Dharmendra's first marriage was to Parkash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954. Parkash Kaur was a Punjabi singer. She sang mainly Punjabi folk songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre. She sang some Pashtu folk songs too.
Kaur made her professional debut with a live performance on 'Peshawar Radio' in 1941, and then on 31 August 1943, she and her younger sister, Surinder Kaur cut their first duet, "maavan 'te dheean ral baithian", for the HMV label, emerging as superstars across the Indian subcontinent.
