Jalandhar, June 7 : Born and brought up in Bihar’s Patna city, Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi was barely six-year-old when his parents first introduced him to classical Ragas and Shabad from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikhs’ religious book.

With passage of time, Daler got inclined towards pop music. The basic training in classical Ragas proved a great help to add distinction to his singing style. No wonder his first pop music video album “Bolo Tara Ra Ra” was a hit and created sales record for a Punjabi album.

Today, leading an illustrious career as a composer-cum-playback singer for many Bollywood films, Daler Mehndi’s success is an inspiration for everyone.

Daler Mehndi says: “At the age of 11, I performed before an audience of about 35,000 people in Jaunpur city. It was a remarkable for a boy of my age and boosted my confidence tremendously. I never looked back.”

“I and my elder brother Amarjeet Singh worked really hard to compose this song (Dardi Rab Rab kardi). At one stretch of eight hours we composed this music. Initially, I was a Ghazal singer, but people egged me on to do something extraordinary,” said Daler.

“Though my parents belong to Punjab I was born and brought up in Patna. To sing authentic Punjabi was initially difficult for me, but by the grace of God I started singing Punjabi,” he added.

Daler was trained under Ustad Rahat Ali Khan who comes from Uttar Pradesh.

He says: “Once I was practicing before noted musician Naushad Ji, Rahat Ali Khan blessed me and advised me that to gain success I should continue wearing the turban. In those days, there was a trend among Sikh artists to cut their hair to be successful in the world of glamour. My mother and noted actor Amjad Khan also insisted that I not remove the turban.”

Daler has sung many devotional songs. But his favourite remains “300 Saal Guru de Naal”. He says: “There may be many hits in the future but the success of this song will be written in golden words. I am very grateful to the Almighty by whose grace I produced such a lovely album.” (ANI)