Background
Malika Pukhraj, was born in Mirpur, on the banks of the River Chenab, 16 miles from Jammu, Punjab region, British India, in a Kanjar family of traditional singers and dancers.
Malika Pukhraj, was born in Mirpur, on the banks of the River Chenab, 16 miles from Jammu, Punjab region, British India, in a Kanjar family of traditional singers and dancers.
She was generally called as "Malika" meaning "The Queen" publicly. She is extremely popular for her rendition of Hafeez Jalandhri"s nazm song, Abhi tau main jawan hoon ("I am still young"), which is enjoyed by millions not only in Pakistan, but also in India. Her popular numbers were,Lo phir basant aaii and Quli Qutub"s Piya baaj piyala piya jaey na and Faiz Ahmed Faiz"s Mere qatil mere dildar mere paas raho.
As she grew up, her mother moved to a Kotha (brothel) in Rajinder Bazar, Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, where Malika Pukhraj spent early years of her life.
Malika Pukhraj received her training from Ustad Ali Baksh Kasuri, father of legendary singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. At the age of nine, she visited Jammu and performed at the coronation ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh, who was so impressed by her voice that he appointed her as a court singer in his Durbar, and she stayed there as a singer for another nine years.
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 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).
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.
Malika Pukhraj also recorded her memoirs in the novel Song Sung True. Malika Pukhraj, died in Lahore, Pakistan on February 4, 2004. She was buried at "Shah Jamal" graveyard in Lahore.
