Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria, 1606, age 22, as painted by Peter Paul Rubens, shortly after her wedding to Giacomo Massimiliano Doria

Doria, originally de Auria (from de filiis Auriae), meaning "the sons of Auria", and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the Republic of Genoa and in Italy, from the 12th century to the 16th century.

Origins[link]

According to legend, a noble Genoese lady named Auria or Oria della Volta fell in love with a noble pilgrim who was going to Jerusalem for the First Crusade; his name was Arduino di Narbonne but their children were named after the mother—de Oria, the children of Oria. Arduino was a typical name of the Arduinici family of the Piemonte, some of whose members bore the title of Counts of Auriate; one might then speculate that one of the Arduinici of Auriate gave origin to this family, which suddenly appears in history as a local major power in Liguria in the late 11th century.

Documentary evidence refers to two members of that family, Martino and Genuardo, in 1110; they are called filii Auriae (the sons or children of Oria). The Doria had fiefs in Sardinia from the 12th century to the 15th century, and also in Dolceacqua, Oneglia and Portofino, in the Riviera to the west of Genoa. Although uncommon, Doria is also known as a female first name.

Notable members[link]

The Doria Castle (up in the photo) in Portovenere

Simon Doria lived in the late 12th century and was an admiral of the Genoese in the crusader's assault against Saint Jean d'Acre. Percivalle Doria, who died in 1275 fighting for the Ghibelline, was an infamous warlord and a well-known Provençal poet. Also a poet, Simon Doria was podestà of Savona and Albenga. The brothers Oberto Doria and Lamba Doria were naval commanders and politicians: Oberto was Captain of the People in Genoa and led its naval forces in the victory of La Meloria against Pisa in 1284 while Lamba won a major battle against Venetian Andrea Dandolo at Curzola in 1298. Tedisio Doria (or Teodosio) financed the expedition of Vadino and Ugolino Vivaldi in 1291. Branca Doria is mentioned by Dante in the Divine Comedy because of his treacherous murder of Michele Zanche, his father-in-law, in 1275. Brancaleone Doria ruled the Giudicato of Arborea and nearly conquered the whole of Sardinia in the late fourteenth century.

The most remarkable member of the family is Admiral Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (1466–1560), who re-established the Genoese Republic. His nephew was Giovanni Andrea Doria, another admiral; Giovanni Andrea's son was Giovanni Doria, a cardinal of the Catholic Church.

The family had relationships with political entities both in and out of Europe. During the attempts by the Mongol ilkhanate ruler Abaqa to form a Franco-Mongol alliance, his strategy included a strengthening of ties with the Genoese. Many male children of the Doria family were named after foreign rulers, such as Abaga (Abaqa Khan), Casano (Ghazan Khan), and Aitone, named after Hayton, or Hethum I, king of Cilician Armenia.^[1]

Titled branches[link]

Members of the Doria family bore the titles of Princes of Melfi (Doria-Pamphili branch), of Princes of Centola (Doria d'Angri branch), of Counts of Montaldeo, Marquesses of Ciriè e del Maro, Marquesses of San Columbano, Lords of Oneglia, among many others. Agnatic members of the family are marchesi al cognome, that is, bear the title of marquess attached to the family name as a courtesy title.

Non-agnatic princely branches like the Colonna-Doria are still flourishing. There are also titled branches outside Italy, such as the Porrata Doria family in Spain, which rank as marquesses.

Role in the great explorations[link]

The Doria clan helped finance the Portuguese and Spanish navigations in the late 15th and 16th centuries. Francesco Doria, a banker at Seville, financed Christopher Columbus's expeditions, and his son Aleramo Doria was a banker to King John III of Portugal until 1556. Finally, Aleramo's daughter Clemenza Doria was one of the earliest settlers in the 16th century Portuguese colonization of Brazil. Clemenza Doria married twice; her second husband was Fernão Vaz da Costa (c. 1520–1567), son of Portuguese Chief Justice Cristóvão da Costa and a great-grandson of the legendary navigator Soeiro da Costa; they originated the Costa Doria family which is still thriving today as one of their members, José Carlos Aleluia [da Costa Doria], is a representative in the Brazilian congress, and businessman João Doria Jr. or João Agripino da Costa Doria III held a cabinet-level position in the José Sarney administration in Brazil (1985–1989).

