Pyarelal Wadali, Sufi singer, passes away

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 9

Pyarelal Wadali, the younger of the famous Punjabi Sufi singing duo Wadali brothers, died of heart attack today at a private hospital here. He was 75 and is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters. 

Ustad Pyarelal, as he was fondly known in music circles, and his brother Puran Chand Wadali sang several hits, including ‘Tu mane ya na mane dildaara, asaan tey tainu rabb maneya.’ “Wadali brothers were like ‘rabb’ (God) of Sufi music and one of them today left us bereaved,” shared theatre person Kewal Dhaliwal. 

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The cremation was held at their native Guru Ki Wadali village. The singer was suffering from several health issues and had limited his live performances of late. 

Born into the fifth generation of musicians given to singing the messages of Sufi saints, the Wadali brothers were hailed as one of the best in the industry. While Puran Chand studied music under stalwarts like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of Patiala Gharana and Pandit Durga Das, Pyarelal, known to be an introvert, was trained by his elder brother, whom he called his mentor.  “They always performed together. Chhote ustad’s last performance was in Guwahati in January,” said one of their office managers. 

Their first performance outside their village was at Harballabh temple in Jalandhar in 1975. They had gone to Jalandhar to perform at Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, but were not allowed to sing due to some reason. Disappointed, they decided to make a musical offering at the temple where they were spotted by an AIR executive. Their foray into commercial music happened with movie ‘Pinjar’ and their latest song was ‘Rangrez’ (‘Tanu Weds Manu’).