Abida Parveen

Abida Parveen (folk singer)

Parveen performing in Coke Studio in 2010
Background information
Native name عابده پروين
Birth name Abida Parveen
Also known as Queen of Sufi music
Origin Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan
Genres Kafi
Ghazal
Qawwali
Occupation(s) Singer
musician
entrepreneur
Instruments Vocals
Harmonium
Percussions
Years active 1973–Present
Associated acts Coke Studio,
Jahan-e-Khusrau,
Bulleh Shah

Abida Parveen is a Pakistani singer of Sindhi descent and one of the foremost exponents of Sufi music (Sufiana kalaam). She is held as one of the world's greatest mystic singers.[1] She sings mainly ghazals and her forte, Kafis, a solo genre accompanied by percussion and harmonium, using a repertoire of songs by Sufi poets.[2] Parveen sings in Urdu, Sindhi, Saraiki, Punjabi and Persian. She is arguably considered one of the finest Sufi vocalists of the modern era with a career spanning over four decades.[3][4][5][6] Parveen is best known for her songs Yaar ko Humne from the album Raqs-e-Bismil and Tere Ishq Nachaya which is a rendition of Bulleh Shah's poetry.[7] She was a judge on the musical show Sur Kshetra. Pakistan's second highest civilian award the Hilal-e-Imtiaz has been bestowed upon her by the President of Pakistan for 2012.[8]

Early life

Parveen was born in mohalla Ali Goharabad in Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan.[3] She received her musical training initially from her father, Ustad Ghulam Haider, whom she refers as Baba Sain and Gawwaya. He had his own musical school where Parveen got her devotional inspiration from. She and her father would often perform at shrines of Sufi Saints. Parveen's talent compelled her father to choose her as his musical heir over his two sons. Growing up, she attended her father's music school, where her foundation in music was laid.[9][10] Later Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Sham Chorasia gharana also taught and nurtured her. Parveen always remembers that she was never forced towards this occupation and she sang her first complete kalam when she was only 3 years old.

Career

Parveen at her concert in Oslo, 2007

Coke Studio

Abida performed on the internationally acclaimed Pakistani show Coke Studio Season 3, in 2010 on which she sang three songs: Ramooz-e-Ishq, Nigah-e-Darwaishaan, and Soz-e-Ishqin Episode 1(Reason), 3 (Conception) and 5 (Realization) respectively. Parveen said she admired it a lot as it offered a Dargahi Environment.

"This project which Rohail Hyatt has started is indeed great and I would like to be a part of it for a long time. The music that comes out of this project reaches both the heart and soul and it always compliments the lyrics without overriding the true message of the kalams. This platform builds on those messages of our Sufi elders." Parveen in an interview.[15]

She was invited by the Coke Studio for season 7 in 2014. She sang "Mein Sufi Hoon" with Ustaad Raees Khan and performed "dost" as a solo. In coke studio season 7, she also performed "Chaap Tilak" (A popular Sufi poem by renowned Sufi poet Amir Khusro) in a duet with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Personal life

Marriage

In 1975, Abida married Ghulam Hussain Sheikh, senior producer at Radio Pakistan, who had retired from his job in the 1980s to manage and mentor Parveen's career. After he died of a heart attack on an international flight in the early 2000s, their daughter Maryam took up that role. There is a sense that Parveen's career has taken a more commercial route as a result of it.[11] The couple has two daughters Pereha Ikram, who has an MBA college degree and Marium Hussain and a son Saranj. All 3 kids act as her advisors.[12] Her family understands her need for riyaz ( daily vocal music practice) and its required space to do that practice.[14]

Abida Parveen Gallery

Parveen also owns a business Abida Parveen Gallery which features jewellery, arts, her music CDs and garments and is run by her daughters.[16] Its first anniversary was marked by the launch of Parveen's latest album Ru-e-Ali.

Clothing style

Parveen has a distinct clothing style which she has created out of ease and comfort. She wears long simple frocks buttoned up to the top covered with a coat. She is always accompanied by an ajrak, a sindhi duppatta,which she claims comes from the dargah (mausoleum) of Sufi saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and her wardrobe is full of it. Parveen always wears her curly hair untied and natural.

