19-yr-old Navdeep is among Indian Idol contestants

Tribune News Service

Neha Saini

Amritsar, September 23

Hand over a harmonium and stage to a Wadali and they will never fail to mesmerise you with their soul-stirring performance. That’s what happened in the audition round of the latest season of popular reality singing show Indian Idol.

Nineteen-year-old Navdeep Wadali took over the stage and blew away the judges with his delicate murki, the nuance he showed while performing aaja ve, or the entertaining rendition of the famous Tu mane ya na mane dildaara, which brings the picture of Wadali brothers, Puran Chand and late Pyare Lal Wadali, to mind.

Navdeep’s performance must have made his maternal grandfather Puran Chand Wadali proud. But to the youngster, who is trying to make a place for himself as a participant in Indian Idol 13, the reaction of the three judges — Vishal Dadlani, Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshamiya — was the high point.

“I had been performing every now and then as I started learning music in childhood from my nana Ustad Puran Chand Wadali. I always wanted to make a name for myself, just like others from my family have, but in my own time. It was very encouraging for me to see that the judges liked my performance and also came to sit next to me on stage,” shared Navdeep, speaking to Amritsar Tribune on phone from Mumbai.

Coming from a family of legends like Wadali brothers, Navdeep said he never felt under stress. “Before coming for the audition, I asked my nana that I was willing to participate in Indian Idol and if I was ready. He gave his blessings and told me that I was ready now and wished me well,” he said.

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