Some of the earliest images of illustrious ghazal singer Malika Pukhraj show a petite woman with a furrowed face and dark glasses singing poet Hafeez Jalandhris Abhi toh main jawaan hoon on Doordarshan in the late 70s. As ironical as the song sounded then,there were no antics; the staccato and a sort of haunting quality set in immediately. And Pukhrajs voice slid into the hearts of the people,who had missed their bulbul ki awaaz (Pukhraj moved to Lahore after the Partition). On Thursday,the Capital heard the same composition as the final song on the sixth day of AKTCs festival Jashn-e-Khusrau in Tahira Syeds voice. Syed is Pukhrajs daughter and the similarities are uncanny. I hear that a lot, says Syed,who had accompanied her ailing mother in the Doordarshan days too,but at the time,everyone was absorbed by Pukhraj. Before Syed broke into one of her mothers most popular tracks on the audience farmaish,she sang Khusraus Urdu and Hindavi poetry set to some interesting tunes. Held adjacent to Humayuns tomb at Sunder Nursery or Azim Bagh as it was known in the Mughal times,the new amphitheatre and the restored monuments served as an extraordinary backdrop to Syeds performance. She sang a soft melody Aeri sakhi mera tan man maila,followed by Pal pal bai jaana in Pahari. Considering that Pahari is a melodic and charming raga,Syeds voice did not match up and went out off tune at places. She recovered well in Ishqaz Paigam,an upbeat piece. Syed sat on a small stool,while her accompanists on the sarangi,dholak,flute and the tabla sat on the stage. In Hindustani music,humility is very important and this came across when Syed said,Its a great honour as I am received warmly in India,a place where people enjoy good poetry. The idea of a stool on an already raised platform was,however,odd. As for learning music at an early age,Syed said,It was rigorous. No child wants to be stuck in a room with an Ustad. I found it annoying,but my mother was persistent. In those days,you did not say no to your parents. Towards the end of the evening,Syeds voice reached a crescendo with Nizamuddin Auliya ko koi samjhaye and she rendered her mothers Abhi to main kawaan hoon to conclude the concert.
