Manika Kaur

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Manika Kaur
Born Melbourne, Australia
Genres Religious; Kirtan
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter and philanthropist
Years active2012–present
Labels Shemaroo Entertainment, Invincible Recording, United Sound Recordings and Suriya Recordings
Website www.manikakaur.com

Manika Kaur is an Australian religious singer, songwriter and philanthropist from Melbourne.

Contents

Early life

Kaur was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and her parents were active members of the Sikh community. [1] In 2006 she married and moved to Dubai. [2]

Career

In 2012, Kaur released a music video for the song “Guru Ram Das Rakho Sarnaee”, telling the life story of Guru Ram Das through shadow puppets. The video has over 4.6 million views on YouTube. [3] [4]

Bandhanaa (re-released as Satnam Waheguru)

Kaur's debut album, Bandhanaa, was released in 2013 by Shemaroo Entertainment. The album was produced by Sukhbir Singh. [5] In 2014, the album was re-mixed and re-released as Satanam Waheguru by Invincible Recordings. [6]

I Bow To You Waheguru

In 2015, Kaur's second album was released by United Sound Recordings through Proper Music Distribution. Its title track, "I Bow to You Waheguru", was produced by Talvin Singh. [7]

The album features collaborations with Rakesh Chaurasia, Jyotsna Srikanth, [8] Soumik Datta, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, [9] and Reiner Erlings. She performed material from the album on the Sikh Channel, BBC London, and ABC Australia TV.

Sacred Words

Kaur's third album, Sacred Words, was released in 2018 on Martin ‘Youth’ Glover's label Suriya Recordings [10] and was released in the US on imprint label partner Six Degrees Records. It features collaborations with Scottish folk musician James Yorkston, Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), and Tunde Jegede. [11] [12]

Discography

YearAlbum or non-album singleFeatured artist(s)Composer(s)Label
2013Bandhanaa Shemaroo Entertainment
2014Satanam WaheguruInvincible Recording
2015I Bow To You Waheguru Rakesh Chaurasia, Jyotsna Srikanth, Soumik Datta, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, and Reiner Erlings Talvin Singh United Sound Recordings
2018"Aval Allah" (single)feat. James YorkstonManika Music
2018Sacred Words James Yorkston, Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), and Tunde Jegede Talvin Singh, Tigerstyle, and Oskar VizanSuriya Recordings
2018"Tu Sultan" (single)feat. James YorkstonManika Music

Philanthropy

Through her foundation Kirtan for Causes, Kaur raises awareness for issues such as equality, global access to feminine hygiene products, and education of females of all ages around the world. [13]

Her foundation currently supports the education of 100 programme participants [14] and supports the education of over 200 children. [15] Kaur raised over one million dirhams (approx. £210,000) through her first album, which she donated to finance a new Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Dubai. [16] All of the revenue from Kaur's work go to support her charity. [5]

Awards

Kaur won the 2016 Sikh Award [17] for Sikhs in Entertainment [18] and placed sacred Sikh vocal music and Kirtan in the World Music Charts Europe for the first time, [19] amassing over 10,000,000 views on YouTube. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikhism</span> Religion originating in Punjab, India

Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy in particular for the Sikh ethnoreligious group that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. The Sikh scriptures are written in the Gurumukhi script particular to Sikhs. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world, with about 25–30 million adherents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurdwara</span> Place of worship in Sikhism

A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs but its normal meaning is place of guru or "Home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guru Har Rai</span> Seventh Sikh guru from 1644 to 1661

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Waheguru is a term used in Sikhism to refer to God as described in Guru Granth Sahib. It is the most common term to refer to God in modern Sikhism.

