Malka Pukhraj

Hi Farazeh,

Just signed in this awesome site, tremendous saying to your GrandMa.. saying right she was pivot and everlasting voice in the universe, and concern with her personality measurements, i bet was very kind hearted, loving, social, cultural, humble and unique appearance in front of majorities.

Have a Great Day!
Sajid Raza

Hi Farazeh,

Just signed in this awesome site, tremendous saying to your GrandMa.. saying right she was pivot and everlasting voice in the universe, and concern with her personality measurements, i bet was very kind hearted, loving, social, cultural, humble and unique appearance in front of majorities.

Have a Great Day!
Sajid Raza

Hi,Farazeh!
Its so sweet to read your article. I liked Mallika Ji very much and like singing her songs. In fact, I`ve been trying to look for her book Song Sung True. I got a hold of a few chapters in which she spoke of her family and ustads. She was very interesting; I felt transported in a different period while reading of her. Do you still sing? I liked your mentioning of your tiff in singing with her:)

I remember back in college days we `chanced` upon a tape of Malika`s collection ghazals. After listening to the tape I was completely overtaken by her art. There was just nobody else remained who could provide that `fix` which was so natural with Malika`s gayeiki.

Malikka was a real Queen. Queen of Sur-taal and that queen who ruled ( and surely will keep on ruling for ages to come till the nafasat of flow of lovely urdu shairy remains favourite with the chosen few ) the hearts and minds of music lovers. Her marvellous combination with Tahira, her daughter added more charm and delight.
The nasheb-o-faraz ( ups and downs ) of the lae of her voice remained intact till quite later time.

My family members and friends always considered her as a Pakistani singer ( so what if she had a Paki passport ? ) as her style and lehja and talaffuz were all Dogri ( of Jammu region ) as she had spent her early age there only.

Her departure from earth is a setback for us but music lovers there, high up in the skies might be enjoying her melodies, I believe.

Thanks for sharing this with us Farazeh Syed,

Somehow (ironically) her song ``Mujhay yaad karnay waalon`` comes to mind here.

She was one of the best of her generation.

One can only try share the sorrow of the family in their loss.


Ras

Farzana –

Unfortunately, I am not into ghazals. I never developed a taste for it or for Urdu shairee. I fell in love with “abhi tau mein jawan hoon” the first time I heard it. That song is just marvelous and touches something very deep inside; it’s quite a sad song, in fact, but it’s done sooooooo well. I just love it. I bought an MP CD just because of that song. That CD perhaps contains the songs/ghazals you mentioned (it’s MP “Best of”). I tried to listen to songs/ghazals other than “abhi tau,” from that CD but just couldn’t get into it. I prefer a fast, upbeat music (the western so-called “New Wave” genre). I know you and I have many things in common. When it comes to music, however, I think our tastes overlap only a little, such as maybe some Indian songs from the late 60s and the early 70s.

Please accept my condolences for the loss of a loving mother. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with Malka`s work because she was before my time. I only knew her through Bushra Ansari`s parodies - sometimes parodies are the greatest tribute.

My late father always used to laugh about a story related to mulka pukhraj: He was in Sufi Tabassum`s office who was then principal Government College Lahore (I am saying this from memory, I am pretty sure it as at GC Lahore) and Sufi Tabassum (another great institution himself) received a phone call. He picked up the phone and said ``Kon? Malika Pukhraj??`` in a businesslike voice. Turned out he was only joking in his own ``serious`` way. The person who called was a man with a high pitched (for a man) voice who had been trying get chummy with Sufi sahib by asking him to guess who he was. My father would always burst out laughing at the dry sense of humor of Sufi Tabassum. But I think it also shows how much of an institution in Pakistan your grandmother was. May God bless her soul.

Malka Pukhraj (nothing wrong with the spelling ... this is how the great lady used to spell it ... more close to the way she would pronounce in her Dogri laced, Punjabi accented Urdu) was a remarkable woman in every respect of the word. People usually know her as a singer, which obviously was her most public forte, but her creative expression was evident in every thing she did. Her hand embroidered pictures, her meticulously stitched quilt covers, the way in which she explained in minutest detail the recipe of a dish or achar, and much more, bespoke of her creative genius. Alas I came to know her personally rather late in her life and therefore could not interact with her as I could have had I known ten years earlier.

