Shri Kaajee Singh
Shri Kaajee Singh is awarded a Padma Shri by President Kovind for his artistic achievements. Chairman-founder of the Kalimpong organization Sanskriti Sangrakshan Sansthan , which supports folk music and helped Shree Maadal gain popularity.
Who is Shri Kaajee Singh ?
Shri Kaajee Singh was born in 1945, and under the influence of his parents, he became interested in folk music and culture during his formative years. In 1952, Singh began performing the Maaruni dance style. As he got older, he developed a love for the traditional song Maadaley Geet and began learning Shree Maadal from his father, Indrajeet Singh Sardar, one of the genre’s early practitioners.
Singh moved to Mumbai in 1974 and spent nine years collaborating with renowned composer teams like Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Shankar-Jaikishan, and Ram Laxman. In 1983, he went back to Kalimpong.
Kaajee Singh still puts in more than eight hours a day in her job as a researcher and author. In Kalimpong, he also oversees the Sanskriti Sanrakshan Sansthan.
