Malika Pukhraj

Malika Pukhraj was a highly popular singer of Pakistan. She was generally called as “Malika” meaning “The Queen.” She is extremely popular for her rendition of Hafeez Jalandhri’s song, Abhi to main jawan hoon (“I am still youthful”), which is enjoyed by millions not only in Pakistan, but also in India ^. Her popular numbers were,Lo phir basant aaya and Quli Qutub’s Piya baaj piyale piya jaye na and Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s Mere qatil mere dildar mere paas raho.

Biography

Malika Pukhraj, was born in village Mirpur, on the banks of the River Akhnoor, 16 miles from Jammu^], and as she grew up her mother moved to Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, in present Jammu and Kashmir, where she spent early years of her life, she was given the name “Malika” at birth, by ‘Majzoob’, ‘Baba Roti Ram, a spiritualist, in Akhnoor area , and named Pukhraj by her Aunt

Malika Pukhraj who was coached by Ustad [Ali Baksh Kasuri-father of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan]. At age nine, At nine she visited Jammu and performed at coronation ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh, who got so impressed by her voice that she appointed a court singer in his Durbar , and stayed there for another nine years .

Over the next 8 decades she captivated her audience with her command over the singing genres of Thumri, Ghazal, Bhajan and folk Pahari Geet, including Dogri folk songs . She was among the greatest singers of British India in the 1940s, and after Partition of India in 1947, she migrated to Lahore, Pakistan , where she received further fame, through her radio performances with composer, Kale Khan .

In 1980, she received the Presidential Pride of Performance Award, Pakistan . In 1977, when All India Radio, for which she sang until Partition, was celebrating its Golden Jubilee, she was invited to India, and awarded with the ‘legend of Voice’ award . Malika Pukhraj also recorded her memoirs in the novel Song Sung True.

Malika Pukhraj, died in Lahore on February 4, 2004 . Her funeral procession started from her residence West Canal bank, and she laid to rest at her ancestral ‘Shah Jamal’ graveyard in Lahore.

Personal life

Malika Pukhraj was married to Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah, a Government Officer and had 6 children, including Safiea, her eldest daughter; Tahira Syed, one of Malika Pukhraj’s two daughters, emerged as a well-known singer in her own right. Her other daughter, Tasneem, is married to famous lawyer and senator S.M. Zafar. Her eldest son Tauqeer lives in Model Town, Lahore, and his wife Shahnaaz, her other son is, Maj. (R) Syed Tanveer Hussain