Born in Guwahati, the capital of Assam, a North-Eastern state of India, Ustād Sukhwant Singh Ji is the fourth of five siblings. His exposure to devotional music began at a very young age while watching his two elder sisters singing during the school assembly and his mother humming at home while doing her daily chores. 

 

In 1984, when his family moved to Taran Tarān, in Punjab, his introduction to music education began to take shape under the guidance of Madam Cheema, Master Sarabjit Singh and Master Ravi. He then went on to learn from the head of the Darbār Sahib in Taran Tarān, Giani Sarwan Singh Ji. He followed this enriching experience by enrolling in a two-year Kathā course at Shaheed Sikh Missionary College in Amritsar. This is a special course focusing on Sikh philosophy and theology and the art of its narration. Prepared and eager to engage in the sevā (service), that is so essential to Sikhism’s core philosophy, he moved to Calcutta for two years, where he performed kirtan at the Gurudwara in the Badā Bazaar area.

 

After receiving the blessings of his teacher Giani Sarwan Singh Ji, Ustād Sukhwant Ji joined the Jawadhi Taksal in Ludhiana, Punjab which was run by the late Sachkhand Baba Sucha Singh Ji. Although performing kirtan had sharpened his skills, he still wished to learn more about the theoretical aspects of music and enrolled under the tutelage of the teacher at Jawadhi Taksal, Ustād Jaswant Singh Bhawra Ji from 1994 to 2000. 

 

In 1997, Sant Baba Sucha Singh Ji honored Ustād Sukhwant Singh Ji by giving him the post of Principal of the Guru Sabad Sangeet Academy in Jawadhi Taksal. Ustād Sukhwant Singh Ji held the position and dutifully discharged his duties till August 2014. 

 

In the interim, in the year 2000, he left for Canada, and for the next eleven months, he took Gurmat Sangeet classes there with Ustād Kulwinder Singh on Tabla. 

 

In the short span of two years, Ustād Sukhwant Ji suffered the loss of his mentor Sant Baba Sucha Singh Ji in 2002 and his teacher Ustād Jaswant Singh Bhawra Ji in 2003. To raise their illustrious legacy to new heights, Ustād Sukhwant Singh Ji continued to learn, this time from Pt. Ganesh Prasad Ji in Ambala, all the way up to 2016, till his Guru passed on.

 

From 2014 till the present he has been serving as the Chairman of the Baba Sucha Singh Academy and Sur Abhayaas Kendra in Jandiala Guru, Amritsar. 

 

In a rare gesture that deeply understands the importance of passing on the wisdom of the ancients to the next generation, Ustād Sukhwant Ji teaches all his students for free. 

 

He currently has over 5000 students spread out across the world with centers in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Malaysia, Melbourne and Toronto.

 

Ustād Sukhwant Singh’s reverence of the Sikh teachings is evident in his drive for not only using the Guru’s rāgās but as well in his creative use of the Tanti Sāz - ancient string instrument traditionally used in Gurmat Sangeet. 

 

Besides critical acclaim, his efforts have sparked a long-overdue revival in Gurmat Sangeet that is slowly and steadily picking up more steam with every class he takes and every performance he makes.