The genoese Lodisio Doria, knight of Christ's Order, settled in the island of Madeira. Their descendants are the Teixeira Doria, lords of Pena d'Aguia, and França Doria families, which also have as direct ancestor the Portuguese navigator Tristão Vaz. The França Doria branch is headed by the Count of Calçada, with a younger branch headed by the Viscount of Torre Bela.

In literature[link]

The name Doria was used in Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart" series (specifically, the book "Inkdeath") for a semi-main character who eventually fell in love with the teenage heroine.

See also[link]

• Doria Pamphilj Gallery
• Doria-Pamphili-Landi
• Ambrosio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases, Ambrosio Spinola Doria

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Teresa Luzzatto Guerrini, I Doria, Novissima Enciclopedia Monografica Illustrata, Florence (1937).
• Clemente Fusero, I Doria, dall'Oglio (1973).
• Documentary sources at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon (Portugal)
• Phillips, J. R. S. (1998). The Medieval Expansion of Europe (second edition ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820740-9. 
• "Doria Family". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030968. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 

Andrea Doria
Portrait of Andrea Doria, c. 1520, by Sebastiano del Piombo.
Born	(1466-11-30)November 30, 1466 Oneglia, Liguria, Italy
Died	November 25, 1560(1560-11-25) (aged 93) Genoa, Liguria, Italy
Occupation	Condottiero and admiral
Parents	Ceva Doria and Caracosa Doria

Andrea Doria (or D'Oria) (30 November 1466 – 25 November 1560) was an Italian condottiero and admiral from Genoa.

Early life[link]

Natal home of Andrea Doria, in Oneglia.

Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related: Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, and Caracosa Doria, of the Doria di Dolceacqua branch. Orphaned at an early age, he became a soldier of fortune, serving first in the papal guard and then under various Italian princes.

In 1503 he was fighting in Corsica in the service of Genoa, at that time under French vassalage, and he took part in the rising of Genoa against the French, whom he compelled to evacuate the city. From that time onwards, he became famous as a naval commander. For several years he scoured the Mediterranean in command of the Genoese fleet, waging war on the Turks and the Barbary pirates.

Wars between France and the Holy Roman Empire[link]

In the meanwhile Genoa had been recaptured by the French, and in 1522 by the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor.

But Doria joined the French or popular faction and entered the service of King Francis I of France, who made him captain-general; in 1524 he relieved Marseille, which was besieged by the Imperialists, and later helped to place his native city once more under French domination.

Dissatisfied with his treatment at the hands of Francis, who was mean about payment, he resented the king's behavior in connection with Savona, which he delayed handing back to the Genoese as he had promised.

Consequently, on the expiration of Doria's contract he entered the service of Emperor Charles V (1528).

Andrea Doria as the god Neptune, by Agnolo Bronzino

Re-establishment of the Genoese Republic[link]

Doria ordered his nephew Filippino, who was then blockading Naples in alliance with a French army, to withdraw; Doria then sailed for Genoa where, with the help of some leading citizens, he expelled the French and re-established the republic under imperial protection.

He reformed the constitution in an aristocratic sense, most of the nobility being Imperialists, and put an end to the factions which divided the city, by creating 28 Alberghi or "clans". The 28 Alberghi that formed this new ruling class included the Cybo, Doria, Fieschi, Giustiniani, Grimaldi, Imperiale, Pallavicino, and Spinola families.^[1][2]

He refused offers to take the lordship of Genoa and even the dogeship, but accepted the position of "perpetual censor", and exercised predominant influence in the councils of the republic until his death. The title "censor" in this context was modeled on its meaning in the Roman Republic (i.e. a highly respected senior public official - see Roman censor), rather than its modern meaning having to do with censorship. He was given two palaces, many privileges, and the title of Liberator et Pater Patriae (Liberator and Father of his Country).

Doria as imperial admiral[link]

As imperial admiral he commanded several expeditions against the Ottoman Empire, capturing Koroni and Patras, and co-operating with the emperor himself in the capture of Tunis (1535). Charles found him an invaluable ally in the wars with Francis I, and through him extended his domination over the whole of Italy.

In February 1538, Pope Paul III succeeded in assembling a Holy League (comprising the Papacy, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice and the Maltese Knights) against the Ottomans, but Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated its combined fleet, commanded by Andrea Doria, at the Battle of Preveza in September 1538. This victory secured Turkish dominance over the Mediterranean for the next 33 years, until the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

He accompanied Charles V on the ill-fated Algiers expedition of 1541, of which he disapproved, and which ended in disaster. For the next five years he continued to serve the emperor in various wars, in which he was generally successful and always active, although now over seventy years old.

