Danish Punjabi singer Anita Lerche rocks Copenhagen

But what pleased the select gathering was a performance by Danish Punjabi singer Anita Lerche. Dressed in a bright yellow anarkali dress, accompanied by a group of bhangra dancers, she got everyone clapping and swaying as soon as she started singing “Aao ji, ji aaiyaan nu (welcome)”. Surprisingly, the 40-year-old’s diction is quite clear and she sings in Punjabi without an accent.

And there was more in store. She followed the peppy Aao ji song with the soul-stirring Heer, a folk song by the 18th century Punjabi Sufi poet Waris Shah.
Denmark-born Lerche has studied in London and is an established singer-songwriter and actor there. “I had no India connection till about 2005, when, during a trekking trip to Himachal, I was attracted to the Kullu dialect and started humming the local songs I picked up,” said Lerche.

She was then advised to try Punjabi music, and she travelled to Hoshiarpur to learn it. The very next year — in 2006 —  she came out with Heer from Denmark, becoming the first non-Asian woman to create a solo album in Punjabi. This year, she will release her next Punjabi album, titled Sadke Punjab Ton.