[1] Lali was born in a landlord family belonging to village Fatehgarh near Lehragaga in Sangrur district in Punjab.

Lali taught at Linguistics department in Punjabi University, Patiala before he retired.

Though he never got published any book of his own, he was known to be a virtual treasure trove of world of art and literature.

He carried on the oral tradition imparting a great deal of knowledge to those around him.

[2][3] Noted Panjabi poet Navtej Bharati wrote a poetry book Lālī (ਲਾਲੀ) named after him and dedicated to him.