Later years[link]

After the Peace of Crépy between Francis and Charles in 1544, Doria hoped to end his days in quiet. However, his great wealth and power, as well as the arrogance of his nephew and heir Giannettino Doria, had made him many enemies, and in 1547 the Fieschi conspiracy to dislodge his family from power took place. Giannettino was killed, but the conspirators were defeated, and Doria showed great vindictiveness in punishing them, seizing many of their fiefs for himself. He was also implicated in the murder of Pier Luigi Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza, who had helped Fieschi.

Other conspiracies followed, of which the most important was that of Giulio Cybo (1548), but all failed. Although Doria was ambitious and harsh, he was a patriot and successfully opposed Emperor Charles's repeated attempts to have a citadel built in Genoa and garrisoned by Spaniards; neither blandishments nor threats could win him over to the scheme.

Nor did age lessen his energy, for in 1550, aged 84, he again put to sea to confront the Barbary pirates, but with no great success. In 1552 the Ottoman fleet under the command of Turgut Reis defeated the Spanish-Italian fleet of Charles V under the command of Andrea Doria in the Battle of Ponza (1552). War between France and the Empire having broken out once more, the French seized Corsica in the Invasion of Corsica (1553), then administered by the Genoese Bank of St George. Doria was again summoned, and he spent two years (1553–1555) on the island fighting the French with varying fortune.

He returned to Genoa for good in 1555, and being very old and infirm, he gave over the command of the galleys to his great-nephew Giovanni Andrea Doria, the son of Giannettino Doria, who conducted an expedition against Tripoli, but proved even more unsuccessful than his great-uncle had been at Algiers, barely escaping with his life after losing the Battle of Djerba against the Turkish fleet of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis. Andrea Doria left his estates to Giovanni Andrea. The family of Doria-Pamphili-Landi is descended from Giovanni Andrea Doria and bears his title of Prince of Melfi. Judged by the standards of his day, Doria was an outstanding leader.

Ships[link]

Several ships were named in honour of the Admiral:

• The liner SS Andrea Doria, which was launched in 1951, had her maiden voyage in 1953 and sank in 1956.
• The battleship Andrea Doria, completed in 1891, which served in the late 19th and early 20th century, was stricken in 1911, and served as the floating battery GR104 during World War I before being scrapped in 1929.
• The battleship Andrea Doria, completed in 1916, which served in both World War I and World War II and was stricken in 1956.
• The Italian missile cruiser Andrea Doria built in 1964 and decommissioned in 1991.
• The Italian Horizon-class frigate Andrea Doria, commissioned in 2007.
• Two United States Navy ships named USS Andrew Doria.

References[link]

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrea Doria

Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article Andrea Doria.

Eike Batista
Eike Batista in 2011
Born	(1956-11-03) November 3, 1956 (age 55) Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ethnicity	German Brazilian[1][2]
Alma mater	RWTH Aachen University (College dropout)
Occupation	CEO of EBX Group
Net worth	US$ 30 billion (2012)[3]
Children	Thor Batista (b. 1992) Olin Batista (b. 1996)

Eike Fuhrken Batista (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈajki ˈfuʁkẽj bɐˈtʃistɐ]) (born November 3, 1956) is a Brazilian business magnate who made a fortune in mining and oil and gas exploration.^[4][5] Presently, he is the chairman of Brazilian conglomerate EBX Group. The group includes five companies that trade on the BOVESPA´s Novo Mercado, a special segment of the São Paulo stock market where enterprises with the highest standards of corporate governance are listed. The EBX companies listed on the BOVESPA are: OGX^[6] (oil and gas), MPX^[7] (energy), LLX^[8] (logistics), MMX^[9] (mining) and OSX^[10] (offshore services and equipment).

Early life and career[link]

Eike Batista^[11] is one of seven children of businessman Eliezer Batista da Silva,^[12] who was Minister of Mines and Energy in the João Goulart and Fernando Collor administrations and a former president of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce,^[13] then wholly a state enterprise, between 1961–1964 and 1979-1986. His mother, Jutta Fuhrken, was born in Germany and, from her, Batista says he learned self-esteem and discipline, attributes he considers crucial to his formation as an entrepreneur.^[14] After spending his childhood in Brazil, Batista and his family moved to Europe when he was a teenager, due to his father’s occupation. They lived in Geneva, Düsseldorf, and Brussels. In 1974, he began to study metallurgical engineering at the University of Aachen in Germany. When he was 18 years old, his parents returned to Brazil, yet Batista remained abroad and began selling insurance policies door-to-door to make his living. In interviews, he often mentions that the "stress" and the lessons learned from this experience were essential for his education.

