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Updated: Apr 07, 2023 14:29 IST

New Delhi [India], April 7 (ANI/PNN): Luminaries from sports activities, music, artwork & tradition, academicians, company and Media joined his son HP Singh ‘Rishi’ & household to mark the birth centenary of India’s Sporting Icon Sardar Pritam Singh in Delhi on April 1, 2023. It was a various congregation of all ages and faiths, frequent grail being sports activities and soulful music.
There couldn’t have been a greater tribute to the young-at-heart Pritam Singh, who if alive, would have turned a centurion on that day. A Magical musical tribute to a Sports Noble was organised to commemorate his large day. The performers (Chaar Yaar) got here from completely different beliefs and theology — certainly a queer mixture — they forged a digital spell holding a various assemblage in trance. It was a tribute to the person who by no means denied however defied age.
Under his aegis, Founder Director, Sports and Physical Education, University of Delhi 1968 onwards, University of Delhi gained the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam trophy for general supremacy amongst universities 17 instances. His athletics squad gained the highest Inter-University honours first time in 1973 and repeated the feat many instances over.
Right from captaining Khalsa College, Amritsar and Panjab University in pre-partition days, and scoring six objectives in opposition to Delhi University, he stood out entrance in his sporting profession. He started his stint as bodily schooling and sports activities in cost at Vaish College, Bhiwani, shifting to Khalsa College, Dev Nagar, Delhi in 1951, the place within the very first yr Khalsa broke the monopoly of St Stephen’s College in athletics having lower than 100 college students on rolls. Taking over Founder Director, Sports and Physical Education, University of Delhi, 1968 onwards, Pritam Singh‘s contribution to enhancement of sports activities remained unparalleled.
Remembering this nice sports activities legend, Prof Avinash Singh, a journalist and academician recalled “Never scared of criticism, Pritam Singh once walked into the office of K R Wadhwani, the then Sports Editor of The Indian Express in 1980 to complain that he was missing his fault-finding and admonishing in his columns for many weeks. “Your berating by your writings all the time encourage me to carry out with renewed vigour,” he told Wadhwani. So impressed the sports scribe was with his down-to-earth approach that Wadhwani never wrote against Singh after the episode.

Prof Singh, once a sports reporter, further recollected: “Just earlier than one of many Inter-University meets at University of Delhi, a strike by class IV staff made him apply a singular approach. Singh visited close by villages asking farmers to ship their cattle to the University fields for grazing. Cattle cleared the undesirable progress at sports activities enviornment and the category IV returned again to work, apologising Suo moto. He was the Chief Administrator for DU grounds as host for 2 vital occasions throughout 1982 Asian Games. He was additionally a particular invitee to the Atlanta Olympics!
He was a brave chief who churned out winners. With deep curiosity in poetry and folks music, he all the time remained a contented particular person and unfold gaiety singing aloud and being a central determine in his colony, Ajay Enclave in Rajouri Garden space. Sadly, he handed away on Feb 8, 2020.
As a part of the celebration a 100-minute solemn & dignified rendering by ‘Chaar Yaar’, was had many in tizzy. When Pandit Pritam Goshal and Deepak Caterlino on their respective devices prodded Amjad Khan to present the primary ‘dhap’ at tabla and Dr Madan Gopal Singh started his ‘alaaps’, forming prologue to formal musical expression, the gathering at a University of Delhi College knew what was in retailer for them! Mesmerising and magical musical feast!
The quartet, for little over one-and-a-half-hour actually took the pack on a transcendental journey from Bhakt Kabir to fashionable folks, by way of Rumi, Sheikh Farid, Guru Nanak, Bulle Shah with invocations to Ma Saraswati, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Kwaja Moinuddin Chisti. The verses of Christian maestros, the place Deepak Casterlino, took the lead or joined Dr Singh, also referred to as (aka) Montoo Bhai, too despatched many into tizzy. The Ensemble sang in Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Persian, English and Brij basha to bewitch and enchant the turnout with a casting spell. The recitations included Vandana, Allah Hu, Gagan Mein Thal (together with a little bit of Bengali model of Nanak’s Aarti transcribed by Rabindranath Tagore), some fashionable Punjabi and English verses, ‘Dama Dam Mast Kalandar’ offering the crescendo culminating in a roaring applause and a standing ovation!
Thanking everybody for honouring and remembering his father, HP Singh Rishi stated “We wish he were alive today to personally receive this honour. I hope that my father’s outstanding achievements in the field of sports would ignite the minds of many a young upcoming sportsperson.
“It is gratifying that after his dying, his achievements and his nice life and contributions at the moment are being steadily acknowledged and tributes at the moment are being paid which he tremendously deserved. May his exemplary life proceed to encourage our youth,” he added.
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