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Washington, November 29, 2011: A 73 old passionate singer of Gurbani, Lachman Chellaram, popularly known in Sindhi community as Dada Lachman Chellaram, enthralled the Sikh community in the Washington area with his melodious singing (Kirtan) of Gurbani and thoughtful explanations in English. A devout follower of Guru Granth Sahib, he delves deep in the spiritual meaning of Sikh teachings during his performances. He had a spellbound effect on the audience and people listened to him with complete silence and sang fervently with him. Age has not dampened his spirit and he touches high notes during his singing reminding audiences of his father who had captivated the Sikh community in the 60's with his enthusiastic kirtan . He is one of the few Sindhi singers of Gurbani. The whole experience was uplifting for many in the Washington area. Guru Gobind Singh Foundation ( GGSF) had invited Dada Lachman Chellaram for a week-long celebrations of 26th Anniversay of GGSF and 6th Anniversary of the new Gurdwara building recently.
Dada Chellaram, born in 1938 in Karachi city of Sindh, a province of now Pakistan, Lachman is son of famous Bhai (Dada) Chellaram who had fans all over the Indian subcontinent and through out the world for his melodious kirtan. The elder Dada Chellaram had worked closely with many famous Raagi Jathas including the Jatha of Bhai Sudh Singh Pardhan Singh Sargodhawale, a recipient of Punjab State’s Bhai Mardana Award.
Following the footsteps of his father, Lachman Chellaram has travelled throughout the world spreading the word of Gurbani. Lachman Ji has firm faith in the teachings of Guru Nanak and chose the path of spiritual service. Since 1959, he has been traveling in India and abroad spreading the “Divine Name” through Kirtan and discourses. He has translated Guru Granth Sahib Ji into Sindhi (both in Devnagri and Arabic scripts), Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and English. Altogether he has published over 100 books on Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth. He recently spent few weeks in Pakistan visiting the Sikh communities and Sindhi communities in southern region of the country. Sindhi community all around the world admire his kirtan and he has a busy schedule visiting various communities through out the United States.
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| Lachman Chellarm was honored by GGSF: Left to right; Chattar Singh Saini, Lachman Chellaram, Sarabjit Singh Sidhu, Bhai Gurdarshan Singh, Inderjit Singh, and Arvinder Singh |
Inderjit Singh, Executive Director of Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, said, “Lachman ji has further enhanced and glorified his father’s name by his wisdom, talent, devotion and scholarly research of Gursikh history. He has exalted the life mission of Guru Nanak Sahib and has been spreading the ideologies of universal truth and brotherhood.”
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| Members of the Sikh Community |
While speaking at GGSF, Chellaram said, "Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a religious Scripture which is truly universal. It does not speak just about Sikhs, but about mankind in general.” He further says that "A very few people know what the text actually contains. It is painful that even most Sikhs are not aware of the messages contained in the Holy Scripture. They bow before it and go through all the rituals when they go to a Gurdwara, but a very few know what they are bowing to."
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For his valuable contributions toward spreading the message of Gurus, Lachman Chellaram has received many laurels and awards from many organizations in India and abroad including but not limited to Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Delhi, Takhat Sri Patna Sahib, Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, Delhi, and Guru Teg Bahadur Foundation, Delhi. He was also honored by the Freemont Gurdwara Sahib in California last year.
Dr. Rajwant Singh, Secretary of GGSF, said, “We are touched by his fervor for Gurbani and his ability to connect with the members of the sangat of all ages. We sincerely hope that others like him will continue to widen the horizon of the Sikh community and reach out to the audience who are ignorant of the message of Guru Nanak.”
Washington metro area Sikh community tremendously enjoyed his unique style of kirtan and katha during his recent visit. In appreciation of his contribution toward Gurmat Parchar and research, Dada Lachman Chellaram Ji was presented with a ‘SIROPA’ by the GGSF. He also performed at other Gurdwaras in the Washinogton and he visited several cities through out the US.
Pictures by Harbans Singh Chhabra
Information on Dada Chellaram:
http://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/modern-scholars-of-sikhism/chellaram-bhal