Eike Batista returned to Brazil in the early 1980s and focused his attention on the gold^[15] and diamond trades. He established himself as a salesman, contacting producers in the Amazon area and buyers in large metropolitan centers in Brazil and Europe. When he was 23 years old, he started a gold trading firm, called Autram Aurem, using the Inca Sun as the company trademark and symbol. A year and a half later, the company had earned US$ 6 million.

His entrepreneurial instinct and talent led him to implement the first mechanized alluvial gold mining plant in the Amazon, marking the beginning of the EBX Group. At age 29, he became CEO of TVX Gold, a company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange, thus initiating his relationship with global capital markets. From 1980 to 2000, he created US$ 20 billion in value with the operation of eight gold mines in Brazil and Canada and a silver mine in Chile.^[16] Between 1991 and 1996, the value of his company more than tripled.

Batista married the model Luma de Oliveira in 1991, and divorced her in 2004. They had two boys, Olin and Thor. Batista enjoys running, swimming and practices marine sports. In the 90s, he was the Brazilian, U.S. and World Champion^[17] in the Super Offshore Powerboat class. In 2006, he covered the 220 nautical miles between Santos and Rio de Janeiro in 3h01m47s and beat the record for the course in his boat, the Spirit of Brazil. Eike Batista^[18] maintains an active digital life, with a personal site with articles, videos and news about his companies. The digital channel that Batista has chosen as his primary means of personal communication is Twitter.^[19] His profile on Twitter, @eikebatista, has over 550,000 followers, who respond to his messages and interact with him. . In 2011, Batista released the book “The Heart of the Matter” (O X da Questão) which recounts his trajectory in the business world and offers tips on entrepreneurialism. Batista is fluent in five languages – Portuguese, German, English, French and Spanish^{[citation needed]}.

On March 17, 2012, the billionaire's older son, Thor Batista, then 20-year old, got involved in a car accident that killed a cyclist and was charged with manslaughter.^[20][21] According to Forbes.com columnist, Clare O'Connor, in the days afterwards, both Mr. Eike Batista and his son Thor have taken to Twitter to procclaim Thor's innocence, claiming that he “was at the speed limit, did a breathalyzer test and signed a statement describing the accident”.^[22]

National and international rankings[link]

In 2011, Batista was listed by Forbes magazine as the 8th richest person in the world^[23] and the richest in South America. His wealth is estimated at US$ 30 billion.^[24] Eike Batista was also featured in Bloomberg Markets magazine as the only Brazilian on the list of the 50 most influential people in global finance, published for the first time in September 2011.^[25] The magazine focused on people “whose comments move markets; whose deals set the value of companies or securities; whose ideas and policies shape corporations, governments and economies”.

At the end of 2010, the magazine ranked Batista as the 58th most powerful person in the world,^[3] placing him as Brazil's most powerful person after the current president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff.^[26] The newspaper Folha de S. Paulo describes Batista as an example of a "self-made man",^[27] an entrepreneur with a fortune acquired through his own efforts (and not through inheritance).

The top-ranked Brazilian in March 2008, on the Forbes magazine list, was Antonio Ermírio de Moraes, in 77th place with a family estate of US$ 10 billion. Another 17 Brazilians were on the list, including Batista (who in 2008 said his goal was to become the richest man in the world in five years). In 2008 Batista’s fortune was estimated at US$ 6.6 billion and he was ranked at the 142nd place on the list of the richest men in the world. In 2009, he moved up to the 61st position and was considered the richest^[28] man in Brazil.

According to the Brazilian weekly magazine Época, Batista is one of the 100 most influential men in Brazil of 2010. IstoÉ magazine has also listed Batista as one of the 100 most influential people in 2010. In 2011, Batista was included in the 1,000 CEOs ranking by Dinheiro magazine.

