It was today that Pankaj Udhas, a music great and recipient of the Padmashri award, exhaled his last breath. The famous ghazal singer, who was well-known for his ghazals such as Chitti Ayi Hai and Chandi Jai Rang, went suddenly as a result of an extended illness. In accordance with Hindu, the veteran singer passed away around eleven in the morning at the Breach Candy hospital.His daughter Nayaab Udhas came to Instagram to relay the news. She said, "With a very heavy heart, we are saddened to inform of sad demise of Padmashri Pankaj Udhas on 26th February 2024 due to prolonged illness." Padmashri Pankaj Udhas had been ailing for a long time.In addition to his work in Hindi movies, Pankaj Udhas was also well-known for his contributions to Indian pop music. Through the release of his ghazal album "Aahat" in 1980, he rose to prominence and went on to achieve success with songs such as "Mukarar," "Tarrannum," and "Mehfil." The song "Chitthi Aayee Hai" that he performed in the movie "Naam" became quite well-known. A number of honors, including the Padma Shri in 2006, have been bestowed upon Udhas. His death occurred when he was 72 years old.In the year 1990, Pankaj Udhas and Lata Mangeshkar worked together to create the hit duet "Mahiya Teri Kasam" for the film Ghayal. This duet went on to become tremendously popular. In 1994, he collaborated with Sadhana Sargam to perform the song "Na Kajre Ki Dhar" for the film Mohra, which is another well-known song. A number of films, including Saajan, Yeh Dillagi, Naam, and Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee, included Udhas as a playback vocalist during their production. When he was younger, he disclosed in an interview that his initial aspiration was to become a physician; but, life had other plans for him.
Leaving the classical format, he freed the romantic form from Persianized Urdu to express their pain in a simple verse like Deewaron Se Milkar Rona Achcha Lagta Hai and tweaked the plaintive orchestration to create a new, youthful riff that could declare Mohe Aai Na Jag Se Laaj Main Itna Zor Se Nachi Aaj Ki Ghungroo Toot
Most of us remember an elegantly dressed Udhas with a harmonium, not a hair out of place, whispering Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein Dhadkain Koi Sun Raha Hoga into the mic. This was a time when Chitrahaar was giving way to music videos and the middle class was opening up to ghazal concerts.
After Purab Na Jaiyo Paschhim Na Jaiyyo (Jawaab, 1985) won over youthful hearts, the song made him famous. In 1988, he penned and sang Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai Tera in Ek Hi Maqsad. He sang the hit duet Aaj Phir Tumpe Pyar Aaya Hai with Anuradha Paudwal for Feroz Khan's Dayavan the same year. In Saajan (1991), he sang Jeeye To Jeeyen Kaise for Nadeem Shravan, another heartbreaking song. Truck drivers and connoisseurs could be captivated by his voice. We all traveled many miles listening to a bus driver play Na Kajre Ki Dhaar (Mohra, 1994) on a broken cassette player.
Born to landlords in Charkhadi town, Rajkot, Udhas' father, a government officer who played rabab, introduced him to music. Ustad Ghulam Qadir Khan taught Udhas classical music after he played tabla. After the family moved to Mumbai, Udhas studied under Bhendi Bazar Gharana master Navrang Nagpurkar, who also trained Asha Bhosle. The older brothers Manhar and Nirmal were established performers. Manhar taught Udhas playback singing. After initial failures, Udhas shifted to non-film ghazals and gained instant popularity with Aahat, Muqarrar, Tarannum, and Mehfil.
A lot of his well-known ghazals were about paimana (flagon) and maikada (tavern). You can listen to ghazals like Ek Taraf Uska Ghar, Ek Taraf Maikada, and Sharab Cheez. Hi Aisi Hai became an important part of his shows, but he was criticized for making drinking seem normal. According to Udhas, these were allegories for how the holy makes people drunk in Sufi poetry. However, this wasn't always true, as shown by the fact that he sang Ek Ek Ho Jaye Phir Ghar Chale Jaana with Kishore Kumar in Ganga Jamunaa Saraswati (1988). Companies that make music also played on this idea by giving his records names like Nasha, Paimana, and Madhosh.
The Padma Shri was in high demand for concerts abroad because he had a strong emotional link with people who lived outside of India. He performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Madison Square Garden in New York. Many people kept coming to his shows even after Hindi movies stopped using ghazals.