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WSN Readers’
Tribute to Ishmeet Singh
World Sikh News joins all its readers in posthumously wishing
greetings to Ishmeet Singh on his 21st birthday. We thank
all our readers who chose the medium of the WSN to express their
feelings for the departed soul.
We thank Jasvir Kaur, Ekta Mehta, Taranjit Kaur from Spain, Lakhvir
Kaur – a student studying Accounting and Financial Management in
Leicester, UK, Kim Dhillon –an accountant from Hong Kong, Bhupinder
Kaur Preety, a merchandising student from Hong Kong, Phavanjeet Kaur
from Malaysia, Manjeet Kaur from Singapore, Gurjot Keerat, Paramjit
Singh Cherra, Sarabjit Kaur -a freelance event management
professional from Delhi, Pavandeep Singh, a student from London,
Abineet Kaur, Maninder Sanghera from Surrey, Canada, Kiran Kaur
Dhillon from Ilford, Soni Kumar -a mass communication student from
US Soni Kumar from US, Amrita Arneja –a homemaker from Luxembourg,
Mahanjot Singh Sodhi –a Consultant from Toronto, Canada, Jasmeet
Singh Bhogal –a senior software engineer with IBM from New Delhi,
the husband-wife team of Ravinder Pal Singh and Sumeet Kaur, Zahida
Virjee –an artist and an ardent fan, Vaneet Singh -Mechanical
engineer from Utah, USA, Manpreet Singh from UK and our fabulous
actor from Mumbai –Manmeet Singh, who wrote in their replies in
response to our questionnaire.
Here are replies to your questions –one by one, which will be
presented to the family of Ishmeet Singh soon. The replies have
been edited for reasons of clarity.
Do you see him as
an icon? Why do you think Ishmeet Singh became an icon for Sikh
youth?
 Manjot Kaur:
Yes, I do see him as an icon. He was the first turbaned Sikh who won
a reality show and that too in Mumbai, where the Bollywood exists.
We hardly find any turbaned Sikhs having a strong image there, but
Ishmeet had conquered everything with his voice and great singing.
He never tried to change his looks or tried to do anything to fit as
a common person in the show. He was a Sikh and was proud to be one!
After he won the show, a lot of Sikhs came forward, appreciated him
and followed his footsteps. After him, we also saw Rohanpreet in
SaReGaMaPa on ZeeTv who won 2nd place!. I hope others learn from
him.
Taranjeet Kaur:
Yes, I do. He was and is our idol! Because he demonstrated that the
dreams can be fulfilled being of the religion that you are and he is
our 'prerna'.
Lakhvir Kaur:
Yes, I see Ishmeet Singh as an icon to the Sikh youth and everyone.
He had earned so much respect and made the Sikhs and everyone proud
as he had achieved such a big success at the age of 18. Ishmeet
Singh had proved that everything is possible when you are willing to
do it.
Kim Dhillon:
Yes, he didn't compromise with religion. He carried the religion
wherever he went. He represented all of us of the Sikh community. He
made us believe that nothing is greater than our "dharam". Not only
in India, but in the whole world, he achieved fame and respect in a
short period of time. I'm sure after seeing Ishmeet, the new
generation would think twice before compromising with our "sanskar"
and "dharam". He became and inspiration for the Sikh youth. He
inspired everyone with his dignity, determination and ideology. No
word can express him. He'll always be remembered.
Bhupinder Kaur:Yes,
he always stood for his religion and not only that but carried with
him. Not only he believed but he lived the religion. He spread the
message of love and spirituality. He lit the hope of faith in many
hearts. We all love you -Ishmeet and you still live in our hearts
and will always be there.
Phavanjeet Kaur:
Yes he has. Being a Sikh with a turban and a winning voice of
India,.makes other’s idolize him..seeing him, now many a youth want
to tie the turban.
Manjeet Kaur:
Well, he has definitely set an example for many Sikh youth.I am
sure he has inspired many youngsters. Yes, I see him as an icon,
most importantly; he had maintained that humility even after
becoming a winner in a national singing competition.
 Manmeet Singh:
His excellent singing talent, his soothing voice quality, had
touched the hearts of not only the Sikhs but everyone. On that he
was a Sabat Soorat Sikh. Normally it seemed liked a trend that to be
in Bollywood, it is almost impossible to be Sabat Soorat, but he
proved everyone wrong. A handsome Sabat Soorat Sikh won everyone's
heart. He had become a great example for our Sikh youth. In fact,
though not fully, but because of him, people in Bollywood to have
changed their attitude towards us in a positive way. Perhaps, he was
the first fully bearded turbaned successful singer.
Ravinder Pal Singh/Sumeet
Kaur: He
became icon for Sikh youth as he was the only Sikh who followed the
tenets of Sikhi and he was only Sabat Soorat Sikh in the world of
glamour in Mumbai..
Jasmeet Singh
Bhogal: First of all, it was his decent and innocent attitude which
wooed the public. Moreover he was an immensely talented youngster in
his field. He never got professional training in singing but still
managed to become the Voice of India 2007.
One top of that, he was a pure Gursikh and carried his Sikhi
swaroop with full confidence wherever he performed.
He proved that a pure Sikhi swaroop is no hindrance to
success if one has the required talent.
He represented Sikhism in its best form when he turned down a
pop album offer in order to work for Gurbani Shabad album.
Mahanjot S. Sodhi:
Ishmeet became an icon for the Sikh youth by becoming the first
turbanned non-trimmer Gursikh boy to win a major musical competition
that had a world-wide audience. More than the charms that he
possessed being gifted by a magical voice were the qualities of
humility, politeness, innocence and pride in being a Pooran Sikh
that Ishmeet swept Sikhs from all spheres of life off their feet!
