Download Finally today on Asia Calling we meet Indiana singer Lakhbeer Singh....popularly known as Lakha.
He is a well known singer of Jaagran - a genre of Hindu religious music that is sung to please God.
Jasvinder Sehgal joined thousands of people at one of his concerts, an all night sing-along in Jaipur.
Hundreds of women are singing religious songs in front of the Vaishno Devi temple in Jaipur.
They sing that the Goddess sitting on a lion has come to bless them and keep evil away from their families.
Some of them are playing small drums while others loudly praise the supreme power of the goddess.
Lata Parnami rushed here after cooking dinner for her family of seven.
“I was late but now I am enjoying this fantastic evening. I like the beautiful decorations specially done for this occasion.”
Shabnam Kapoor is also amongst the women singers.
She explains why they sing all night.
“Jaagran means not to sleep and to keep awake. If you have read Indian History then you can understand the objective of this program. During the day, we are busy in our daily chores but in the night we are comparatively free so as to devote our sleep to the God.”
It’s not only women who are here to see their favorite religious singer, Lakha.
Surinder Singh, a young marketing executive, has traveled more than two hundred kilometers from the city of Kota to be here tonight.
“I love Lakha’s melodious voice. He sings beautifully especially when he praises the Goddess. I would travel any where just to listen to him.”
And here comes the star of the evening, Lakhbeer Singh alias Lakha.
He starts to recite musical slogans that praise the Goddess. The crowd of thousands becomes the chorus.
After creating a holy atmosphere he then switches to a crowd pleaser.
In the song Lakha uses English words to reach young people in the audience.
The lyrics of this song are “Hindu deity Lord Shiva has a bright face, who holds a moon on his head while sacred river Ganges flows from his long hair.”
After the concert I ask Lakha about the importance of this musical tradition.
“Our society has been organizing such programs for ages. Through this, we try to please the Goddess. The objective is to sacrifice one night’s sleep in the name of God.”
Do these all night events disturb other people? I ask. They are very loud.
“More than five thousand people are here tonight so to reach all of them we need to turn the volume up. But I agree that it’s hard for old people, students and the sick. We have tried to turn the volume down but it doesn’t work.”
When I ask him why he sings religious songs and not Bollywood hits, he replies with a smile.
“Every singer has his own taste; I agree that there is more money to be made singing in glamour films but religious songs have their own importance. You gain more respect doing this and the audience loves you, I take it as a blessing from God.”
At my request he sings his favorite song for ‘Asia Calling’. He sings and prays to God to spread happiness everywhere.
