The earthy siblings from Guru ki Wadali

They have won international acclaim yet they keep themselves away from the cut-throat circuit. For Wadali Brothers humility is no mere word but a way of life. K. KANNAN writes....

When the Wadali Brothers sang for the first time over All India Radio, they were quite apprehensive of doing so in front of the mike as they believed it would `take away' their voice. Later, they realised that the mike amplifies one's voice, does not take it away.

Born in Guru Ki Wadali, the birthplace of the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind, the earthy siblings from Punjab have come a long way since that first performance. However, even after giving concerts all over the world including Pakistan, they keep themselves aloof from today's cut-throat world of concert circuit performers.

Here in the Capital for a special Lohri evening at India Habitat Centre, Puran Chand Wadali and Pyare Lal Wadali say they received their initial training from their father, Thakur Das. ``Later, we learnt classical music under Pandit Durga Das of Amritsar, Ustads Ashiq Ali Khan, Machchan Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan,'' says Pyare Lal.

What makes their music distinct is the ``bani of Sufi saints'' like Ghulam Farid, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Kabir and Guru Nanak. ``It is in the style of classical music, but it is more of Bhakti music,'' says Puran Chand, adding: ``It is music that makes you one with God. And so, it differs from entertainment or folk music and certainly cannot be adapted to Bhangra style''.

Predictably, the two are critical of those who claim to sing Sufiana Kalam but present their albums with a bevy of dancers surrounding them. ``How can that be Sufiana?'' asks Pyare Lal. ``We have sung in homes of almost all film actors but have never once accepted any offer to sign in films''.

The two had also steadfastly refused to do any album till recently. ``We were requested by Zee Music to do an album just for the sake of records. This will be out in about a month's time,'' they inform. ``Another one was stealthily brought out by T-series last year but it has since been withdrawn from the market.''

Over the years, the two have learnt to adapt their music to suit audience taste. ``There is an advantage of singing Sufiana Kalam. Though it has a structure and composition like classical music, it is so vast that one can branch off in any direction -- singing fast beats for the younger crowd or slow rhythmic ones for a more sober audience,'' says Pyare Lal.

Their popularity as a singer brought them the coveted Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1991. And considering that they are celebrities, the two are indeed very humble. ``Even if a child on the street asks us to sing, we begin there and then. Who knows it might be God in a human form testing us?'' they say in unison.

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