Batista has benefited from three decades of experience in international business and has an ability to "generate wealth from scratch".^[29] Since the 1980s, Batista created and put into operation eight gold mines in Brazil and Canada (Amapari, Casa Berardi, Crixás, Musselwhite, New Britania, Novo Astro, Novo Planeta and Paracatu), a silver mine in Chile (La Coipa), and three iron ore mines in Brazil (Mina 63, Tico-Tico and Ipé).

From 2004 to 2010 Eike Batista^[30] created and put into operation five companies: MMX (mining), MPX (energy), OGX (petroleum), LLX (logistics) and OSX (offshore industry).

Project Investments[link]

EBX[link]

The EBX Group produces iron ore in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul and has put into operation the first commercial-scale solar power plant^[31] in Brazil. The Group is making investments of an estimated US$ 15.5 billion between 2011 and 2012 in Brazil and is responsible for projects of significant scale in the country, such as the LLX Açu Superport^[32] in São João da Barra (RJ), the MMX Sudeste Superport^[33] in Itaguaí (RJ), and the MPX thermal power plants in Itaqui (MA) and Pecém (CE). These important energy and infrastructure projects are being executed in parallel to OGX´s exploratory campaigns^[34] in Campos (RJ), Santos (SP) and Parnaíba (MA) basins, which have resulted in oil and gas discoveries. There are currently 20,000 people working in the construction and operation of the Group’s projects.^[35]

The EBX Group is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and also operates in nine Brazilian states. It has offices in New York (USA), Colombia and Chile.

In addition to the infrastructure and natural resources sectors, Eike Batista’s EBX Group also invests other areas, including real estate (REX),^[36] entertainment (IMX)^[37] technology (SIX) and catering (NRX). In Rio, EBX is developing sports, hospitality, gastronomy, health and beauty initiatives.

Since the early 2000s, Batista focused his efforts primarily in the areas of natural resources, energy and infrastructure.

MMX[link]

MMX^[38] is the mining company of the EBX Group, with integrated logistics and low production costs. The company has projects in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as in the country of Chile.

MPX[link]

MPX operates in the energy industry in Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The company has complementary businesses in power generation, coal mining^[39] and exploration and production of natural gas. MPX is responsible for the first commercial solar power plant in Brazil in the city of Tauá^[40](CE).

OGX[link]

OGX is the EBX Group company which carries out activities in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The company is responsible for the largest private sector exploratory campaign under way in Brazil, with a success rate in exploratory wells of more than 90%.

LLX[link]

LLX is the logistics company of the EBX Group, responsible for building the Açu Superport,^[41] in the state of Rio de Janeiro, projected to be the largest port-industrial complex in Latin America.

OSX[link]

OSX operates in the offshore shipbuilding industry and is constructing the largest shipyard in the Americas, the "Embraer of the Sea," at the Açu Superport^[42](an LLX project) industrial complex. The company also provides services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry in three different segments: shipbuilding, in the charter of Exploration and Production (E&P) equipment and Operation and Maintenance (O&M).

Enterprises[link]

Major companies founded by Eike Batista: EBX, OGX, MPX, MMX, LLX, OSX, REX, AUX, IMX, Gloria Palace, Marina da Glória, MDX, BEAUX, MR.LAM, PINK FLEET, and RJX.

See also[link]

• List of Brazilians by net worth
• German Brazilian

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eike Batista

• Personal Website
• Personal Twitter
• EBX Group's Website
• EBX Group's Brand Channel on YouTube
• FPSO OSX-1 Hotsite

Persondata
Name	Batista, Eike Fuhrken
Alternative names
Short description	Brazilian businessman
Date of birth	November 3, 1956
Place of birth	Governador Valadares, MG,  Brazil
Date of death
Place of death

Surinder Kaur (November 25, 1929 – June 15, 2006), was an Indian singer and songwriter. She sang mainly Punjabi folk-songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre and later was known as the ‘Nightingale of Punjab’; she also sang some Hindi movie songs, between 1948-1952.^[1][2][3]

In an illustrious spanning nearly six decades, her repertoire included Punjabi Sufi Kafis of Bulleh Shah and verses by contemporary poets like Nand Lal Noorpuri, Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh and Shiv Kumar Batalvi giving memorable songs like, Maavan te dheeyan, Jutti Kasuri, Paireen na poori, Madhaniyan, Kiven akhiyan che pavan kajra, and Ghaman di raat lammi hai jan mere geet. In time her wedding songs, most notably Lathe di chadar, Suhe ve cheere valeya and Kaala Doriya, became an indelible part of Punjabi culture.^[4]

