nneed to have a meaningful\ndescription; a Tukbandi cannot\nbe sung with a meaningful\nfeel; this is the reason why\nsome songs are immortal\nand myriads are lost into the\ndust of oblivion. Tukbandi is\ncalled doggerel- a poetry that\nis irregular in rhythm and in\nrhyme. This lyricist writes with\na feel, beyond an iota of doubt.

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\nWhen I requested him to comment on his job profile, he replied,” I did an office job in Punjab Police to pay my bills for many years and then relinquished this job to focus on passion-my area of specialization i.e. reading and writing Punjabi literature- my mother tongue.\n\nWhen I enquired, how he got Takhallus Bedil (heartless) he felt excited and stated,” There was a poet in our village with the same Takhallus and I understood the nuances of lyrical writing from him and got this pen name with his permission. Takhallus means a penname adopted widely by Urdu poets. It is an Arabic word.\n\nWhen asked what his strengths are, he opined,” I am a good listener and a deep thinker. I still read a lot and then write stuff in my own mother tongue.” He further added that, my father did not encourage me for Punjabi song writing initially, though my wife Srdni. Paramjeet Kaur always encouraged me. My younger brothers always cheered me to hone my craft. He is blessed with two sons namely Amangeet Singh and Sursangeet Singh.\n\nWhen I stated how he feels after about a long journey of writing Punjabi lyrics for over 3 decades, He stated, “I have penned over 1000 songs. Many are a big hit. I have been bestowed with over 100 awards. I really feel at ease when singers/ lyricists like Gurdas Mann, Babu Singh Mann , Sukhshinder Shinda, Ranjit Mani and millions of listeners appreciate my work. Though he is the first-generation lyricist and Novel/ Punjabi literature writer in the family, his nephew Armaan Bedil is following his footsteps; he has made his niche in Punjabi Singing. His takhllus bedil does not dovetail with his personality as he is a person with a golden heart. I feel I should address him as bda dil (a person with a big heart.)\n\nHats off to the mother, who gave birth to this scintillating personality who write romantic poetry as well as sad one with the same command. This speaks of his grip on the language and his love for mother language Punjabi and the denizens of Punjab in particular. His story telling song “Gaddian Wali Taro” really fascinates me. His hobbies are reading and writing in Punjabi literature. His recent Novel Sandli Kheda is a great hit. He has got over 100 awards. It will not be out of place to mention that his songs are sung by leading Pollywood and Bollywood artistes namely: Rahat fath Ali Khan, Surinder Kaur, Surinder Chinda, Dilshad Akhtar, Ranjit Mani, Gippy Grewal, Daljit Dosanj, Anuradha Podwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sukhwinder Singh. Mohinder Kapur\n\nHis Maqbool (famous songs) are:\n

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• Rangli Charkhi Kuldip manak
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• Zhande Khalsa Raj De
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• Tere viah da card
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• Passport Bana liya
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• Kavan de vas pey gayi
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\nWhen I asked him, where he sees himself after 10 years. He stated,” I have a dream to produce a Punjabi film in years to come. Plus, I will write more Novels, screen plays for Punjabi films and write new songs. I want to serve the Punjabi community till I breath my last.”\n\n\nLet us wish him good health and\nmeaningful writing as the best is yet\nto come