Abida Parveen

The most famous singer of the works of the Sufi poets, especially Sindhi kafis, is undoubtedly Abida Parveen. Born in 1957 in Larkana, Sindh, she received her initial musical training from her father, Ustad Ghulam Haider. Later, she studied under Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Sham Chorassi gharana of classical music.

Early Life

Abida was born in Larkana (Sindh province, Pakistan) in 1954. She received her musical training initially from her father, Ustad Ghulam Haider, and subsequently from Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.

Although she is a famous figure in the world of music, Abida Parveen is simple, soft-spoken, and courteous woman. In 1975 she married Sheikh Ghulam Hussain of Radio Pakistan, Hyderabad. She is the mother of two daughters and a son.

Career

When in 1970 she performed in public for the first time at the Urs of Hazrat Shah Latif, a new era began in the world of music. But she says, “It is the kalam [works] of the Sufi saints, not my voice, that involves the listeners in my music.” Abida Parveen first sang for radio in 1977 and for television in 1979. Her popularity reached new heights after she sang “Gharooli”,” a Punjabi kafi, for Karachi Television’s “Awaaz-o-Andaaz” in 1980. Until then, Sufi songs were seldom presented on the national hookup, but Abida’s renditions changed that.

Her fame travelled through Pakistan and across the seas, and she toured USA, UK, and France in 1985 and 1988. Her 1988 performance in Chicago was recorded by the Hazrat Amir Khusro Society of Art and Culture, which issued a long-play record of her renderings, and her 1989 performance in London’s Wembly Conference Hall was recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation and aired for an hour. She has represented Pakistan in India and has performed for huge audiences in Pakistan and the Middle East. Abida Parveen sings semi-classical and classical music, ghazals and geets, and kafis in Sindhi, Punjabi, and Seraiki with equal ease.

Her classical training enables her to render folk and traditional music with great sophistication without losing its regional flavour. Her command of the kafis of Sufi poets Shah Latif, Sachal Sarmast, Bulley Shah, Khawaja Farid, and Shah Hussain is unmatched. As a ghazal singer, Abida prefers the poetry of Nasir Kazmi, Mustafa Zaidi, Ibne Insha, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Awards

Abida Parveen is the recipient of many awards: the Shah Abdul Latif Award (twice,) the Sindh Graduate Association Award, the Sachal Sarmast Award, the Pakistan Television Award, the Qalandar Lal Shahbaz Award, and of course the President’s Pride of Performance.