The most surprising of her talents that I discovered was when I was given a chapter to read from her hand written manuscript of her memoirs in Urdu. Being a bit of a snob I started reading it with prejudice for the manuscript’s literary quality. But as soon as I started reading I was mesmerized by her prose as I would be by her Paharri renditions. The same ebbs and flows were inscribed on paper as they would have been in the range of her musical talent. The honesty of diction and the simplicity of expression caught me by the scruff of the neck, as it were, and did not let me put down the chapter until it was finished. It was one of the most impressive piece of Urdu prose that I had ever read, transporting me to the era of Maharajas and the beauty of Jammu & Kashmir where Malka Pukhraj was born and spent her childhood and adolescence. Last year the same manuscript was published in English translation as Malka Pukhraj’s autobiography. It was published in India by `Kali for Women` -- a publishing house based in New Delhi. The book - A Song Sung True, translated by Saleem Kidwai -- is available online .. .any one who wishes to know Malka Puhkraj the human being behind the public persona, must read it.

Farazeh:

It was wonderful to get little insights into the life of Mallika Pukhraj. I discovered her rather late, much after the ghazal boom in India. But once I heard her, I was mesmerised by the smokeyness of her voice, the sheer `wazan` that could manage a flowing ``Abhi tau main jawaan hoon`` as well as the deeper, ``Yeh kaun sakhi hai``...

- - -

godot:

Have you heard her sing Iqbal`s, ``Yeh gumbade minai`` and Faraz`s, ``Sukhn dard ka...``? I also love ``Kaheen aah ban ke...``

Farazeh Syed yaar what a pleasant surprise to see your name apper on chowk. I wonder if you would recall me, My name is Hussain I know you from my L.C.A.S days Ahhhhhhhh the good ol` days, how is your brother Nadir shah by the way? The last person I bumped into from L.C.A.S was Maleeka ahmed, Mrs` Sami`s daughter in central park, NYC at a concert.

Well I left for US for studies, a year after I left L.C.A.S so it`s been a while. So you teach at NCA now awesome it`s funny I remember you as the fun loving girl smokin her marlboro in the common room by the sides of Hasan Ali khan, Abid Banta, Safi, Tamiur mawaz and teh rest of tge lot the list is soooo long :) khair I am just excited to see a fellow lahori and an old friend on chowk.

And lastly. I would like to pay my respects on passing away of your grandmother, she left a profound mark on south asian music and I have always been a fan of her melodies. May God rest her soul in peace. Amen.

Take CareFarazeh and give my salaam to your brother.
Hussain.

You were so lucky to have been brought up by a legend like Malika Pukhraj . Thank you for sharing all those memories.

I grew up listening to her . I was so excited when she re sung those songs again for tv.
lo phir basant aai,
dard sai mairay hai tujh ko bai qarari haye haye,
zahid na keh buree kai yeh mustanay aadmi haiN,
and ofcourse...abhi tau main javan hoon...
her pahari songs were awesome too....

thats a beautiful picture up there !!

Farazeh:
Thank you for writing this feature on the mother`s day. Personally, I loved Malika Pukhraj`s everlasting ``Pahari Songs.``

1. Raazi Roana Bhala Razi Roana...
[And, there is a verse that`s simply killing...]
``Jyoundeyaa`n Jyoundeyaa`n Dae Maelaa...``

2. Ma`nnae` Dee Mauj Wich Hasnaa Khaednaa

I have grown up hearing her duos with Tahira Syed and they are immensely poignant and beatifully sung. In fact, during my school days, I used to practice Hafeez Jalandhri`s poems loud and clear, hearing her sing...``Lo Phir Basant Ayee.`

There is no one who sang Hafeez so well. Her songs and voice gave life to Hafeez`s poetry. She was one of the very few classy singers in Pakistani Music Industry.

But as A.L.Barbauld said...we must accept the reality...

``LIFE! I know not what thou art,
But know that thou and I must part;...

Regards.

If there is one South Asian song I love the most it is ``Abhi tau main jawan hoon.`` Wonderful as its lyrics are, it was Malka Pukhraj who brought those lyrics to life. To me, there is no better song sung in a better way.

Sad as it is that she passed away, but that`s her body only. By immortalizing that song, she will live forever.