Malaysian Sikh Pipe Band

Sri Dasmesh, the world’s largest Sikh pipe band, was founded in Kuala Lumpur in 1986. It was the brainchild of brothers Harvinder Singh and Sukdev Singh, who started it as a community initiative for youth. The main goals of the band were to instill discipline, create a safe space for young people, and give them the opportunity to travel across the world. The band started out by performing at local Sikh community events, but it wasn’t long before they began to gain wider recognition. Harvinder says, 'Our first major international trip was in 1989 when we were invited to Singapore for the opening ceremony of the Central Gurdwara, which was attended by Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister of Singapore.' In 1990, the band was invited to play in the Malaysian National Day parade at Dataran Merdeka. The band took part in the parade under the banner of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (Sikh Youth Organization). Harvinder continues, 'Participating in the event gave us a lot of inspiration because we felt so Malaysian. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was the Prime Minister, and all the ministers were there, and we had the opportunity to march past all of them.' Harvinder was the Pipe Major, responsible for coordinating all the music in the band, while Sukdev served as the Drum Major, leading from the front. Harvinder says, 'When we started piping, it was some localized version of Scottish tunes.' The turning point came in 2011, when a Pipe Major from Australia volunteered to train the band. Since then, the band has travelled to various countries to perform, including in 2015 at the National Anzac Day Parade in Sydney, Australia, where they led the Sikh contingent. That year, they also became the first band from Asia to qualify for the World Pipe Band Championships. In 2019, they were the first from Asia to win. On 31 Aug, Malaysian National Day, the band made history with Fortress of Dreams at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas—Malaysia’s first bagpipe concert. The day also marked 35 years since the band performed in the Merdeka parade.