Surinder Singh shares how Partition uprooted his Sikh family from Lahore to Bengal, shaping Arijit Singh’s musical journey through devotion, resilience, and values that keep him grounded today.
Singer Arijit Singh’s father, Surinder Singh, has opened up about his family’s emotional journey from Lahore to West Bengal in the aftermath of Partition, shedding light on the roots that shaped the singer’s musical upbringing.
Surinder Singh, who belongs to a Sikh family originally from Lahore, recalled how the violence and displacement of 1947 forced them to leave behind their home and rebuild their lives in Bengal. Starting afresh amid uncertainty and loss, the family gradually settled into their new surroundings, carrying forward their cultural and spiritual traditions.
“Our ancestral home was near Lahore. After Partition, my father and his three brothers migrated to Lalgola. They were cloth merchants and somehow ended up in Jiaganj and found their home by the river.”
Speaking about Arijit’s childhood, Surinder Singh revealed that music and devotion were closely intertwined in their household. Long before he became one of India’s most celebrated playback singers, Arijit regularly performed kirtan at the local gurudwara, immersing himself in devotional music from a young age. These early experiences, he said, helped nurture
Arijit’s discipline, humility, and emotional connection to music.
Surinder also reflected on how those formative years, shaped by stories of displacement, resilience, and faith, played a crucial role in moulding Arijit’s grounded personality and deep sensitivity as a vocalist. According to him, despite immense fame and success, Arijit has remained rooted in the values he imbibed growing up, and could not live is the bustle of a city like Mumbai.
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