Book excerpt | Sidhu Moosewala's mother 'Charan had always been a big influence on the singer'

Joginder Singh Mann, a journalist with the Punjabi Tribune, who covered the Mansa district for the paper, recalled how, as a child, he would feast on the melons and see traders from 'big cities' coming to the village for an advance deal. 'In Mumbai and Gujarat, the sarda from Moosa was always in high demand,' he says.

Perhaps some of the sweetness of the sarda of Moosa seeped into the voice of Charan Kaur's young son. But the nature of the land was changing. The once abundantly grown fruit became increasingly scarce in the region, before disappearing altogether. Moosewala too was no longer just the boy with a sweet voice. As his fame grew, his lyrics changed into brazen boasts about himself and his caste—the Jats. He often threatened his enemies in his songs and bold statements against the lack of tolerance of religious leaders. Perhaps it was the rebelliousness of youth, but Moosewala started to use his voice to talk about societal, cultural or religious norms that found oppressive.

His music became his cry for freedom.

***

Charan had always been a big influence on the singer. Moosewala had fond childhood memories of listening to his mother sing the Gurbani while oiling and combing his hair.

In an interview with Punjabi actress and TV host Sonam Bajwa, Moosewala said, 'Even now, my mother combs my hair before a big show. It is a bond every mother and son have, or should have.' On 14 May, Moosewala paid tribute to his mother on her birthday by releasing the song Dear Mama—his love and adulation are evident in each word of the song. The song revealed a tender side to the man whose entire public persona otherwise was one of unfettered machismo. In the song, Moosewala raps about how his temper is hot and can blaze like the sun, but at other times, he is calm and serene like the dawn. And when he is like that, he is just like his mother. He also reflects that he is, at times, angry at the world like his father, but then the calmer and more compassionate side of him prevails. He sings: Kade suraj wangu ... tere warga aa.

Sometimes I burn like the sun

At other times I am at peace

Like the dawn

Mother, I always feel

I am just like you.

Sometimes like my father

I feel angry at the world

But then, every time, like you,

I, too, feel pity for the world.

Some say my face is like this

Some say my face is like that

But my face is just like yours

Mother, I always feel

I am just like you.

***

Two days after Sidhu Moosewala's funeral, Charan held her son's ashes in an urn. The grief-stricken mother could be heard repeating to herself, 'You've reduced my strapping son to ashes in this pot. You think you will get peaceful sleep?'

Later, Charan appeared in different videos at the memorial constructed at the site where the singer's last rites had been held. 'My son was an engineer. He could have settled anywhere he wanted, even before he earned fame as a singer. He rejected a Permanent Residency in Canada to settle in the village as he respected his roots. He loved his parents and loved mother earth. Someday, he will return again ...'

Excerpted from Who Killed Moosewala? The Spiralling Story of Violence in Punjab by Jupinderjit Singh, published by Westland Non-Fiction (195 pages), with permission from the author. The book is available in English, Hindi and Punjabi.