Ustad Pyarelal Wadali passed away today in Amritsar. He was 75. The younger brother of Ustad Puran Chand Wadali, he was admitted to the Fortis Escorts Hospital in Amritsar where he breathed his last. It is being reported that the younger Wadali died of cardiac arrest. Ustad Pyarelal Wadali and elder brother Ustad Puran Chand Wadali, famously known as the Wadali Brothers, hailed from a village near Amritsar and rose to fame for their Punjabi Sufi music. The Wadali Brothers had a brief brush with the entertainment industry and are famous for their songs Aye Rangrez Mere (Tanu Weds Manu; 2011) and Ik Tu Hi Tu Hi (Mausam; 2011). Their soulful music is considered to have carried forward the legacy of saint poets like Amir Khusro, Surdas and Bulle Shah for years.
Before the Wadali Brothers became famous Sufi singers, both Ustad Pyarelal Wadali and Ustad Puran Chand Wadali were in the most unexpected profession. While elder brother was a wrestler, Ustad Pyarelal Wadali was trying to make ends meet with by playing the role of Krishna in the village rasleela. It was their father, Thakur Das Wadali, whose compelling efforts forced Puranchand to learn music. After Puranchand trained himself as a professional classical singer learning music from the likes of Pandit Durga Das and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, he mentored his younger brother. Ustad Pyarelal regarded his elder brother as his mentor who trained him to his professional career.
Following their first performance outside their village in Jalandhar, the duo went on to perform Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan where they were forbidden from singing. Call it fate or sheer destiny, disappointed when the brothers went to make a musical offering at the Harballabh temple, an AIR executive spotted them and recorded their debut song. The Wadali Brothers mastered in Gurbani, kafi, ghazal and bhajan genres of music.
The sudden death of the musician comes as another shock as we grieve the loss of legendary actresses Sridevi and Shammi recently.
