Suraiya Multanikar (born 1940) is a Pakistani singer mostly known for her

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

s especially kafis. Her repertoire includes classical, semi-classical,

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 ...

s, kafis and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

Early life and family

Multanikar was born in Multan, Punjab. Her earliest childhood memories are of wanting to excel as a singer. No one in her immediate family could either teach or advise her. So in her childhood, she taught herself by listening to film songs and copying their tunes and lyrics. Later, she became a formal disciple of ''Ghulam Nabi Khan'' of the Delhi gharana of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

who was a

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked three-stringed instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, Sindhi folk music, Haryanvi folk music, Braj folk music, and Boro folk music (the ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

and a strict disciplinarian, popularly known as ''Fauji Khan''. Multanikar, at age 19, once performed at a gathering organized by former President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. Multanikar has 7 children (from oldest to youngest): Muhammad Ali, a UK-based orthopaedic doctor; Ruqaiya Sajjad; Ramzan Ali, Shaista, Rabia, Aalia and Rahat Bano. Her youngest daughter, Rahat Multanikar is also a folk singer like her mother.

Career

Radio Pakistan

On the radio, at age 15, she sang compositions by veteran

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

composers, Niaz Hussain Shami and Abdul Haq Qureshi.Alhamra organizes Kuch Yaadain Kuch Baatain for legendary singers to interact with fans
Daily Times (newspaper), 21 September 2019, Retrieved 26 June 2020 In her career as a singer, she was inspired from the works of Roshan Ara Begum, Ustad

Salamat Ali Khan Salamat Ali Khan (12 December 1934 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani vocalist and touring artist known for his contribution to the Hindustani classical music. Widely regarded as one of the greatest classical singers of the Indian subcontinent, ...

of Sham Chaurasia gharana, Bade Fateh Ali Khan of Patiala gharana and

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan (; 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012), known as Mehdi Hassan, was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer of great renown. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, ...

Film industry

Multanikar's career as a playback singer was short lived. She gained widespread recognition for her song,"Bare Be Murawwat Hain Yeh Husn Walay", "Kahin Dil Laganey Ki Koshish Na Karna" written by Masroor Anwar, music by Deebo Bhattacharya from the

film,

Badnaam ''Badnaam'' is a Pakistani film in Urdu language, released on 2 September 1966, adapted from Saadat Hasan Manto's short story ''Jhumkay'' ("Ear-rings") by screenwriter Riaz Shahid, and was the second film adaptation of the Manto's story after ...

(1966).

Awards and recognition

* 1959: Golden Award * 1960: Chatta Gaang Award * 1975: Gulam Fareed Award * 1980: Gulam Fareed Award * 1982: Jashn-e-Fareed Award * 1981: Shair-e-Mashriq Award * 1982: Shair-e-Mashriq Award * 1986:

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

* 2000: Shahbaz Award * 2002: Gulam Fareed Award * 2008: Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award by the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Multanikar, Suraiya 1940 births People from Multan Pakistani folk singers Pakistani playback singers Pakistani ghazal singers Punjabi-language singers Singers from Lahore Pakistani radio personalities Pakistani film actresses Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Living people Women ghazal singers 20th-century Pakistani women singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Punjabi women 21st-century Pakistani women singers 21st-century Pakistani singers Pakistani classical singers Radio personalities from Lahore People from Punjab Province (British India)