Celebrating a milestone - Pankaj Udhas

Celebrating a milestone

Ghazal king Pankaj Udhas marks his 25-year singing career with a special commemorative 40-hits album called Jashn

Kunal M Shah

Pankaj Udhas has come far in the way of the ghazal. Twenty-five years, to give it a number. And to mark his silver jubilee, the singer has released a 3-CD album, Jashn, with 40 of his most popular numbers. "I think I've had an interesting journey…after all, my profession started out as a passion, "Pankaj reminisces. When I started off in 1980, ghazal singing was a part of our musical scene but it had yet not acquired the status it has today. It was not a very economical and profitable career for most; the money and fame lay in film music. But I nose-dived into it without much thought, and I'm happy I made that decision – the passion has not diminished even after all these years," he says.

Typically, this ghazal proponent wishes his form of music was still prevalent in the films made today. "I recall that era when 'Chiithi ayie hai' – that famous song from Naam (1986) – conveyed a certain poetic substance to the film. But songs today lack that quality. Although you can still hear a pleasing combination of poetry and melody, the ghazal, in its pure form, is sorely missed," he says.

How does someone like him, who has witnessed his beloved music striving to gain mass acceptance, feel about modern sales strategies? "Promotional videos and the like have worked in favour of the music. Take, for example, my song, 'Aji ahista kiji baatein'…it was the video that made the song famous, and it broke the age barrier by getting a younger, relatively new audience interested in the ghazal. It even made me consider re-releasing my older songs like 'Ghoongroon toot gaye' – which were sung before the coming of the music video. But I decided to let them be…let people remember those songs in the way they heard them, without added inputs from a visual medium. Some things should not be tampered with."

About his latest album, Pankaj says, "Jashn is a graph of my own life over the last 25 years. I went through many ups and down, stages of security and insecurity, and it all went into my music."

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=15&am p;articleid=61620062246401406162006224628265

Thanks kavita for sharing the article.

Life Sketch of Pankaj Udhas

He loves to listen to Begum Akhtar and Mehndi Hasan just like any other ghazal lover would. He still listens to The Beatles and feels they are the only band who can be called as true pop musicians. He likes to play golf and cricket and would love to spend hours together with his family only if he gets time for it. Yet he is not just another common man. He is the world-renowned Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, a man with a golden voice, the King of Hearts.

Pankaj Udhas, the name by itself sounds sweet and reminds one of a voice that is as sweet as honey itself. The man deserves the credit for making ghazals popular at a time when it was losing its foothold over the masses. And today amidst the cacophony of fast and pop music he has proved that ghazals still charm music lovers the world over and that music is not what is made out of machines but that which is made out of an artist's soul.

Pankaj was born on May 17, 1951 in Jetpur near Rajkot in Gujarat to a family of Zamindars. With his elder brother, Manhar Udhas already into stage performances, young Pankaj needed no initiation into the world of music. Even before he was five, Pankaj became conscious of his singing skills. But it was only after his first stage performance during the Indo-Chinese war that the music bug bit hard. He sang Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon and won for himself a prize of Rs. 51 that a gentleman in the crowd generously sponsored seeing his talent. The young boy was so moved by the episode that he made a firm decision to take up music professionally.

But it wasn't all that easy for Pankaj as it may sound. With a strong determination to pursue a successful music career, four years hence he joined the Sangeet Natya Academy in Rajkot and learnt the nuances of playing the tabla. But studies was on top of his agenda that time and so he shifted to Mumbai to pursue a Degree in Science from St. Xavier's College where he enthralled audience at each and every inter-collegiate and other open singing competitions, thanks to his immense singing prowess.
And then started a journey for an identity in the film world. So insulated the industry was with Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Manna Dey that Pankaj found it difficult to breakthrough. But he was fortunate to get his first break in a film called Kamna way back in 1972, which to his bad luck never saw the light of the day. Disappointed not to get the right kind of break in films, he waited but in vain.
And then life took a right turn for the youngster. Once Pankaj heard his brother Manhar's Urdu teacher listen to Mehndi Hasan and Begum Akhtar. So much was he attracted towards this form of music that he went on to learn Urdu to be able to grasp the depth of ghazals. Pankaj Udhas found his destiny.

Despite learning Urdu and getting into ghazals for almost four years he was struggling. Really frustrated and discouraged from all sides one day he packed his bags and decided to migrate to Canada. A few days over there made him realize how much Indian music is in demand in that part of the world. He did a few ghazal shows in local gatherings in Canada and the US and was amazed by the response. Regaining all the lost enthusiasm he decided to return home with much stronger will to make a mark in ghazals itself.

From his first ghazal album Aahat released in 1980, Pankaj has released around 40 albums with countless number of compilations. In all his albums he has always tried to present ghazals in a manner more appealing to the masses yet maintaining the essence of ghazals. Since singing ghazals by itself is a very limited area with very little scope for innovativeness, Pankaj has tried to use the little scope to the best as he could. In the process he has given the world of music some amazing ghazals, which will remain in the hearts of music lovers for time immemorial.

With ghazals happening along smoothly, Pankaj Udhas also made his foray into films gaining a lot of popularity with the ever popular Chitthi Aayee Hai from the film Naam bringing tears to every music lover's eyes. And his appearance on screen also made Pankaj a star in his own right. After the smashing number he was flooded with offers to do screen appearances. But he played it safe sticking to playback with occasional screen appearances like those in Saajan, Yeh Dillagi and Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aayee.

With his soul lying in music, Pankaj took upon himself the task of giving the music world something in return. He started a talent hunt program called Aadab Aarz Hai on Sony Entertainment Television and gave opportunities to a lot of youngsters to present their talents.

Today, Pankaj Udhas has a lot of plans as far as his music is concerned. He is conceptualizing a series of albums singing classic poetry of old poets. Also he is working on some fusion project, which should be a treat for music lovers as and when it releases. Besides his regular ghazal albums are already under plan.

With all the music happening Pankaj Udhas gets little time for doing social work, something he loves to be a part of. His sheer determination to do something good for the society has led to his association with organizations like Cancer Patients Aid Society, Parents Thalassemia Unit, Spastic Society of India and MIND. He works extensively for eradication of leprosy, thalassemia, cancer and for the cause of the mentally retarded. In his 17 years of social work he has done numerous concerts to collect over Rs. 50 lakh for social organizations. He even donated the funds received from the sale of his album Nabeel released in 1989 to the Cancer Patients Aid Society.

From those early childhood days as a singer on stage to his countless albums and film songs, Pankaj Udhas has proved at every stage that he is not only a singer par excellence but also a passionate professional, doing everything possible to stay close to his first love - music. And despite being a thorough professional he hasn't forgotten his duty as a citizen of India and as a human being and has done every possible thing to make the world a better place to live in.

Hello varsha ji. you are welcome, but more credit goes to kavita as she is the one who thought about it.

Originally posted by: MrspetloverUS

Kavita and Manju,

Thanks for sharing two diff articles. He is another one I have had previlege of meeting on flight. Also have his autograph 😊 . I used to love his gazals.

Sorry I don't know why but it's not pasting pictures correctly.

Thanks Manju for the articles.. and Varsh Didi for apperciating

I am not much into Ghazal... but I like his Chiiti aayi hai song.. it makes me Cry 😭 😭 😭

Neone who wants the album can PM me 😊

Pankaj udhas has a new album out now..its called "Jashn"