Other

Awards and recognitions

Parveen with the Pushto singer Fazal Malik Akif in Manchester, 1994.

Laurels

Filmography

Although Parveen is a highly acclaimed singer, she has never rendered her voice to films. Her pre-recorded songs have been used in films, however. Now she has agreed to lend her voice to films on insistence of her fans and Farooq Mengal. Parveen appears less and less in interviews and television morning shows due to her shy personality. Parveen confesses that she keeps getting offers from Bollywood film-makers namely Subhash Ghai and Yash Chopra but she keeps declining them as she has immersed herself in Sufism and it is time consuming to spread the Divine Message.[19] She even got offers from Shah Rukh Khan for Ra.One and renowned music director A.R.Rehman has offered her some songs, too.[20]

Television

Year Show Role Notes
1980 Awaz-o-Andaz Performer aired on PTV
2009 Nara-e-Mastana Performer Concert sponsored and aired by Hum
2010 Chotte Ustad Guest Judge with Ghulam Ali Eid Celebration
2012 Sur Kshetra TV Show Judge Representing Pakistan in India
2012 Shehr-e-Zaat OST Singer for Yaar ko Humne Pre-recorded from album Raqs-e-Bismil
2012 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Special appearance with Runa Laila To promote Sur Kshetra TV Show
2012 1st Hum Awards Performer Sang Naraye Mastana
2014 Pakistan Idol TV Show Guest Judge Grand Finale
2014 Zee Channel TV Singer Upcoming New Channel
2014 Sama-e-Ishq Performer Concert aired on Hum TV

Films

Year Film Song Notes
2008 Zill-e-Shah Sajjan de Haath Pre-recorded
2013 Ishq Khuda Title Track Pre-recorded
Winner-1st ARY Film Awards for Best Playback Singer
2014 Hijrat Announced Farooq Mengal debutante directorial
2015 Raabta Announced Farooq Mengal Film
2015 Bin Roye Maula Maula

Discography

References

  1. Madhumita Dutta (2008). Let's Know Music and Musical Instruments of India. p. 56. ISBN 9781905863297.
  2. Singer with the knock-out effect: Abida Parveen is one of the world's great singers – even if you can't understand her, By Peter Culshaw, The Telegraph, 15 Sep 2001.
  3. 1 2 The Hypnotic Voice of Abida Parveen The Daily Star, 16 July 2004.
  4. Ecstasy In Songs Of the Sufi By Neil Strauss, New York Times, 15 October 1996.
  5. MYSTICAL SINGER'S MUSIC IS THE MESSAGE By Mary Talbot, Daily News, 11 October 1996.
  6. Abida Parveen World music: the basics, by Richard Nidel. Routledge, 2005. ISBN 0-415-96800-3. p.247.
  7. Anna S. King, J. L. Brockington (2005). The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions. Orient Blackswan. p. 358. ISBN 9788125028017.
  8. http://tribune.com.pk/story/525517/recognition-president-zardari-confers-top-civil-awards/, Abida Parveen's Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award (2012), The Express Tribune newspaper, Retrieved 22 Feb 2016
  9. Begum Abida Parveen sings dil se TNN, The Times of India, 17 June 2003.
  10. Mughal. "SINDHI MUSIC". sindhiaudio.blogspot.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  11. 1 2 Nosheen Iqbal. "Abida Parveen: 'I'm not a man or a woman, I'm a vehicle for passion'". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Abida Parveen". travel-culture.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  13. "Shehzad Roy and Abida Parveen Collaborate for a Cause". Sonya Rehman's Archive. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  14. 1 2 "An Exclusive Interview with Abida Parveen- The Reigning Queen of Sufi Music". Fuchsia. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  15. "Abida Parveen - profile, interview & pictures". forumpakistan.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  16. "A store that’s jewellery will ‘set it apart’". tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. "Recognition: President Zardari confers top civil awards". tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. "India honours Abida Parveen with life time achievement award". dawn.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  19. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/bollywood-can-wait-abida-parveen-interview_100456305.html>
  20. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news-and-interviews/Abida-Parveen-and-Runa-Laila-to-spread-love-in-India/articleshow/16049861.cms

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