an Old article from trubune

The very flash of the memory of a standing ovation accorded by a multitude of artists and connoisseurs at the 32 nations Dubai  International Cultural Fest-2003, rejuvenates the young sufi singer  Satinder Sartaj from Punjab University. The singer had won the  Best Sufi singer award there, besides having been  commended as lead vocalist and performer in folk dance competition at the prestigious festival.

“ Though Satinder had been credited with various presentations on radio, TV channels and awards but winning the top position in Sufina music among the contenders from the hub of Sufism was by no means a small achievement, says Dr. Pankaj Mala Sharma, his mentor and guide.”

Living in the sleepy village of Bajrawarpur  in Hoshiarpur , the prodigious child, Satinder was too naïve to understand and realize the phenomenon of ecological growth.

Curiously, he used to marvel at the beauty and fragrance of flowers, spectrum of rainbow, the water springs in the calm surroundings besides the melodic strains of music that flowed from a flute and sarangi which the wandering folk  and sufi musicians played.

As a child he developed a taste for the pristine Punjabi folklore and the sufiana qalaams though seemingly it was not within his conceptual grasp. However an intense yearning to learn and imbibe the rich mysticism of sufiana music dominated in his educational career.

Following the dictates of his inner soul, Satinder  concentrated on his sufiana musical career having done his M. Phil in Sufi gayan and is pursuing a doctorate in Sufi gayan from Punjab University. With a view to have an intimate feel of the divine effulgence and mystic experiences of the  greats like Jalludin Rumi , Shams Tabrezi from Iran , Satinder had secured a diploma in Persian with distinction.

Reveling in the glory of  the mysticism of  Baba Farid,  Bulle Shah, Sultan Bahu,  Shah Hussain and others, the  accomplished singer Satinder Pal had just recorded an album of Sufi gayan  being released shortly.

Satinder Sartaaj's Schedule

Toronto May 2 2009
Ottawa May 9 2009
Edmonton May 16 2009
Calgary May 17 2009
Abbotsford May 22 2009
Vancouver May 24 2009
Winnigep May 31 2009
Halifax June 6 2009

SATINDER SARTAAJ

To describe this personality one has to look beyond the scope of the dictionary. He sings in his own style, Punjabi culture lives in the writings of this personality, his sufi thoughts goes deep in his poetry, everyone gets lost in his composition. Once he starts MEHFIL, everyone gets glued to their seats. Satinder Sartaaj born at village Bajrawar, distt. Hoshiarpur (Punjab eastern). Living in the sleepy village as a child Satinder hooked to the melody emanating from the Flute and Sarangi of the wandering folk artists. Telling about his Schooling from his own village and nearby villages Chabbewal & Patti, he says “I started performing at the Bal-Sabhas when I was in Class 3rd and this marked the beginning of my journey!” After that he join graduation at Govt. college, Hoshiarpur with Music Honours. Side by side he join Sangeet Visharad, a five year diploma in classical music from Jallandhar. After completing his Graduation and Diploma Satinder went to Panjab University Campus at Chandigarh for Masters in Music. With blessing of Parents he done M.Phil. and Ph.D. with the Specialisation of Sufi Music. To understand the deep thoughts of Sufi Poetry Satinder done the Certificate Course and Diploma in Persian (Farsi) Language. During this time he started writing Poetry and make his poetic name (Tkhallus) SARTAAJ. Now Dr. Satinder Sartaaj is Teaching at the Deptt. of Music, Panjab University Chandigarh from last six years. Sartaaj says that “Sufi Music connects me with God, insisting that of late he has developed a passion for Poetry but nowdays it’s more of Poetry than anything else.” An ardent lover of nature,Sartaaj has dedicated several of his compositions to Nature because from the beginning he was drawn the beauty and fragrance of flowers, rainbows, tranquil flow of the water creating rhythmic pattern. Though too young to analyze the innate pleasure derived from the natural phenomena,his yeaning to delve deep into the creations gave birth to religious and sufiana thoughts in his young mind which later made an impact on his career choice. Gifted with the mellifluous voice and a remarkable range in all octaves Sartaaj following the dictates of his inner soul, he choose to revel the glory of Mysticism. Sartaaj is already a name to reckon with in his field. He recalls a occasion when the prolonged applause from music lovers from 32 countries greeted the young Punjabi at Dubai International Cultural Festival when he was crowned with Best Sufi Singer Award, living up to the meaning of his name Sartaaj, the Supreme. Sartaaj has a glaxy of achievements like featuring in a documentary on the life of Sayyad Waris Shah on Zee Punjabi in 2003. He also was a Guest Artist in Zee Antakshri show with Anu Kapoor. He is Winner of a Scholorship in Sufi Music from the Dept. of Culture,Govt.of India. He was First runner-up in the 24th All-India Light Vocal competition. He won the title of Punjab Heritage Foundation,Patiala. He received many letters from various Institutions, Colleges and Universities to Judge the Music competitions. Satinder Sartaaj has done lots of Live Concerts with his troup in the area of Punjab, Chandigarh ,Delhi and other States. He was covered by many newspapers like Times of India, Indian Express, The Tribune etc. Sartaaj was interviewed by many Channels like Zee-Punjabi, PBC Channel, Punjab Radio Edminton Canada etc. He has received award of honors from various institutions and organizations like Punjab University Chd, Punjabi university Patiala, Army Head Quarters Chd, Indian Microelectronics Society, Global Punjab Organization Delhi, OSHO World Delhi & Panchkula, Deputy Commisionar Mansa, DAV group of institutions. Recently Satinder Sartaaj has Crowned with The Youth Icon Award from Rotaract Club Chandigarh.
He is comming on a tour of Canada and certainly he would be performing in Edmonton