NEWS

MUMBAI: Bhangra singer Malkit Singh has became the first Punjabi singer to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace, UK with the award of the Member of the British Empire (MBE).

Malkit Singh was among a large group of Asians figuring in this year's New Year's Honours List which is published twice every year to honour people with a record of distinguished and long-standing service to the nation or the community.

The popular bhangra singer had said he might greet Queen Elizabeth II with a boisterous chak de phatte, a Punjabi phrase typifying the exuberance of the language. "I have worked very hard on my music. And although I had won medals in India when I was in college, my musical journey actually began in Britain," said Singh.

Malkit Singh was born in Husseinpur village of Jalandhar district and came to Britain in 1984 from Punjab. He cut his first album two years later and it became a trailblazer as bhangra grew in popularity in dance halls and night clubs all over Britain.

Singh was bestowed with the honour of being the biggest selling bhangra artiste in the world, recognised by the Millennium Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000.