One of the UK’s first Bhangra artists has warned that traditional Punjabi music skills are fading.
Paul Chand, who moved to Bradford from Jalandhar, India in 1969, won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Bhangra Awards in December 2025.
He said his aim was to keep traditional Punjabi folk music alive.
Chand said: “Nowadays people come to England and after three, four, five years they lose their tongue and they can’t even pronounce the words.
“There’s not many people who can sing pure Punjabi and traditional folk music.
“But when you perform traditional Punjabi music and introduce guitar and mandolin and saxophone, it really sounds brilliant.” Chand formed the Anjaana Group more than 50 years ago.
The band combines traditional Punjabi Bhangra, played with dhol, tabla and harmonium, with modern and European instruments such as mandolins and guitars.
Chand continued: “We use all sorts of instruments to make a sound. It’s like Eastern and Western together – and it’s created a totally different sound.”
The musician did his first show in 1970 but had not learned to play Bhangra until he moved to England.
He said: “I was always singing in India, not with a band, but wherever the music can go. “So when I came to England, I found a tutor to learn more about how to play the harmonium and how to sing in pitch.
“It took me a couple of years to get to know something about the music and since that I’ve been on the road.”
He said keeping a band together for more than 50 years had been a challenge, but he has no plans to retire.
Chand said: “I love music and that’s what I’m doing now. Fifty years and every minute of music, I love it. “As long as I live, I’ll be keeping the music alive. Music keeps you young.”