Diwaliben Bhil – Gujarati folk singer

Diwaliben Bhil was a Gujarati folk singer (1943-2016) recognized as “Gujarat ni Koyal”. Her full name is Diwaliben Punjabhai Bhil. She sang folk songs, garbas and bhajans, apart from Gujarati film songs. She has been a regular performer of radio also. She has given music performances across India and shared stage space with Pranlal Vyas.

She was born in 1943 in Dalkhania village of Amreli district. She was born into a tribal community which traditionally performed folk songs. Inspired from her mother, Diwaliben Bhil started singing at a young age beginning with garbas. She was a school dropout who turned a full-time singer at a young age. When she turned 9, her family shifted to Junagadh and she got married soon. However marriage was declared null two days after her marriage, and she never married again.

At the age of 20 she started working in a hospital, and later she also worked as a domestic help in nurses’ quarters at Junagadh. Her talent was first noticed by Gujarati folk singer Hemu Gadhvi in 1964. He arranged a performance at AIR Rajkot station for which she earned 5 rupees. Once she performed in Mumbai which proved to be a turning point. She was spotted by renowned music composer Kalyanji of Kalyanji-Anandji duo who gave her first break to playback singing. Her first song “Paap Taru Parkash Jadeja” from the film Jesal Toral became an instant hit and there was no turning back after that.

Diwaliben Bhil – Some interesting facts

1. Her real name is Ladhiya.

2. Bhil is a recipient of Padma Shri for the year 2000 and also a recipient of Gujarat Gaurav Puraskar.

3. She learnt music herself and didn’t receive any formal training.

4. Her talents were known to the outer world very late. She has worked as a domestic help before she turned a successful singer.