Iconic Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas handed away on the age of 72.
Pankaj Udhas was the product of an period when the ghazal’s reputation was on the rise and common music supplied variety. His loss of life marks the closure of a chapter in Indian common music
The Eighties was a musically totally different period. A young person again then, this author was amongst these 1000’s current in a public live performance throughout Durga Puja in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan within the center of the evening. Pankaj Udhas, a rising star of ghazals and common music, was anticipated to carry out quickly.
The crowd cheered loudly after the information of his arrival on the venue was introduced. A small group of stressed younger males rushed in the direction of the stage to observe and listen to him sing at shut quarters. After these people discovered their desired place or accepted their incapability to do it, Udhas took the stage. ‘Deewaron Se Milkar Rona’, ‘Ghungroo Toot Gaye’, ‘Sabko Maloom Hai’: he carried out his common gems one after the opposite, and people current sang together with him. It was an evening to recollect.
Udhas appeared on the musical scene within the early Eighties when the recognition of the ghazal was on the rise in India — as soon as once more. Pakistani maestro Mehdi Hassan had a devoted fan following within the nation. Ghulam Ali, one other good performer from Pakistan, had loyal followers as properly. A pair of months youthful than Ali, the inimitable Jagjit Singh’s velvety voice mesmerised ghazal listeners in every single place.
Udhas took his first few steps together with just a few different gifted Indian ghazal singers. Among them was Talat Aziz, whose spectacular debut album ‘Jagjit Singh presents Talat Aziz’ was launched in 1980. Aziz’s following elevated considerably after ‘Zindagi Jab Bhi,’ his music from Muzaffar Ali’s movie Umrao Jaan (1981). Peenaz Masani’s debut album, ‘Aapki Bazm Mein’ that includes the haunting ‘Dil Mein Rakhlo’ was a 1981 launch. Many new music lovers had been getting interested in ghazals, in different phrases, and the timing of Udhas’s arrival couldn’t have been extra acceptable.
Born in Rajkot, Gujarat, in 1951, Pankaj Udhas was the youngest among the many three Udhas brothers, who aspired for careers as singers of their younger days. The first one to expertise some success was his eldest brother Manhar Udhas, who sang the hit duet ‘Loote Koi Man Ka Nagar’ with Lata Mangeshkar within the Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie Abhimaan (1973). Nirmal, the second brother, is an effective singer as properly. Pankaj, the youngest, made an impression after the discharge of Aahat, his debut album, in 1980. Well-composed and hummable, just a few songs from Aahat went on to get the sort of recognition they genuinely-earned. ‘Yeh Alag Baat Hai Saqi’, the primary music on the album’s ‘A’ facet, turned massively common. However, ‘Tum Aaye Zindagi Main’ was the primary music that Udhas had recorded for the album. Written by his buddy Sheikh Adam Aboowala, ‘Tum Aaye…’ was the right instance of his liking for easy lyrics in his compositions.
Many listeners embraced selection in common music within the Eighties. While Aahat launched a brand new ghazal singer to the lots, Nazia Hassan and her brother Zoheb delivered ‘Disco Deewane’ (1981), an album chargeable for growing the urge for food for non-film pop music in a single day. The high quality of movie music had declined, however Khayyam composed the soundtrack of Umrao Jaan (1981), whose fascinating songs turned concurrently common. The non-film ghazal had rediscovered its mass attraction, too, a boon for an artist like Udhas.
Initially skilled in classical music and passionate concerning the ghazal type, Udhas realized Urdu and finally began performing ghazals in live shows. He launched greater than 50 albums and likewise sang for Hindi movies in a protracted profession. The artist’s songs had two trademark qualities: melodies an alert listener picked up rapidly and accessible lyrics that exposed his need for reaching out to the lots. His profession as a ghazal singer had many highlights, comparable to ‘Thodi Thodi Piya Karo’, ‘Aap Jinke Kareeb Hote Hain’ and ‘Sharab Cheez Hi Aisi Hai’ that turned a everlasting function of his live shows. Popular as a performer in live shows, the impeccably dressed singer solid a spell on the listeners at any time when he appeared on the stage.
An article on Udhas will likely be incomplete with none point out of ‘Chithhi Aayi Hai’ from Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam (1986), whose transferring lyrics appealed to the Indian diaspora. While ‘Chithhi Aayi Hai is’, with no shade of doubt, his hottest music, he additionally sang different hit movie tracks, comparable to ‘Aaj Phir Tum Pe’ in Feroz Khan’s Dayavan (1988) and ‘Na Kajre Ki Dhaar’ in Rajiv Rai’s Mohra (1994). Udhas’s final movie music, ‘Raat Bhar Tanha Raha’ in Raja Bundela’s Dil Toh Deewana Hai (2016), was an peculiar effort. The movie failed, and the music didn’t discover many listeners by itself both.
A Padma Shri recipient in 2006, Pankaj Udhas’s loss of life at 72 marks the closure of a major chapter in Indian common music. What will dwell on ceaselessly are his songs, which will likely be heard and beloved by each fan of ghazals — now and in future.
