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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.
Some people think
that praising Ishmeet Singh is like endorsing Bollywood. What do you
think?
 Manjot Kaur
He was a star and he will always be a star, but praising Ishmeet
doesn't mean endorsing Bollywood at all. He was an icon, an idol,
but not a Bollywood endorsement.
Taranjeet Kaur:
I don't have idea about this... I'm not living in
India
and I don't know about this matter!
Lakhvir Kaur:
I think praising Ishmeet Singh is just not endorsing Bollywood. He
was a great singer. He sang Shabads and songs very nicely.
Kim Dhillon:
Well Ishmeet did become a part of the Bollywood when he first
entered the contest. His sudden death has caused a great loss to the
Bollywood industry. There cannot be enough praise for Ishmeet. The
more we praise him, the less it will be. Regarding Bollywood, in my
view, the path for Sikhs, who uphold religion will always be thorny.
Bhupinder Kaur:
I
personally do not want to comment on this line "praising Ishmeet
Singh is like endorsing Bollywood". Everyone has their own style of
judgments. I only know one thing that once gone is gone forever.
Zahida Virjee:
That is
an insult to Ishmeet Singh.
Manjeet Kaur:
The two should be kept apart. As far as praising is concerned, I
would say, praise Ishmeet for his humility.
Manmeet Singh:
Let them think. Even if you help someone in trouble, the present
world will think you have some vested interest, does that mean that
we should stop helping the needy? We will have to give the example
of Ishmeet and this is necessary for our present Sikh youth who
think nothing can be achieved in Bollywood or in any other
performing arts by being Sabat Soorat. Many had told me this before
Ishmeet Singh came into lime light.
Ravinder Pal Singh/Sumeet
Kaur: No
it is not like that as we support his humility, innocence,
genuineness, honesty and modesty. If he would have been in Hollywood
also we would have supported him.
Jasmeet Singh
Bhogal:
I don’t agree with this. Ishmeet rejected the pop album offer as he
wanted to work on Gurbani Shabad album.
Mahanjot S. Sodhi:
Praising Ishmeet is in no way an endorsement of Bollywood which has
always played with and hurt Sikh sentiments with its ludicrous
portrayal of turbaned Sikhs. As a matter of fact, Ishmeet’s huge
success was a tight slap on the face of one and all in Bollywood who
had made fun of Sikhs. Ishmeet had convincingly proved that Sikhs
could shine like stars not only in politics, sports and businesses
but also in the Indian mainstream entertainment industry where their
image had been deliberately tarnished by vested anti-Sikh
interests! I would even go to the extent of saying that the cause
of Ishmeet’s death could be this very jealousy and a sinister plot
of the anti-Sikh interests within this industry that could not stand
and see a Gursikh making it to the top!
How many others do we know who had died so soon after
attaining a star status!? Makes everyone wonder…
Amrita Arneja:
I think
Ishmeet deserves praise in all respects and I would not like to
connect both.
 Soni Kumar:
We praise
ishmeet for his talent as a young Sikh Punjabi star. I never thought
of him in endorsement terms.
Maninder Sanghera:
I
personally remember Ishmeet for how he was and how he sang. I don't
really think of Bollywood when I think of Ishmeet. When I hear a
nice song then I do think of Ishmeet...as he would have sang it a
100 times better. Not trying to put down any other singer, but
Ishmeet had a heart touching voice.
Pavandeep Singh:
Absolutely not, he did not fall prey to Bollywood or Maya. He sang
Shabads and did not leave his religion for Bollywood. Many of my
relatives like Ishmeet Singh because of him singing them at such a
young age, not due to his voice or success.
Paramjit S. Cherra:
We are not endorsing Bollywood, but we are respecting a Sikh
youngster who made his name in the market. I applaud Ishmeet Singh
for doing what he did. He was an awesome person along with an
awesome STAR!!!!!
Sarabjeet Kaur:
This is
not at all true. If we are praising Ishmeet then it’s just because
we know he had in him which made us praise him, support him in every
way. It has got nothing to do with endorsing Bollywood.
Harjinder Singh:
Absurd
! These people must realise that there is a desperate need to bring
the Sikh identity into broad daylight. It can happen only when we
fit in and are looked upon in good light. The Sikhs have a
distinctive appearance and the need to make it big with our identity
intact is indispensable. We endorse Ishmeet because he was a Sabat
Soorat Sikh. He got accolades with his identity as a Sikh. We salute
the spirit and Saroop of Ishmeet.
Gurpreet Singh Rana:
The
adulation that Ishmeet Singh got from Sikhs that world over was not
due to the fact that he was singing Bollywood songs in a divine
voice. The adulation was due to the fact that he sang these songs
with a divine voice, while maintaining Sikhi Saroop. Therefore,
Ishmeet Singh was a slap in the face of those that are trying to
destroy our identity. And this is what deepens the sense of loss
that the Sikh community the world over is feeling.
Gurjot Keerat:
No,
music is without boundaries and it can be Bollywood or Devotional or
whatever.
Vaneet Singh:
I do
not agree with that. Ishmeet Singh was not only known for his
association to Bollywood but in fact was loved more for his
sincerity, devotion, and his distinguished identity. I still
remember the show of “Jo Jeeta Wohi SuperStar” when the singer Mika
came and complimented Ishmeet by saying that many people will come
and go in these kinds of shows but the only person who will always
be cherished and remembered will be Ishmeet Singh and that he said
was “because of his beard and turban”. He appreciated Ishmeet for
being an adherent of Sikhism. I endorse Ishmeet for his voice,
commitment to his profession, and above all for being a Sikh icon in
the glamorous world of Bollywood.
10 September 2008
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