California, July 21, 2026: Sikh scholar, academic and raagi Professor Gurnam Singh has received the Gurmat Sangeet Martand award in recognition of his work to preserve and develop the musical traditions connected with Gurbani.
The honour was presented during the third annual Raag Darbar organized by the Darbar-e-Gurmat Sangeet Sanstha in California.
Professor Singh has spent decades researching the raags and musical framework of the Guru Granth Sahib. His work has focused particularly on restoring the performance of Shabad Kirtan through traditional string instruments and documented raag-based compositions.
Bringing Gurmat Sangeet into universities
Professor Singh previously served as the founding head of the Gurmat Sangeet Chair at Punjabi University, Patiala. He has also held academic and research leadership positions at the university.
His contribution is considered significant because Gurmat Sangeet was historically passed from one generation to another through oral teaching. By helping establish university departments, courses and academic frameworks, Singh worked to give the tradition a formal place in higher education.
He has written extensively about Sikh musicology and contributed to research, recordings and documentary projects connected with Gurbani Kirtan.
India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi lists Gurnam Singh among its 2017 award recipients in music, confirming his recognition at the national level for sustained work in the performing arts.
Recognition from the diaspora
The California honour reflects growing interest among Sikh communities outside India in preserving raag-based Kirtan and traditional Sikh musical instruments.
Diaspora institutions have increasingly organized Raag Darbars, workshops and educational programmes to introduce young Sikhs to the musical principles contained in the Guru Granth Sahib.
The award recognizes not simply an individual performer but a wider effort to document and transmit an important part of Sikh religious and cultural heritage to future generations.
