He started his musical journey holding his mother’s hands, while his father wasn’t approved of his choice. He got eliminated in the previous season of '
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
' in the initial rounds. But nothing could stop
Gurujeet Singh
to continue his fight and prove himself as a singer. And Bengali television viewers couldn’t resist falling in love with singer Gurujeet and his soulful Bhaktigeeti. In an interview with TimesOfIndia.com, the popular contestant of the music reality show talked about his passion for music, the hurdles he had to face and much more.
“I never had any formal voice training. Although, I always had this passion for music but never thought of becoming a singer. In class VII, I told my parents that I want to pursue my career in music. My father wasn’t happy with my choice. But my mom supported me and I started learning music from her. With my mother, her blessings and the harmonium, I started the journey,” said Gurujeet. The guy from Durgapur, West Bengal, later started taking training from singer Jayanta Pandey.
Gurujeet’s father, who runs a business, was worried about his son’s future and wanted him to join the business. But destiny had something else stored for Gurujeet. Gradually, he grew interest in the technical aspects of music and started nurturing it. “I decided to perform in stage shows to gather experience. For that I used to rehearse for hours together. I started singing at weddings and other events where they needed performers in exchange of very less remuneration,” said the passionate singer. By that time, Gurujeet’s father realized his love for music.
“I was in class IX, when I performed at a wedding for the first time. I still remember how my father gave me a ride on his scooter to the venue. After singing 20 odd songs, they offered me Rs. 50! But my father was proud. He framed the note and still cherishes my first earning,” shared Gurujeet and one can feel the emotion as his voice chocked while talking.
Later, he decided to join a rock band and started learning more technical aspects associated with music. But he didn’t take remuneration as he wanted to groom himself as a stage performer while attending the shows. “I started doing more shows eventually. There were days when I had to do 3 shows back to back. It started taking a toll on my voice due to overuse and doctor strictly warned me that my vocal chord might get damaged,” shared the singer, who pursued his Post Graduation in Music from
Rabindra Bharati University
. Meanwhile, Gurujeet started composing songs for Punjabi movies and send those to the music directors for a suitable break.
Talking about his journey in 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' he said, “I took part in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2010 but couldn’t clear much rounds. But what I realized that time is, learning is a continuous process and one needs to groom themselves and practice every single day.” In 2018, he took part in the show ‘
Dadagiri
’ and during the show, he left the viewers as well as the makers dumbstruck with his soulful Bhaktigeeti. Interestingly, the same channel airs 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'.
“When I got the call from the channel for this year’s audition, I was really surprised. There were so many talented singers from different parts of the state, even from neighbouring country Bangladesh,” shared Gurujeet.
Although, he mostly perform groovy songs on stage, in this show, the Punjabi munda, made his way straight to the viewers’ hearts with
Shyama Sangeet
and other types of devotional songs. He explained, “I used to visit
Gurdwara
and sing songs. It connects me with him (God) and I could feel his grace. But for stage shows, I used to sing Bhangra, Hiphop and other types of groovy numbers, which people mostly enjoy. Honestly, I had no idea, that I will be encouraged to perform Shyama Sangeet in a competition and people would actually appreciate it!”
In the latest season of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', he was seen performing different types of songs too and was praised by the judges. He shared how judge
Shantanu Moitra encourages him to continue singing more devotional songs. “Every Friday I go to the Kali temple in Durgapur, sit with Purohit Moshai and sing songs. I can’t explain the feelings I experience at that moment. Similarly, when I sing Shyama Sangeet or any other Bhaktigeeti, I can feel that peace. Shantanu Sir, once explained to me that I should continue to perform such songs as the connection I feel is rare.” He shared how judges Shreekanta Acharya and
Monali Thakur continuously help the contestants to perform better.
With talented singers like Tanmay Biswas, Nobel, Singdhajit Bhowmik, Ankita Bhattacharjee, Suman Majumder, Hriti Tikadar, Shampa and others, the competition is fierce. But Gurujeet looks at it in a different way. “All the singers are amazingly talented. But you can call it competition only when all the singers are asked to perform a particular song and are judged based on that song. To me, it is a musical journey and nothing else.”
Start a Conversation
Post comment