The ghasal singer who ruled hearts.. Read on to know some less known facts about Pankaj Ullas on his Bday

 

Eminent ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas is celebrating his birthday on 17th May 2022. The 71-year-old  musician is counted among the few singers who have made Ghazals popular among the common people. Not only off beat ghazals, but Pankaj’s romantic songs have been very much popular among the youth.

Pankaj Udhas is known for popularizing Ghazals along with legendary Ghazal singers like Talat Aziz and Jagjit Singh, who are among the legendary Ghazal singers of Bollywood. Apart from films, he has also recorded many albums. Udhas has also been honored with Padma Shri, for giving a new height to Indian music through his unique style.

Here are some less known facts about the renowned singer whose tunes were hummed by the common..

Pankaj belongs to rich family, gave his first performance at the age of ten

Pankaj Udhas was born on 17 May 1951 in Jetpur, Gujarat. Pankaj’s father was a big landlord. His two elder brothers were already singers. Due to this, Pankaj started singing at an early age. Pankaj’s elder brother Manhar Udhas was already a singer. Once when Manhar was performing on stage, ten year old Pankaj Udhas gave the first performance of his life. Then the war between India and China was going on, due to which Pankaj sang ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’. A person present in the auditorium liked this song so much that he gave a reward of Rs Fifty one to Pankaj. Post this, Pankaj’s musical journey started and he never looked back.

He wanted to learn tabla but became a singer

Pankaj Udhas took admission in Rajkot’s Sangeet Academy to refine his music. He wanted to learn to play the tabla there but later started learning Hindustani classical singing from Ustad Ghulam Qadir Khan Saheb. After this Pankaj moved to Mumbai and there he started learning singing from Navrang Nagpurkar of Gwalior Gharana. Well, it is not that Pankaj has only learned music, he is also very educated. Pankaj has done B Sc from St. Xavier’s College and Wilson’s College, Mumbai.

Inter-religious marriage

When Pankaj Udhas was studying in college, he met Farida. Pankaj fell in love on seeing Farida at first sight. After this Pankaj and Farida became friends and the friendship turned into love. Farida was an air hostess and belonged to Parsi religion. Farida’s father was a retired police officer and did not agree to this marriage. However, realising the love between Pankaj and Farida, both the families finally agreed and the duo got married.

First break and fame in the world of music

Pankaj Udhas got his first break for a song for the film ‘Kaamna’. After this Pankaj started doing Ghazal concerts. Pankaj became famous in India and abroad when he sang the song ‘Chitti Aai Hai’ in Mahesh Bhatt’s 1986 film ‘Naam’. The song was such a huge hit that it is remembered even today. After this, Pankaj released more than one music album. Songs from Pankaj films and music albums have been quite famous and liked.

Pankaj Udhas is sorry about this

Pankaj Udhas has earned a lot of name from his singing and songs. However, he regrets that he has been given the tag of alcoholic singer. Expressing his dismay in an interview, Pankaj said that out of hundreds of songs in his career, he has sung only around twenty songs while being drunk,, but still he has been associated with bars and liquor. He said that his singing is not limited to liquor only but his romantic songs have been liked more.