Early life and education[link]

She was born in a Punjabi khatri Sikh family. She was sister of Prakash Kaur famous singer. She is the mother of Dolly Guleria. She had three daughters and dolly is eldest of them. ^[5]

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Career[link]

Kaur made her professional debut with a live performance on Lahore Radio in August 1943, and the following year on August 31, 1943, she and her elder sister, Parkash Kaur cut their first duet, Maavan Te Dheeyan Ral Baithiyaan for the HMV label, emerging as superstars across the Indian subcontinent.^[1][4][6]

Following Punjab's 1947 owing to partition of India, Kaur and her parents relocated to Ghaziabad, Delhi, next she married Prof. Joginder Singh Sodhi, a lecturer in Punjabi literature at Delhi University. Recognising her talent, her husband became her support system, and soon she started a career as a playback singer in Hindi film industry in Bombay, introduced by music director, Ghulam Haider. Under him she sang three songs in the 1948 film Shaheed, including Badnam Na Ho Jaye Mohabbat Ka Fasaana, Aanaa hai tho aajaao and Taqdeer ki aandhi…hum kahaan aur thum kahaan. Her true interest however lay in stage performances and reviving Punjabi folk songs, and she eventually moved back to Delhi in 1952.^[4]

In the decades to follow, her husband continued to guide her singing career. "He was the one who made me a star," she later recalled. "He chose all the lyrics I sang and we both collaborated on compositions." Together Kaur and Sodhi wrote such classics as "Chan Kithe Guzari Aai Raat," "Lathe Di Chadar," "Shonkan Mele Di," and "Gori Diyan Jhanjran", "Sarke-Sarke Jandiye Mutiare". The couple they also served as the public face of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), an arm of the Indian Communist party in Punjab, spreading messages of peace and love to the most remote villages of East Punjab; she also travelled to many parts of the world performing Punjabi folk songs, gaining rapid popularity.

In all Kaur recorded more than 2,000 songs, among them duets with Asa Singh Mastana, Harcharan Grewel, Rangilla Jatt, and Didar Sandhu. Although her life and collaboration with Sodhi was cut short upon the educator's death in 1976, she continued the family's creative tradition via duets with their daughter and disciples, Rupinder Kaur Guleria, better known as Dolly Guleria and granddaughter Sunaini, culminating in the 1995 LP, 'Surinder Kaur - The Three Generations.^[7]

Awards and recognition[link]

She was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Punjabi Folk Music in 1984, by the Sangeet Natak Academi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Theatre,^[8] the Millennium Punjabi Singer award,^[9] and Padma Shri award in 2006 for her contribution in Arts.^[10] The Guru Nanak Dev University conferred on her a doctorate in the year 2002.^[4]

Illness and death[link]

Towards the later part of her life, wanting to get close to her mitti, Surinder Kaur settled in Panchkula in 2004, with an aim to construct a house in Zirakpur, near Chandigarh. Subsequently, on 22 December 2005, she suffered a heart attack and was admitted to General Hospital, Panchkula.^[4] Later, however, she looked up and personally went to Delhi to receive the coveted Padma Shri Award in January 2006. It is another matter that she was painfully aware of the events that delayed the honour for so long, despite her unparalleled contribution to Punjabi music. But even when she received the award she was regretful that the nomination for the same had come from Haryana and not Punjab for which she worked tirelessly through five decades.^[9]

In 2006, a prolonged illness prompted Kaur to seek treatment in the U.S. she died in a New Jersey hospital on June 15 at the age of 77. She was survived by three daughters, eldest, singer Dolly Guleria who lives in Panchkula, followed by Nandini Singh and Pramodini Jaggi, both settled in New Jersey.^[1] Upon the death, the Prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh described her as "the nightingale of Punjab", and "a legend in Punjabi folk music and popular music and a trend-setter in Punjabi melody." and added, "I hope that her immortal voice will motivate other artists to practice the right Punjabi folk music tradition".^[11]

Legacy[link]

A 2006 Doordarshan documentary titled, Punjab Di Koyal (Nightingale of Punjab), on the life and works of Surinder Kaur, received the Doordarshan National Awards - 2006.^[12]

See also[link]

• Asa Singh Mastana
• Kuldeep Manak
• Dolly Guleria
• List of Punjabi singers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Surinder Kaur Profile at LastFM
• Download Songs @ FolkPunjab.com