Adil Najam
Last year the mobile phone company Mobilink had released a wonderful tribute to Mehdi Hassan on the occasion of Independence Day, conceived and produced by actor Shaan; now of Khuda key Liye fame. We had carried a number of posts on that wonderful tribute (here, here and here) and have recently featured it again on our sidebar. This year, Mobilink released a similar tribute, this time to Farida Khannum.
It is done equally tastefully and although the song itself does not have the gravitas and passion of ‘Yeh watan tumhara hai‘, the visuals and the sentiments are very moving. I, at least, have been listening to it repeatedly over the last many hours.
Of course, the ghazal and geet maestro Farida Khanum deserves – nay, demands – a separate and detailed post. She is in a class by herself and some of the most memorable renditions of Urdu ghazals and geets have been from her. To even think of writing about her music overwhelms one. She is a giant. Truly a giant of her craft. But more than that she is also a wonderful person and the big smile and welcoming demeanor that you see in this new video is not an act. It is very genuine. I have had the pleasure (in an earlier life) of interviewing her and spending some time with her. Her sense of humor and her sense of compassion are legendary … and real.
I hope to write a real post on her when I can do justice to it (unfortunately my list of posts-to-write keeps growing longer), but right now I wanted to at least share some of her greatest musical gems with our readers.
For me, to think of Fareeda Khannum is to think of ‘woh ishq jo hum say rooth gaya‘. This is not the best recording to that song, but listening to it still gives me goosebumps. Powerful poetry, rendered with amazing poignancy.
Although her forte has always been the ghazal, Farida Khanum’s geet have been equally memorable, including some Punjabi folk songs such as Balle Balle Tor Punjaban Di. But probably the signature geet fromFarida Khanum is ‘Mein nay paaon mein payal tou pehnay nahiN.’ Again, this is not the best recording of the song, but it is memorable nonetheless.
Farida didi brings back memories of Parveen Sultana,Shobha Gurtu and their ilk.I hope such gems are treated with respect and care.We wlcome Pakistani Talent.
In the early 90s I happened to attend an evening with Farida Khanum at Karachi Arts Council. I had recently learnt to appreciate semi classical singing but before that evening my idea of Farida Khanum was just alright. As we entered the arena filled by who’s who of the city she was finishing one of her ghazals with the man at Tabla giving perhaps the performance of his life. She then started aaj jaaney kee zid naa karo and the entire audience was under a spell for the next 20 minutes. It was ghazal singing at its best. I have not heard Mehdi Hasan or any other big shot live but that controlled transition from low to high note, the quality of her voice that cannot be noticed on tape or cd, and the entire performance was out of this world. She was giving life to lines.. ‘tume hee socho zara..’ and ‘baat itni meri maan lo..’ It was an unforgettable performance. We had to leave early for an other gathering and I regret that to this date
can anyone give me the lyrics of this song in English by the beautiful Farida Khanum Title: Woh Ishq Jo Humse. It is so beautiful. I believe she is Pakistan’s gift to the world like Abida Parveen
thank you.
aadh
Faridah Khannum’s gayiki is beyond explanation, as there is no one to compare her with, her tackling with wadi sumwadi, rikhab ghandhar, laykari, andolans and the “aakaars of the voice “from where one begins the classical , She is so perfect in all of them , on the top, she has the sublime ghazals choice. I happen to listen to her sister, but Khannum will never have her second. She should be encouraged to transmit all to her disciples.
Nice post. One of my favorite Farida Khanum ghazals can be found here:
http://www.muziqpakistan.com/songs.php?auth=113
Under the album ‘Best of Farida Khanum’ click on ‘Is Tarah Qissa Mera’. No matter if you hear it once or many times you will not be able to get the tune out of your mind :)