ISLAMABAD: Death anniversary of famous folk and Ghazal singer Malika Pukhraj was observed on Sunday.
Born in 1910 at Hamirpur Sidhar near Akhnoor, Jammu her original name was Hamida . Her family moved to Pakistan after the partition.
Malika Pukhraj had complete mastery over Raags. She also had great attachment in Urdu and Persian poetry and literature.
Malika Pukhraj sang Hafeez Jalandhri’s famous song ‘Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon’, Abdul Hameed Adam’s ghazal ‘Woh Baatain Teri, Woh Fasane Tere’ in a unique manner that came to be considered as her identity.
Malika Pukhraj’s husband Syed Shabir Hussain Shah was a highly educated government officer and author of the famous Urdu novel ‘Jhok Sial’. Pakistan’s famous singer Tahira Syed is their daughter.
The Government of Pakistan awarded Malika Pukhraj with the Presidential Medal for acknowledging her performance.
Her biography was published as ‘Song Sung True’ which was translated from Urdu to English by Salim Qadwai.
Malika Pukhraj passed away on February 4,
2004 and buried in Shah Jamal graveyard in Lahore.