Brothers Puranchand and Pyarelal Wadali were born in Guru Ki Wadali, Amritsar, into a fifth generation of a music family. Though music was always a part of their lives, taking it up as a career was never on either of their minds. Older brother Puranchand regularly visited Akharas, nurturing the dream of being a wrestler while the younger took part in the village ‘raasleela’ as Krishna to earn money.
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It was their father who forced Puranchand into music too, bringing him under the tutelage of eminent musicians like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Pandit Durga Das. Pyarelal, on the other hand, learnt from older brother Puranchand! Their maiden performance would have been at the Harballabh Temple, Jalandhar, though they were not allowed to perform because of their appearance! An executive of the All India Radio spotted them and showed willingness to record with them.That was 1975 after which they were requested to perform all over the country. Beginning with performing at youth festivals and college fests, they became a regular feature of the music concert circuit. Their music includes Sufiana qalams, Bhajans, Ghazals and even Gurbani! In 1991, under the folk music category, the Wadali Bandhu - as they called themselves - won the Sangeet Natak Academy Award. They have also sung for well known and critically acclaimed films like “Pinjar” (2003) and “Dhoop” (2003), though they have tried to remain away from films as far as possible. Their latest song for films was “Ik Tu Hi” (“Mausam”, 2011). Older brother Puranchand Wadali has also been awarded the Padmashri in 2005.
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