Written by Divya Goyal Gopal Ludhiana | October 5, 2025 11:19 PM IST 4 min readComing from an unprivileged family, the girls lost their mother to an accident in 2021 and were raised by their father, Manish Mittal (Express Photo)Legendary Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan’s letting his emotions surface on the stage, clapping vigorously in applause, and touching the feet of a fellow performer is not a common sight. This, however, happened on the inaugural day of ‘Saras Mela 2025’ at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) ground in Ludhiana late Saturday evening.In a mesmerising ode to “Saanjha Punjab” (Undivided Punjab), Bhavna, 15, and Palak, 13, two visually impaired sisters from the city, crooned “Chardhe Punjab ton” (A message from East Punjab), a song penned by Prabh Bains and produced by Bunty Bains Productions that was released from the stage. Later, it was officially released on YouTube on the “Brand B” channel with the title “Charhde Punjab Ton”.Amid heightened animosity between India and Pakistan, the song — composed and recorded in January, before the Pahalgam terror attack worsened the Indo-Pak ties — came as a soother to the people of Chardha (East) and Lehenda (West) Punjab.The song expresses the feelings of a woman in West Punjab on the Pakistan side and her lover, a man, in East Punjab on the India side.The singing talent of both sisters was first discovered by Ludhiana’s former deputy commissioner, Jitendra Jorwal, during a visit to the Government Institute for the Blind (Brail Bhawan) in Jamalpur last December, where the girls study. The DC requested Bunty Bains to release a music video to help launch the sisters in the music industry.Coming from an unprivileged family, the girls lost their mother to an accident in 2021 and were raised by their father, Manish Mittal.“Bhavna had vision in one of her eyes, but lost it when she was eight years old. Palak is blind by birth. The sisters would sing to the tunes of the harmonium that their mother Jyoti played. As if losing their vision was not enough, God even took their mother away. My daughters, however, never gave up,” Ludhiana’s Kot Mangal Singh area resident Manish said.Story continues below this adWorking for a private firm, Manish earns around Rs 20,000 a month, hardly enough to raise both girls. “Doctors say both my daughters have faulty retinas, and even if they undergo a cornea transplant, their vision won’t return. We did not leave a single hospital in Ludhiana, and also went to AIIMS, Delhi, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, but there’s no hope.”Bhavna studied at a local private school until she completely lost her vision. Later, both sisters were admitted to the Government Institute for the Blind.“Both sisters have been fond of singing since their childhood. They would sing bhajans (devotional hymns) in temples. I could provide a professional platform to their talent due to paucity of money and approach,” Mittal said.Applauding the girls as “extremely talented”, Bunty Bains said, “Both sisters did not face any issue while recording their first song at Ishmeet Academy in Ludhiana. When Mr Jorwal and Ludhiana district administration officials had contacted us with the request to compose a song for the sisters, we readily agreed.”Story continues below this adSpeaking with The Indian Express, Bhavna and Palak said, “We miss our mother, but our father is doing everything for us. Now our only focus is singing. We started singing while listening to songs on TV. We don’t feel anything missing in our life just because we can’t see.”Prabh Bains said, “We chose ‘Saanjha Punjab’ as the song’s theme to cater to a wider audience. Punjabi-speaking people on both sides of the border will connect with it, providing the girls with wider recognition.”“When the legendary Gurdas Maan stood next to my daughters and blessed them, I knew my daughters had achieved something big. When my daughters were born and people got to know about their blindness, they would sympathise with me, asking how I would live without a son. I would ignore them, thinking God had given me two daughters for a reason. Today, I am known due to my daughters,” Mittal said Joyfully.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:punjab agricultural university