As you step into the dark cool corridors of an old building in Karol Bagh market in Delhi, you are suddenly taken aback by a soft spoken voice of a sardar in a fashionable turban humming a number from his latest album "Wallah wallah". Next, you see him offering you a bite of the tasty paneer pakoras from the nearest Karol Bagh nukkad. A good host and a down to earth person --the new bhangra pop sensation Bhupinder Chawla alias Bhupi.

He had never been trained in music and yet it seems as though the musical notes dance at the sightest command from him!. Till yesterday he was a novice in the musicworld; today he has to his credit two albums --Jogiya Khalli Balli and the recent Wallah wallah.

But it was not always music and smooth sailing for this young man from Delhi. He spent his formative years excelling in sports as captain of the Delhi state hockey team. But later, an injury to his knee sustained on the field during a friendly hockey tour abroad, proved to be the crushing blow that totally shattered his dreams. His father late Sardar Prakash Singh Chawla had been one of India's national cycling champions . Bhupi had dreamt of emulating his father and winning glory for his country as a sportsman!!.

And now it seems as though fate willed otherwise. After a few years, inspired by his elder brother G S Chawla and his late father, Bhupi pursued his career in singing. After being crowned by the Vice President of India as the best singer of India in 1988, he decided that the time had come to take to music seriously. So ultimately, his passion turned into profession.

For nearly six years, Bhupi got his formal training in singing from the Rampur gharana. He devoted nearly 8-9 hours in riyaz daily. Slowly he set foot into the music world, starting with a few cover versions of Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey.

His first big break came in 1997, with the release of his first debut album Jogiya Khalli Balli. Under the baton of the ace music director Jawahar Wattal, was born the album that was set to create waves in the Indipop scene. After a lapse of three years, Bhupi has once again launched his new venture Wallah wallah –music composed and directed by Jawahar Wattal and lyrics by his elder brother G S Chawla

Having performed for both Channel V and MTV, Bhupi has now
built up a formidable reputation for himself not just as a recording artist but also as a live stage performer both inIndia and abroad. He has nothing but the most positive thoughts for the future and is sure that he can take this unique sound and act to the largest audience across the globe.

His forte however is the Punjabi songs--representing his ties with the land where he belongs. With his track record of one success after another, certainly Bhupi shows a firm ability to stay tuned to his goals!

By Piyali Dasgupta