Karnail Singh Paras (28 June 1916 – 28 February 2009) was a Shiromani Kavishar award-winning

Kavishar Kavishari or kavishri ( pa, ਕਵੀਸ਼ਰੀ) is a style of Punjabi folk music entailing energetic and dynamic a cappella singing. It was originated in the Malwa region of Punjab as a sung form of " Chhand-Baddh" kavita (poetry). A perform ...

Indian Punjab Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and R ...

. He is the father of former union minister and

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as w ...

politician

Balwant Singh Ramoowalia Balwant Singh Ramoowalia (born 15 March 1942) is an Indian politician from Samajwadi Party. His father Karnail Singh Paras was a well-known Kavishar. Balwant Singh started his political career with student politics as a general secretary of Stu ...

and Canada based writer Iqbal Singh Ramoowalia. One of his granddaughters is married to famous Punjabi singer and actor

Harbhajan Maan Harbhajan Singh Mann (born 30 December 1965) is an Indian-Canadian singer, actor and film producer associated with Punjabi music and cinema. His movies include ''Jee Aayan Nu (2002)'', ''Asa Nu Mann Watnan Da (2004)'', ''Heer Ranjha (2009)'' and ...

Early life

Paras was born as Karnail Singh on 28 June 1916, to father Tara Singh of Ramoowala village and mother Ram Kaur, in his maternal grandparents' village of Mehraj of

Firozpur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

(now

Bathinda district Bathinda district is in Malwa region of Punjab, India. The district encompasses an area of 3,385 square kilometers. By area, Bathinda district is the second-largest in Punjab, after Ludhiana District. It is bounded by Faridkot district and Moga ...

) in

British Punjab Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British co ...

. His father died when he was only 14. He was sent to a

Dera Dera, Dero, Daro, Dhoro, Dahar or Dehra is a word in several languages of South Asia, whose meaning is 'camp', 'mound' or 'settlement'. It appears in the names of a number of places. Geography India * Dera, Himachal Pradesh * Dera Bassi, Mohali ...

for the study of

Gurbani Gurbani ( pa, ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, ...

where his teacher noticed his intelligence and called him, ''Paras'', that was fixed for ever as his last name. He was very fond of singing from his childhood. In 1938 he married Daljit Kaur of village Boparai. The couple has 6 children; 4 sons and 2 daughters.

Career

Paras was inspired by

Mohan Singh Rode. After the performance of Mohan Singh at ''Mela Maghi'' at

Sri Muktsar Sahib Sri Muktsar Sahib (/ʃriː ˈmʊktsər saːhɪb/) (often referred to as Muktsar (/ˈmʊktsər/)) is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 Census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality ...

, Paras met and told him about his love for singing and also recited a poem of his own. Being happy on listening to the poem, Mohan Singh took him as his student. Paras joined his team and learned singing/

Kavishari Kavishari or kavishri ( pa, ਕਵੀਸ਼ਰੀ) is a style of Punjabi folk music entailing energetic and dynamic a cappella singing. It was originated in the Malwa region of Punjab as a sung form of " Chhand-Baddh" kavita (poetry). A perform ...

from Mohan Singh. Paras' first performance on stage was at ''Roshnian Da Mela'' at Jagrawan. His first performance on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

, in 1954, made him popular. He also performed in Canada, England and the United States. Bhasha Vibhag Punjab honored him with ''Sharomani Kavishar Award'' in 1980-81.&6 He has about 20 students but Gursewak Maan and

, the well known Punjabi singers today, are the shining stars of them. His relationship with Harbhajan Maan got closer as one of his granddaughters, Harmandeep Kaur, is married to

. He also wrote songs for Maan brothers. Harbhajan Maan's first album, ''Ishq De Mamle'' featured 7 songs written by Paras.

Discography

After his first performance on

Jalandhar, in 1954, he got high popularity and

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

recorded his first record featuring the

s, ''Kyon Pharhi Sipahian Ne, Bhaino Eh Hansaa Di Jorhi'' and ''Hai Aaun-Jaan Bania, Dunia Chahun Ku Dina Da Mela''. After that he recorded about 20 records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paras, Karnail Singh Kavishars Punjabi-language singers Punjabi-language lyricists Punjabi people 1916 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers

Early life

Career

Discography

See also

References