Parvati Khan ( Maharaj) is a Trinidadian

pop singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

based in India. She is best known as the singer who sang the song "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" in the 1982

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

hit movie ''

Disco Dancer ''Disco Dancer'' is a 1982 Indian dance-action film, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars Mithun Chakraborty and Kim in leading roles, with Om Puri, Gita Siddharth and Karan Razdan in supporting roles with ...

'', which won a ''Gold Disc'' award. She is also known for the song ''Khula Tala Chod Aayi''.

Early life

Parvati Khan (née Maharaj) was born into a Indian family in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. At the age of 12, she had won ''Mastana Bahar'', a TV talent contest in

. Later she studied in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to be a nurse.

Career

Parvati Khan is known for her work in

(1982), Love Love Love (1989), and Maa Kasam (1985). In 2000, she performed her compositions focused on themes of peace and unity at a concert held at the

United Nations General Assembly Hall The United Nations General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It contains the main assembly hall of the United Nations Genera ...

in New York. Since 2002, she has focused on performing devotional songs, known as Bhajans, dedicated to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deities such as

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, Shirdi Sai Baba and Ma Amritanandamayi. Her song 'Jimmy Jimmy' is well-known and received recognition, including a reported Golden Peacock Award in China.. Parvati Khan resumed her singing career after being invited by

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

to perform at a program held at Shanmukhanand Hall 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 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 2 June 2017.

Personal life

Parvati is married to the

director and cinematographer Nadeem Khan, son of Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza. She has a son named Jatin with him. She stirred up significant controversy in

by offering prayers in Kashi Vishwanath temple, she admitted to having performed abhishek at the temple in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

during

Mahashivratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

despite having been banned earlier from doing so due to opposition from the ''Shiv Sainiks'' in 2004. She has engaged in various initiatives, including serving as a spiritual

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

at the Tihar Jail, believing that she has been chosen as a peace envoy. With an intention to promote peace, unity, love and oneness, she has visited various prisons in India and held '

satsang Satsang () is an audience with a satguru for the purpose of spiritual or yogic instruction. The ''satsanga'' is a gathering of good people for the performance of devotional activities. Meanings The word is derived from the Sanskrit ''sat'' mean ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Parvati Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago women singers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women singers Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian people Bollywood playback singers Trinidad and Tobago emigrants Expatriate musicians in India Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in India 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women