Some people come to this world for a specific purpose. It seems like he was one among them. It was as if that he was destined to sing and mainly sing bhajans and aartis. On the insistence of his mother, Kailash Vati, Narendra Chanchal pursued a career in singing bhajans and became synonymous to it.
Narendra Chanchal was born in a religious Punjabi family in Namak Mandi, Amritsar on October 16, 1940. His end came on January 22 at 12.15 p.m.
Some of the popular devotional songs sung by Narendra Chanchal include: Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai, Tune Mujhe Bulaya Sherawaliye, Ambe Tu Hai Jagadambe Kali, Hanuman Chalisa, Sankat Mochan Naam Tiharo, Ram Se Bada Ram Ka Naam among others. After much struggle, Chanchal’s Beshak Mandir Masjid…in Bobby won him accolades and the Filmfare award. The devotional songs of Narendra Chanchal ring in the air as one approaches the Vaisho Devi shirine. A yatra to Mata ki Dham without Chanchal’s bhajan seemed like something was horribly missing.
His guru had named him Chanchal because of his fickle mindedness and later he used Chanchal as his name. The singer was given honorary citizenship of Georgia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, "Extremely saddened to hear the news of Narendra Chanchal ji's death. He made a mark in the world of devotional songs. My condolences to his family and fans." Narendra Chanchal was admitted in Delhi's Apollo Hospital on November 27. He was 80.
Chanchal had released an autobiography called Midnight Singer which narrates his life, struggles and hardships leading to achievements. He visited katra Vaishno Devi every year on December 29 and performed on the last day of the year.
Chanchal on corona
After a group of Rajasthani women went viral for singing a song asking Corona virus to leave India, legendary bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal joined the bandwagon too and the video went viral.
The 9-minute-long bhajan starts with talking about swine flu, dengue, chikungunya and finally arrives at the recent outbreak with the main theme, "Kithon Aaya Corona....maiya ji...kitho aaya corona." It even talks about how the pandemic started in China as it says, "Chin (China) ne saada chain hai khoya, sab kuch kha gaye -- jinda moya, hun saanu pa gaya dhona."
The song also talks about washing hands, using hand santizers and using masks as well. Ending the song on an optimistic note, the singer urges people not to panic, while reassuring his listeners that God will protect everyone.