These qualities were the ones that made everyone wonder and wish
that Ishmeet were their own son, brother or friend! I vividly
remember my brief conversation with Ishmeet right after few days he
had won SVOI competition. I was visiting India right at the time
and the whole family was so proud of his achievement. My brother in
law who happens to know Ishmeet’s family well got us in touch with
him. He came across as a very humble, down to earth and seemed
innocently surprised to learn that people had been following SVOI
and voting for him from Canada and the US as well!
Ishmeet’s insistence on releasing a Shabad’s CD prior to
anything else and the eventual release of ‘Satgur Tumre Kaaj
Sawaarey’ only reinforced everyone’s belief in the Gursikh pride
that Ishmeet had always exhibited! All the little kids in our
family (including my own 4 year old boy) had started singing and
humming shabads sung by Ishmeet. Ishmeet’s original, deep humble
voice was mesmerizing. He will always be missed dearly by everyone
in general and Sikhs in particular.
 Amrita Arneja:
He was
not a trained singer and he sang so well. Ishmeet became an icon
because of his personality, his charm, his nature and his talent. We
all could see through his crystal clear character.
Soni Kumar:
Yes Ishmeet is an icon. He became a star and kept his Sikh faith at
the same time, this is a big thing in Bollywood.
Kiran Kaur Dhillon:
Yes I do think he represented us Sikhs and he made us proud! -a
young star already doing great and big things!
Maninder Sanghera:
Yes
Ishmeet is a motivation for all of us, he was totally committed to
Sikhism. He knew that staying simple will not stop him from
achieving his dreams. Cutting hair, becoming all modern just to fit
in the crowd, doesn't get you anywhere. It’s that inner motivation,
dedication, and hard work which counts. He is a great example for
the young generation, he is famous world wide. People from all
backgrounds admire him.... all I can say is People who can't stand
up for anything, they usually fall for everything. Ishmeet had
mastered this principle....he knew his hard work will pay off...he
doesn't need to cut his hair to get attention.
Abhineet Kaur: Yes,
he was asked many times if he agreed for a makeover but he knew the
importance of being a Sikh and stayed as he was. He inspired every
other person and conveyed a message that being true to your religion
is most important apart how much famous you become.
Pavandeep Singh.
He was an icon firstly because his voice was beautiful and he was
singing Hindi songs, unlike any other Sikhs. When I say Sikhs I mean
Sikhs with a turban and beard. Many people are praising him for
having a turban, but so does Daler Mehndi and all Bollywood actors
in films. His beard was the most important difference between him
and any other stars in any industry, period.
Paramjit S. Cherra:
Yes, because he was the first one in the Industry to be a full blown
Sikh..... wearing Pagg, and all.
Sarabjeet Kaur:
He was an icon for the Sikh community youth because of the fact
that he was the First Gursikh contestant to participate and win a
reality show and more importantly he was popular in the masses as
well because he was hardworking and a sincere person who respected
everybody and maintained a low profile with his true innocence.
 Harjinder Singh:
Ishmeet Singh always appealed to the Sikhs. Sikhs wanted an
ambassador in the world of glamour and showbiz. His appearance,
goodness and attitude was that of a Gursikh and he broke the
stereotype by becoming the first Sikh to win a reality show on
national television and that too in one of the most popular shows.
From the beginning it was Sikhs who showed extraordinary support for
Ishmeet. Every Sikh who voted for him guided him to victory. When he
won he brought a cheer to all those Sikhs who stood by him. He has
become a Sikh hero because he deserved to be one. He also realised
that his main supporters and ardent fans were his own people. The
community had watched him closely and he kept good contact with the
Sikhs.
Gurpreet Singh Rana:
I will be honest, I did not watch SVOI (however, my borther and my
mother did not miss a single episode), but despite this, I felt that
Ishmeet Singh was a beacon to Sikh youth the world over. As a
community and as a nation, as we battle to establish a seperate
identity for ourselves, we are in desperate need for icons such as
Ishmeet. Principally because Ishmeet achieved his phenomenal success
while his maintaining Sikhi saroop. Sahib-e-Kamal, Guru Gobind
Singh's words ring true:
"Jab Lag Khalsa
Rahe Niara, Tab Lag Tej Dioon Mein Sara
Jab Eh Gaye Bipran Ki Reet, Mein Na Karoon In Ki Parteet"
Why is the loss of Ishmeet Singh so profound? Because Ishmeet
Singh was living proof of these words.
Gurjot Keerat:
Yes he was becoming an Icon for the Sikh youth by showing that one
can keep the full swaroop and still be successful. Also he was
giving the right depiction of Sikh culture.
Jasvir Kaur:
Yes, he was a real Sikh in this kalyug, otherwise it is very rare
to obey one's religion while in the world of glamour
Vaneet Singh:
Ishmeet Singh not only enthralled everyone with his voice and
devotion to singing but also showed his disciplined character by
adhering to his faith. With his piousness towards Sikhi, he showed
the world that “Sabat Soorat” image is no way a hindrance to
success; it in fact gives you an edge over others by providing you
with such an impeccable character. Ishmeet has definitely become an
inspiration for Sikh youth all over the world.
Manpreet Singh:
Ishmeet was certainly an icon in my opinion. The reasons for this
are because firstly there are not many Sikhs within the celebrity
field. Of those who do exist there are hardly any Sikhs who have
preserved their true identity of being Saabat Soorat. Finally if we
were to find a Sikh preserving his or her identity then, it would be
difficult to come across one who is humble a being as was Ishmeet
Singh. Humility and young age are a very rare combination and these
qualities could be seen in the eyes of Ishmeet Singh.
Zahida
Virjee
Very much so.
10 September 2008
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