The Hindu : New Delhi News : Nurturing the tradition of music

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Monday, Oct 22, 2007
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New Delhi

Nurturing the tradition of music

Photo: S. Subramanium

Resonant voice: Pakistani Singer Tahira Syed at a Press conference at Indian Women’s Press Corps in New Delhi.

Renowned Pakistani ghazal singer, Tahira Syed is in love with the Capital. On her recent visit to Delhi, Bindu Shajan Perappadan spoke to her about her passion for singing and Guru and mother Mallika Pukhraj.

As a young girl she took to singing to please her mother. After being trained by two of the most celebrated masters in the field -- Ustad Akhtar Hussain and her mother Mallika Pukhraj -- Pakistani singer Tahira Syed took the music world by storm in 1970. Still a school girl then, she proved an instant success with her deep and husky voice.

During a visit to the Capital over the weekend for a performance at the invitation of the Indian Women’s Press Corps and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Tahira revealed that she loved coming to Delhi.

“Indians are aware of good music and appreciate it. I love coming here, especially to Delhi. I have lost count of the number of times I have been here but each times the experience is more beautiful than the previous one,” says Tahira.

An attorney by training, Tahira’s first love has always been music and singing. The singer is also a spokesperson for several social causes and an active participant in charity events. Tahira continues to raise funds for handicapped children, kidney centres, cancer hospitals, with concerts all over the world.

Since her singing mentor was her mother whose forte lay in the realm of “ghazal”, “thumari” and folk music, Tahira also took to this genre of semi-classical music. She went solo in 1972 with a performance to a packed audience across the UK. Her resonant voice and her vast repertoire of Urdu, Punjabi and Pahari folk songs have made her a popular singer.

“After my father died my mother slipped into deep depression and music became her only solace. I realised how happy music made her and started singing to please her. I had no clue about anything else then, I sang because it made my mother happy and because I knew music gave her respite,” said Tahira, recalling how it all started for her.

Having started her career as a television singer, Tahira says that film music never really became her forte because of her heavy voice. “Though I did sing for a few films my voice did not match the delicate heroine. Invariably films would have a female lead with a soft voice and suddenly the voice would go bass when she started singing. I then took a decision to stay away from film songs and so far it has worked for me,” says Tahira.

Asked about the impact of General Pervez Musharraf’s rule in Pakistan, Tahira says: “I would say it has been a very good period for those in the creative area. No elected government has given such freedom to television, radio and creative arts. There is a sense of unrestrained creativity in the country and personally I am very happy with the way things are going for us now. Previously it was as if we were living in a country 100 years behind times. Things have changed for the better. Now even if successive governments try and curb this freedom, having tasted this openness it will be difficult to revert to where we previously were.”

She goes on to add: “We now have an array of channels where you can catch some brilliant and some not so good programmes, but the important thing being that we are now talking and making plays on subjects which were previously a taboo. We deal with issues of homosexuality, adultery and problems of growing up, something that never happened previously. The educated youth of Pakistan is a more aware and willing to experiment.”

Speaking about the popularity on her style of music and the competition from the ever popular pop music, Tahira says: “The younger generation is almost always attracted to popular music and it is only after 30 that they start appreciating ghazals. Appreciation of this kind of music comes with age and experience, when the heart hurts you understand ghazals.”

Tahira also spoke about her relationship with her mother. “She was a very private person and a disciplined singer. It was much later that I understood and heard about her life and her childhood. I do not write my songs or compose my music as I believe that every person has one dominant skill which they should work on.”

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