Nirmal Singh Khalsa, a noted singer of Sikh 'Gurbani' hymns, died of the novel coronavirus in Amritsar early on Thursday morning. Officials said it was the first death due to coronavirus in Amritsar and the fifth death in Punjab.
Nirmal Singh Khalsa was 62. Nirmal Singh Khalsa was the former Hazoori Ragi (priest/singer) at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Khalsa was credited with having knowledge of all 31 'raags' in the Gurbani of the Guru Granth Sahib. Nirmal Singh Khalsa received the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contribution to Gurbani music.
Nirmal Singh Khalsa had returned from overseas recently and was admitted to hospital after experiencing shortness of breath and dizziness on March 30.
He had tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday and died of cardiac arrest around 4.30am on Thursday morning, The Tribune reported.
According to officials, Khalsa had held a large sammelan (religious gathering) in Delhi and some other places after he returned from abroad.
Khalsa, along with his family members and other relatives, had performed a'kirtan' at a house in Chandigarh on March 19.
The Amritsar civil surgeon said Khalsa’s two daughters, son, wife, a driver and six others who accompanied him have been isolated at a hospital and their samples will be taken for testing.