Habib Wali Mohammad (), (16 January 1921 – 3 September 2014) was a Pakistani

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

and film playback singer.

Early life

Habib Wali Mohammad was born on January 16, 1921, in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

in the

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

) into a conservative

Memon Memon may refer to: Ethnic group and language * Memon people, Sunni Muslim community in Gujarat, India and Sindh, Pakistan ** Memons (Kathiawar) ** Kutchi Memon, from Kutch, Gujarat *** Kutchi Memons in Bombay ** Bantva Memons, from Bantva, Gujara ...

family, which later moved to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

where he grew up. His family, Tabani, an industrial house has large business holdings in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. During his childhood, Habib Wali Mohammad often listened to

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

music. But due to economic and business reasons, he gave priority to academics. He received his MBA from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, New York in 1947, and then lived in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

for about 10 years before moving to

. His brother Ashraf W. Tabani was the governor of the province of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

during 1988. He died on 3 September 2014 in Los Angeles, US.Ghazal singer Habib Wali Mohammad passes away at 93
Dawn (newspaper), Published 4 September 2014, Retrieved 20 December 2021 The Tabanis belong to the Gujarati-speaking

community.

Career

As a youth, Habib Wali received classical music lessons from Ustad Latafat Ali Khan, a nephew of noted musician Ustad Faiyyaz Khan (1880 – 1950). In college, he became active in the musical functions of Ismail Yusuf College, gaining the nickname 'Taan Sen'. He completed his bachelor's degree in Bombay. In 1941, Habib Wali was awarded first prize in a Bombay music competition with 1200 contestants, including the singer Mukesh Chand Mathur. His winning performance was singing the ghazals of the last Moghul Emperor

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, (Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad; 24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862), usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' ), was the twentieth and last List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emp ...

, ''Lagta Nahin Hai Jee Mera Ujray Diyar Mein'' and ''Yeh Na Thi Hamari Qismat'' by Mirza Ghalib. He recorded his first LP in the 1950s for

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

, now known as Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Interestingly, the LP record did not have his real name. Instead, he used his stage name of ''Kamal Roy'' and the music was composed by Saraswati Devi. Encouraged by this recognition, at a young age, he took more interest in ghazal singing. During his stay in America, he had been out of touch with music. Hence, he felt lonely and missed his earlier college functions in Bombay. In his own words, "He was not happy in 'Ujray dayar mein', the same ghazal which had won him an award of a lifetime. He put a lot of effort and came out with a gramophone record of ghazals in his voice. On one side of the record, he dubbed Bahadur Shah Zafar's ghazals and on the other side, Ghalib's ghazals. The Indian public was reluctant to buy them at that time. Listening to these ghazals, actress Meena Kumari became a fan of his, and since she was at the time affiliated with

, she had his recordings broadcast often. This boosted Habib Wali's sales and caused him to become a celebrity. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947, his family migrated to

and established an industrial group which includes the Shalimar Silk Mills. He gave most of his time to the family business, recording ghazals and geets for films in his spare time, however music was not pursued as a profession. However, he still sang ghazals for the music companies, including a geet written by the poet Parveen Shakir: 'Gori karath singhar'. In the eighties, he recorded ghazals on audio cassettes which were composed by the noted music director Nisar Bazmi and

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...

, Karachi Center's music director ''Niaz Ahmed''. In addition, he received offers to become a film playback singer for the Pakistani film industry. Habib Wali Mohammad was from an early group of singers ever to record

s. But probably because of his background and as a member of a well-established family, Habib Wali Mohammad had never pursued an aggressive and mainstream career as a singer, though he was still highly regarded among the Pakistani public. His famous ghazals include

's 'Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon' and Qamar Jalalvi's 'Kab mera nasheman ahlay chaman'. All of his performances of the ghazals of Bahadur Shah Zafar have been very popular. His other well-known ghazals, include Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo. He also sang the famous national song, "Roshan-o-Rakhshan, Nayyar-o-Tabaan, Pakistan rahay".

Personal life

Habib Wali Mohammad, later in his life, lived in Los Angeles California, United States with his wife, Rehana and his family, including his sons, Rizwan Wali Mohammad Tabani and Nadeem Wali Mohammad Tabani. Both are ghazal and geet performers in their own right. Anwar Wali Muhammad Tabani lives in New Jersey and the daughter Rukhsana lives in Karachi, Pakistan. His brother, Ashraf W. Tabani went on to become the Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan and later served as the Governor of Sindh in the late 1980s.

Discography

Some of the ghazals, recorded in the voice of Habib Wali Mohammad are listed here below: *''Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujray Diyaar Mein'' : poet

*''Ye na thi hamari Qismath'': poet: Mirza Ghalib *''Ja kahio unsay naseem-e-sahar'': poet:

*''Gajra bana kay lay Aa malaniya'': poet: Afshan Rana

Ghazals for films

*'Aaj janay ki zid na karo': poet: Fayyaz Hashmi, picturised on Nadeem, music of Sohail Rana for film ''Badal Aur Bijli (1973)'' *'Aashiyan jal gaya' :poet: Raaz Illahabadi, music by Sohail Rana in film 'Baazi (1970)' *'Raatain theen chandni', film song lyrics by Waheed Qureshi, music of Sohail Rana in film ''Baazi'' (1970) *'Marnein Ki Duawain Kyun Maangoon - Jeene Ki Tamanna Kaun Kare', film song lyrics by Moin Ahsan Jazbi, music by

Nashad Nashad (; 11July 192314January 1981) was a film composer and music director of Indian and Pakistani film industry. He composed music for Hindi films in the 1940s and 1950s, credited on-screen under the names Nashad and then later migrated to P ...

in film ''Chand Sooraj'' (1970) National songs like: ''Roshan-o- rakhshan, nayyar-o-taban'', ''Aye nigar e watan tu salamat rahay'', ''Sohni dharti Allah rakhe'', ''Lahoo jo sarhad pe beh chuka hay'', ''La fata illah ali la saif-o – illah zulfakar''.

Awards and recognition

* Nigar Award - Special Nigar Award in 1970.

Recent concerts

Habib Wali Mohammad had a ghazal concert on 27 February 2010 in

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a Township (New Jersey), township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central Jersey, Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan River, Raritan Valley r ...

, and on 28 February 2010 in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, performing with his son Nadeem Wali Mohammad, and former singer Bela Modi. Habib Wali Mohammad recently performed in April 2012 in San Jose, California for the Human Development Foundation in the United States at a fund-raising event.

Death and legacy

Habib Wali Mohammad died in Los Angeles, California after being treated for his illness and health issues due to old age on 4 September 2014 at age 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammad, Habib Wali 1921 births 2014 deaths Nigar Award winners Pakistani ghazal singers Pakistani Muslims Memon people Syracuse University alumni Singers from Karachi Pakistani expatriates in the United States 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Pakistani playback singers Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Indian expatriates in Myanmar Indian emigrants to Pakistan Musicians from Karachi Muhajir people