New Delhi, February 26. Famous ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas is no longer with us. After a long illness, he breathed his last at the age of 72. His daughter Nayaab informed her about his demise through social media. His fans are paying tribute to him with tears in their eyes on social media.
Pankaj Udhas got a new identity with the song Chithi Aayi Hai from the Hindi film ‘Naam’. His ghazals have always been very famous. Be it ‘Your color is like silver’ or ‘On one side, his house is on one side, and on the other side, there is a pond’. Udhas’s ghazals were liked the most.
Even in Hindi cinema, the songs sung by Pankaj Udhas remained on everyone’s lips. People keep humming songs like Na Kajre Ki Dhar…, Rishta Tera Mera Sabse Hai…, Aur Bhala Kya Mangu Main Rab Se…, Mat Kar Itna Gurur… even today.
Let us tell you that Pankaj Udhas, born on May 17, 1951, in Jetpur, Gujarat, was the youngest of three brothers. He was born into a landlord family. His grandfather was the Diwan of Bhavnagar State. Pankaj Udhas’s father was a government employee. His mother, Jituben Udhas was very fond of music. In such a situation, the atmosphere in his entire family was musical, and all the brothers also had an inclination towards music.
It is said about Pankaj Udhas that he never wanted to make singing his profession. But, since Pankaj was inclined towards music since childhood, he started getting into it with time. Once in a school program, he received Rs 51 as a prize for singing, which was his first earning.
Pankaj’s brothers, Manhar Udhas and Nirjal Udhas were already well-known names in the music world. In such a situation, Pankaj Udhas’s parents got him admitted to the Music Academy in Rajkot. He knew he could do better in this area. Even after a long struggle, Pankaj did not get work in Bollywood. By then he had done many big stage shows. He sang in his own voice in the first film, ‘Kaamna’, but the film flopped, and Pankaj could not get much fame because of it. Hurt by this, he decided to go and live abroad.
Pankaj Udhas got a lot of fame abroad, and his voice was widely recognized there. Then she got a call from famous actor Rajendra Kumar, who was impressed by her voice and recommended her to sing a song and also asked her to do a cameo in the film. Pankaj then refused this. When Rajendra Kumar told this to Manhar Udhas, he talked to Pankaj about it. After this, he gave his voice to ‘Chithi Aayi Hai’ in the film ‘Naam’.
When Rajendra Kumar narrated this ghazal to his best friend, Raj Kapoor, he cried. His love for ghazal singing blossomed from here, and then he learned Urdu for it.
On 11 February 1982, Pankaj Udhas married Farida. Both of them met at a common friend’s wedding. At that time, Pankaj was studying, and Farida was an air hostess. Then a friendship developed between the two and this friendship turned into love. Pankaj and Farida wanted to get married. Pankaj Udhas’s family had no objection to this, but Farida’s family did not approve of this relationship. Pankaj himself went to Farida’s house to talk about his marriage, and then, with the approval of Farida’s family, both of them got married. He has two daughters, Nayaab and Reva.
According to media reports, Pankaj Udhas, who earned his first income of Rs 51, left behind property worth more than Rs 25 crore for his family. Pankaj Udhas was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006. He has sung many hit songs in Hindi and other languages.
