Gurdas Maan comments on his song Challa, crowd energy and staying timeless during Mumbai Live Show

Gurdas Maan, regarded as the pioneer of modern Punjabi music, continues to remain a powerful voice in the industry with his timeless storytelling and stage presence. Recently performing in Mumbai, the singer reflected on bringing Punjab’s essence to an urban landscape, saying, "Mitti (the earth) and Maya (glamour) have a very strong connection, its kind of cyclical. Everything was once mitti, and will one day become mitti again. So yeh maya mitti ka khel hamesha chalta rahega, aur Punjab ki mitti ki khushboo Mumbai ki emarton mein hamesha se khilti aayi hain."

He has been singing Challa for decades, and it continues to be an important component of his concerts. "The fresh emotion comes from the audience I am performing to, because Challa is interpreted differently by everyone. Some dance to it, some go into an emotional trance, and I try to balance the both for the audience," he remarked in reference to keeping it fresh. That's what makes Challa enjoyable.

Known for performing for hours without a break, Maan credits the audience for his energy: “The only thing the performer needs is the love of an audience, if the artiste is performing on stage, the audience is performing off the stage, that’s the only difference.”

Addressing the global rise of Punjabi music across genres, he noted, "Its very kind of you to call me the root of the tree, but I think for me to even be a branch on that tree, is a huge compliment - There are many seasons, and through each season trees look different, they adapt to the changing seasons, but the essence of the tree never changes. Hip Hop and Trap are delivery methods to deliver poetry and storytelling -The essence of Punjab is rooted in its stories and not how those stories are delivered to people so as long as the stories and emotions are not corrupted, the tree will always stand strong and grow. Our artistes today should be mindful of that."

On possible collaborations, he added, "There are so many of them - maybe some surprises are on the way."

Reflecting on social media and public opinion, he said, "We must not take everything we see on social media to heart - people have always had thoughts and opinions, but today they have a platform to put them out - so nothing has changed really - having faith in the divine force has always protected me."

With Baisakhi approaching, Maan shared, "For me Baisakhi is always about celebrating with an audience, so I willbe in Canada for my upcoming tour in March/April this year too."