Music
Onkar Singh
One Blessed Voice
by ERROL NAZARETH
　
Speaking with Onkar Singh has the same calming effect as listening to his music.
No, Onkar Singh doesn't fall into any easy-listening/New Age category. Rather, he sings kirtan, which is Sikh spiritual music. Blessed with a gorgeous, evocative voice, he does justice to the ancient pieces that appear on his most recent album, Bandagi.
Truthfully, you don't have to be Sikh or religious to be affected by this soul-nourishing spiritual music.
"Spirituality to me is being able to rise above the day-to-day stresses of life and see the bigger picture," Onkar says from his home in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, "to be able to put situations and circumstances in a perspective which allows you to remain in a state of bliss, regardless of what is happening around you.
"To be spiritual is to be humble and compassionate," he adds.
"To see the entire world as one family, the oneness in others, and to feel that oneness within yourself."
Born in Brantford, Onkar grew up listening to Sikh devotional music, but says it was never forced upon him.
He recalls trips to visit family all over the U.S. and Canada, which involved attending musical and kirtan functions and performing with his siblings.
And he remembers developing a deep interest in music when he was only five.
And it wasn't just the music he heard at home.
"I can remember spending my spare time jamming, whether it was singing a traditional Punjabi or Indian composition on my harmonium, or jamming on the tabla to a U2 song or a rap song," he says.
"Music was an essential part of my existence, and is to this day."
Music, the practising naturopathic doctor says, helped him navigate his high school years.
"I would come home from school and before doing anything else, I'd play on my harmonium for an hour or so," he says.
"It was always a form of meditation for me and I know this made the whole process of schooling much more manageable - especially when it came time to studying for exams."
Music provided "the most profound natural high," Onkar says, but also helped boost his self-confidence.
Listening to Onkar made me recall something that the late, great qawwali singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan once said.
"I feel like I am in another world when I sing," Khan told an interviewer. "I am not in the material world when I sing these traditional holy messages."
Onkar Singh says he can totally relate to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's experience.
"It's a feeling of just letting go of every thought and worry, and letting the music take over - the music simply dissolves all the material things. All you feel is the desire to create, experience and share. This is how I really knew that music is not just merely entertainment, but a higher form of expression."
Laughing, he adds, "My wife says she sees me the happiest when I am on stage performing. She often jokes that I have two wives, the first one being music."
　
[Onkar Singh gave a much lauded performance at Toronto's Harbourfront Theatre on Saturday, August 8, 2009.]
Article, courtesy: The Toronto SunAugust 10, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brantford, Ontario, Canada), August 10, 2009, 7:46 AM.
Onkar Singh, his music and his humility make him a fine gentleman and Ustad among many people. His growth from 'Dhur ki Bani' TV of the '90s to gurdwaras to the Harbourfront Music Festivals now is a journey of much awe, reverance and a huge following in Canada and U.S.A. Should he be "free" from his day to day stresses and hectic life, he is all set to be a new star in our community and worldwide.
2: Sandeep Singh Brar (Canada), August 10, 2009, 6:50 PM.
A deeply grounded and humble spiritual seeker and a great talent whose kirtan exemplifies the soul's longing for Waheguru. He's a real jewel of the Panth.
3: Pritam Singh Grewal (Canada), August 11, 2009, 2:20 PM.
I had the opportunity to listen to Onkar Singh's kirtan at a local gurdwara. In addition to the calming quality of his music, his excellent English explanations of the shabad being sung is of much benefit for the Sikh youth.
4: Gabrielle Stemski (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), August 12, 2009, 11:03 AM.
As a musician myself, I have had the immense pleasure of listening to Onkar Singh's live performances at several music festivals. This man is simply an amazing human being and an awesome, highly skilled and multi-talented musician. His voice is truly amazing and simply magic and makes you feel at such peace, and groundedness. I have no doubt that very soon the world will take notice of this very gifted artist! I look forward to hearing him again soon.
5: Mehr Anand (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), August 12, 2009, 2:55 PM.
I had the good fortune of listening to Onkar Singh in Los Angeles several years ago. His rendering of kirtan in the Gurmat Sangeet tradition was simply astounding, amazing and brilliant! What an amazing voice! I was equally impressed with his English translation and discourse which was simply profound and eloquent. He will be a major musician of the world one day, I have no doubt!
6: Sukhjeet Sekhon (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), August 13, 2009, 12:09 PM.
It was a great pleasure to read this article today as I came to your website. Onkar Singh has been an instrumental personality not only for my personal inspiration of Sikhi and GurShabad, but for many other individuals. Listening to his kirtan definitely takes us to a much higher plane spiritually and philosophically! I wish him all the best and pray that one day I may be able to meet him in person and hear him live!
7: Dr. Sanjeev Patel (Wisconsin, U.S.A.), August 13, 2009, 12:13 PM.
I heard this fine young musician at a wedding in Ann Arbor. Brilliant, magical, profound.