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Punjabi pop singer dead

Chandigarh Nov 17. Noted Punjabi pop singer Surjeet Singh Bindrakhia died in his sleep following a cardiac arrest early this morning at his home in Mohali, his nephew Gurmajor Singh said.

Surjeet, 42, was cremated in the afternoon at his native village Bindrakha in Ropar district. His pyre was lit by his 11-year-old son Geetaj.

The singer, who cut 32 solo audio cassettes during his decade-long career, is survived by his wife Preet Bains, 36, eight-year-old daughter Meenaj and son.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh expressed grief over the demise of the singer, who became a house-hold name in Punjab with popular hits such as "Tere vich tu ni tera yaar bolda'', ``Dupatta tera satrang da'', and Lak tunu tunu''. Describing Bindrakhia as a versatile singer who proved to be a trendsetter in Punjabi folk singing, the Chief Minister said, in his death the Punjabi art and cultural fraternity had lost a gem.

Surjeet had been suffering from high blood pressure and cholesterol besides some liver problem.

Bindrakhia, who started out as a `Bhangra' artiste, switched over to Punjabi songs in 1991-92 and sung about 250 songs, including for 12 Punjabi films, during his short career. He became popular with his Punjabi album `Munda Ki Mangada'. His latest release ``Ishqe Di Aag'' was doing good business, music industry sources said.

Eminent Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann, who attended his cremation, paid homage to Bindrakhia, saying his voice was different. A large number of artistes including Babbu Mann, Jasbir Jassi, Durga Rangila, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Sardool Sikandar and Satwinder Bugga, who were present at the funeral, said his loss was irreparable.

Bindrakhia's music composer Atul Sharma described the death as "personal loss'', while song writer Shamsher Sandhu, who formed the triad, said Bindrakhia had lived an ``intense career''.

Other artistes including Bachan Bedil, Devinder Kohinoor, Yudhveer, Ravinder Rozy, Sulekh Dardi, Gurjant Komal and Lovely Nirman too expressed shock over the untimely death.

-- PTI

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