The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ik Onkar</span> Religious phrase in Sikhism

Ik Onkar, also spelled Ek Onkar or Ik Oankaar ; literally, "one Om", hence interpreted as "There is only one God or one Creator") is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality. It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akhand Kirtani Jatha</span> Sikh group

The Akhand Kirtani Jatha, alternatively romanized as the Akhand Keertanee Jathaa and abbreviated as AKJ, is a jatha and sect of Sikhism dedicated to the Sikh lifestyle. The Jatha attempts to follow a strict discipline in keeping the Rehat of Guru Gobind Singh. They also enjoy an active style of Keertan recited by Sikhs in a collective manner in front of Guru Granth Sahib. This style of Keertan is relatively simple, and the entire congregation devotionally participates in singing along.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikh music</span>

Sikh music, also known as Gurbani Sangeet , and as Gurmat Sangeet, or even as Shabad Kirtan, is the classical music style that is practised within Sikhism. It exists in institutional, popular, and folk traditions, forms, and varieties. Three types of Sikh musicians are rababis, ragis, and dhadhis. Sikh music exists in various melodic modes, musical forms, styles, musicians, and performance contexts.

The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women in Sikhism participate in all religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path, perform Kirtan, perform Gatka and work as a Granthis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shree (Hindustani raga)</span>

Shree is a very old North Indian raga of the Purvi thaat, and has traditionally been associated with Laxmi. It also appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India, and is a part of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy text of the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib composition comprises 31 ragas where Shree is the first raga to appear. The raga appears first on 14th page of the composition.

Antam Sanskar refers to the funeral rites in Sikhism. Antam means "final", while sanskar means "rite".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guru Ram Das</span> Fourth Sikh guru from 1574 to 1581

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snatam Kaur</span> American singer-songwriter

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Taran Kaur Dhillon, known by her stage name Hard Kaur, is an Indian rapper and hip hop singer; as well as playback singer and actress in the Bollywood industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taus (instrument)</span>

The taus, originally known as the mayuri veena, is a bowed string instrument from North India. It is a form of veena used in North India with a peacock-shaped resonator called a mayuri, and is played with the neck of the instrument on bow. Some versions have Sympathetic Strings that go to the Headstock like a Dilruba so they're known as the Mayuri Dilruba.

Laura Drew, a.k.a. Singh Kaur or Lorellei (1955–1998) was a new-age music composer, vocalist and instrumentalist, who had a prolific career that lasted from the early 1970s to the late 1990s, releasing 23 albums. With her angelic voice and haunting melodies, Singh Kaur was a pioneer in the growing genre of Western interpretations of Indian chanting music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ragi (Sikhism)</span> Sikh musician who plays hymns in different ragas

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The Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar is the gurdwara of Dublin, Ireland. It has two main halls, Divan Hall and Langar Hall. Divan Hall is the main hall where the holy Guru Granth Sahib is kept. It is located on the site of the old Oscar Cinema in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 which the Irish Sikh community purchased in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rababi</span> Musician who plays the rabab

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amrit Sanskar</span> One of the four Sikh sanskars also called Charan Amrit or Charan Phul or the Pag Pahul

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References

  1. ↑ "Manika Kaur: Singing for a Cause", Hindustan Times
  2. ↑ "Sikh YouTube star Manika Kaur", Invincible Music
  3. ↑ "Guru Ram Das". YouTube. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "New Age Artist Manika Kaur's "Mool Mantra" Makes for a Clear". Pop Matters.
  5. 1 2 "Manika Kaur: Sacred Words", Six Degree Records
  6. ↑ "Asian Kirtan Star Manika Kaur Releases Satnam Waheguru", Invincible Music
  7. ↑ "Manika Kaur's Sense of Peace" World Music Central
  8. ↑ "Gentle voice, powerful spirit" Urban Asian
  9. ↑ "Manika Kaur: I Bow to You Waheguru" Noise Bliss
  10. 1 2 "Manika Kaur releases Sacred Words Album" Broadway World
  11. ↑ "Music Preview: Manika Kaur soothes the soul with Sacred Words" Thrive Global
  12. ↑ "Manika Kaur Announces New Album SACRED WORDS Due 5/11 via Sriya Recordings" Broadway World
  13. ↑ "Music Preview: Manika Kaur releases sublime silky smooth Sacred Words" CelebMix
  14. ↑ "Kirtan brings a sense of peace" Just Say It How It Is
  15. ↑ "Manika Kaur is using music as a source for good" iSing Magazine
  16. ↑ "Manika Kaur" Zee Companion
  17. ↑ "Winners 2016 List" The Sikh Awards
  18. ↑ "Sikh Awards in London honour global Sikh diaspora" India GB News
  19. ↑ Her hymns build lives" Times of India
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