Malika Pukhraj whose original name was Hamida was born in 1912 at Hamirpur Sidhar near Akhnoor Jammu during British era to a Singer family of professional musicians. She was given the name ‘Malika’ at birth by Baba Roti Ram ‘Majzoob’, a spiritualist, in the Akhnoor area, and named Pukhraj (Yellow Sapphire) by her aunt who herself was a professional singer-dancer. By the time she was nine, she had enough training to perform at Maharajah Hari Singh’s coronation ceremony. She was retained at the court because of her talent and professional skills, and stayed on till the age of eighteen.
MALIKA PUKHRAJ
Born on 1912
Died on 4 Feb 2004
CLASSICAL AND FOLK MUSIC SINGER
She received her traditional musical training from Ustad Ali Baksh Kasuri, the father of legendary singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and had separate teachers for Persian and Urdu. She has dedicated her autobiography to her husband Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah and to Maharaja Hari Singh, otherwise a reviled figure in Pakistan because of his decision to accede to India, despite a majority of the population of Kashmir being Muslim. Her dedication of the autobiography to the Maharajah is not only a witness of her affection for the Maharaja, but an assertive indifference to the popular opinion. It didn’t take her long to establish her pre-eminence as a singer in the musical gatherings of Lahore, and with her forceful personality, she set the rules by which she would perform.
In 1936, when the All India Radio (AIR) opened its transmission, she was already a big name. Dadra, Thumri and Khayal were in big demand and she sang those and ghazals for All India Radio. Her literary skills were well recognized because she had command over Urdu, Persian, Dogri and Punjabi. Her diction and pronunciation were exemplary, and people would approach her for guidance in that field. When she gave her script of Song Sung True to Ashfaq Ahmed to read, he was struck by her beautiful handwriting.
In 1947, when communal tensions increased, she decided to move to Lahore with her mother and maternal grandfather, where she received much more fame, through her radio performances with composer Kale Khan at Radio Pakistan, Lahore. Her voice is most suitable for ‘folk songs of the hills’ (Pahari Songs).
Khawaja Najmul Hassan became friends with her and her beautiful singer daughter Tahira Syed, when he started out as a young producer of music programs at the Lahore television station in the early 1970s. He did a series of 13 programs with Malika Pukhraj and Tahira Syed called Sur ka Safar (the voyage of melody). In 1986, when there was a golden jubilee of the All India Radio, Roshan Ara Begum and Malika Pukhraj were invited for the event, and were given of very warm reception, showered with flowers and rose-petals when they entered the radio station.
Her husband Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah was a highly educated Government Officer and author of the famous Urdu novel ‘Jhok Siyal’, which was the inspiration for a popular rural drama by the same name directed by Yawar Hayat in 1973, whose script was written by Munno Bhai. She met Shabbir Hussain Shah in Lahore at a dinner at Khawaja Khursheed Anwar’s house, where he used to visit frequently. It was the beginning of their romance, and a happy marriage followed.
Malika Pukhraj confirmed that the youngest of her six children, Tahira Syed, was trained as a singer. It is a fact that people from the Patiala Gharana did not train others, but Akhtar Hussain, the father of Salamat Ali, agreed to be Tahira Syed’s Ustad (teacher).
She had produced two films ‘Kajal’ in India and ‘Shammi’ in Pakistan. She was invited to play a lead role by the Nadiawala Company in the film ‘Manzil Door Nahi’ in 1940. But after ten days of shooting in Bombay, she returned home to Lahore as she felt it was taking too much time and she was missing her children.
She was a very kind hearted lady and she used to quietly help artists who were having financial difficulties. One day she asked Khawaja Najam-ul-Hasan to accompany her, and took him to visit Meena Shorey, who had been a famous actress but had fallen on hard times. She had become famous as the Lara Lappa girl after starring in her husband, Roop K Shorey’s film ‘Ek Thi Larki’ (Once there was a girl). But now she was living in very poor conditions with her nephew. Malika Pukhraj gave her money so discreetly, that even Khawaja Sahib did not see it happen.
The last show that she appeared in was in a wheelchair at the Lahore station of the PTV. Khawaja Najam-ul-Hasan had started a program series called, Khiraj-e-Tahseen (paying tribute) with Anwer Maqsood as the compere. The first one of the series was on Malika Pukhraj. Naeem Tahir made perceptive comments while Ashfaq Ahmed mentioned her skills at presentation and selection of the ghazals that she would sing. He also mentioned how meaningful the pauses in her delivery were.
She had complete mastery over Rags. She also had a great attachment to Urdu and Persian poetry and literature. She sang Hafeez Jalandhri’s famous song ‘Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon’ and Adam’s ghazal ‘Woh Baatain Teri, Woh Fasane Tere’ in a unique manner that came to be considered as her identity.
Malika Pukhraj who emerges from Khawaja Najmul Hasan’s interview and anecdotes, her own autobiography and the observations of her peer group and children was a complex but a strong lady, who was restrained in communicating her emotions. Her rising from a relatively humble background to reach the zenith in the genre of Thumris, Dadras and Ghazals at all-India level but who found happiness and fulfillment in her family life. And yet, she always remained concerned about the less fortunate artists, and discreetly helped them out.
In 1977, when All India Radio, for which she sang until the Partition in 1947, was celebrating its Golden Jubilee, she was invited to India and awarded with the ‘Legend of Voice’ Award. In 1980, she also received the ‘Pride of Performance Award’ from the President of Pakistan.
Her biography was published as ‘Song Sung True’ which was translated from Urdu to English by Salim Qadwai.
She passed away on 4th February, 2004 at Lahore, and was buried in Saadat Graveyard Shah Jamal in Lahore.
