Deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma handed over the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, to gurmat sangeet legend Kartar Singh on Monday.

The DC handed the award on behalf of the President as Kartar Singh is at present admitted at the Hero DMC Heart Institute and could not attend the ceremony owing to his frail health.
Kartar Singh’s family members – daughters Manjit Kaur and Sukhbir Kaur, sons Amarjit Singh and Amritpal Singh, daughter-in-law Amarjit Kaur, and his grandchildren – were also present on the occasion.
Congratulating the legend, the DC said, “Kartar Singh has been practising gurmat sangeet since the age of 13 and specialises in tanti saaz.”
Kartar Singh, who pursued a career in teaching, as a professor, is also the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Tagore Ratna Award. He has also been awarded the Punjab government’s Shiromani Ragi Award, and Punjabi University’s Gurmat sangeet senior fellowship. He was also conferred Sikh Lifetime Achievement Award in London (UK) on October 9, 2011, and was nominated to be among the top 100 global Sikhs by the Sikh Directory in the UK.
Singh also penned five books on ‘Gurmat sangeet’, which have been published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, while two books are under publication. Born at Ghummanke village in Lahore (Pakistan) on April 3, 1928, Singh studied at the Panjab University, Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}Singh also penned five books on ‘Gurmat sangeet’, which have been published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, while two books are under publication. Born at Ghummanke village in Lahore (Pakistan) on April 3, 1928, Singh studied at the Panjab University, Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}