As kids, we'd visit Majnu ka Tilla Sahib for Baisakhi: Harshdeep Kaur

Rooted in tradition yet resonating with the contemporary world, Harshdeep Kaur brings a deeply personal warmth to Baisakhi. For her, this harvest festival is not just a cultural marker but an emotional homecoming, where music, faith, and family come together in quiet gratitude and joy.How do you celebrate Baisakhi with your family, and has the way you mark the festival evolved over the years?Baisakhi is a cultural extravaganza, and we celebrate it with lots of enthusiasm. We prepare our favourite Punjabi food, do Ardaas at home, and partake in the Karah Parsad made by my mother-in-law. Then we go to the gurdwara to take blessings and listen to the serene kirtan. As kids we used to visit the gurdwara Majnu ka Tila Sahib where the Baisakhi celebrations would take place, and having the langar used to be the highlight of the day. What are your favourite Baisakhi rituals or traditions that you look forward to every year?I love the whole vibe of this festival. Baisakhi is about new beginnings and there’s a very positive and vibrant atmosphere all around. Nagar kirtans, community langar and preparation of sweet dishes, are the highlights of this day. Me being a singer, listening to Kirtan and singing shabads is integral to this auspicious day. As a mother now, does Baisakhi hold a deeper or different meaning for you?Celebrating a festival with your child makes it even more beautiful now and gives you an opportunity to learn more about it and teach its significance to your child too. Baisakhi is the best time to teach my son, Hunar, about our culture and tell him tales around this festival. Hunar loves listening to melodious Shabads and singing them along.Your voice carries a strong spiritual and Sufi essence—how do you balance that with contemporary sounds in your recent tracks?I feel that music is a divine gift from God. And whenever I sing devotional songs or Sufi songs, I feel that certain connection with the Almighty. And I think it is that purity of heart that reflects in the voice when you sing with complete devotion.With the rise of independent music, how do you view the space for indie artistes today compared to when you started your journey?This is the time of indie music, and I feel happy that singers who have not sung in Bollywood or haven't got proper platforms are also able to release their own music, do a lot of songwriting, and just upload it on their social media. When I started singing, there was no social media, so we were dependent on music labels. You had to approach music directors to create songs and then pitch those songs to a music label, and then the music label used to produce those songs, make videos, and you had to sign with them. But now independent music is actually independent.