0
Coming from a family of rigid social customs, Iqbal Bano was an icon of the typical style of ghazal singing, making her style known not only throughout the country but across borders. She ranks among the few vocalists who will be remembered as a symbol of ghazal singing at a time when Pakistan had none.
The Rhotak-born Iqbal Bano had no taste for music when she was growing up in Multan. Then came the day when she went to meet a friend in the neighbourhood and came across her learning how to sing. She also began humming along and drew the attention of the ustad who told her that she had a good voice and could become a good vocalist. When she told her parents they refused her demand to learn music and stopped her from visiting her friend's house.
In Lahore she was allowed to visit Radio Pakistan to participate in a children's programme. The composer gave her a song and led the rehearsal which she did well, and the song was put on the air.
Seeing her interest and skill she was allowed to learn music and she became the disciple of Ustad Chaand Khan of the Delhi school. When her teacher passed away, she was taken under the tutelage of Ustad Karim Khan of Patiala.
Being an intelligent student she picked up the minutiae very quickly and in the early 1950s began giving public performances in ghazal and thumri. Since her training was based on classical music, she sang ghazal in thumri ung. At that time Ustad Barkat Ali, Muktar Begum and Begum Akhtar were popular ghazal names and to create a place of her own was a daunting task. But Iqbal did it and opted for Punjab ung, making it distinctive than the Poorbi ung of Begum Akhtar. Since she had not discontinued her music studies, she could pay proper attention to reflect the emotions expressed in the lyrics, and by rendering correct pronunciation she could make it a beautiful presentation. In her classical style of music, the ghazal became an enchanting combination of poetry and music.
When the film world came to know about her, Master Inayat Hussain approached her to sing a song for the film Gumnam, written by Saifuddin Saif. It was
Payal mein geet hain chham chham ke, tu lakh chale ri gori tham tham ke.
The song was okayed in the first take and it led her further into the world of playback singing for films. In the meantime, she also picked out classical and contemporary poets and sang their ghazals. She has sung Ghalib, Ahmad Faraz, Faiz, Qateel Shafai and Hafeez Ho shiarpuri. When Mehdi Zaheer was to get Faiz's poem Dasht-i-tanhai recorded, he proposed Iqbal Bano as the vocalist and she rendered it so well that even Faiz praised it. At a concert when she sang Faiz's ghazal
Tum aaye ho na shab-i-intizar guzri hai, talash main hai sahar baar baar guzri hai.
Faiz himself walked over to the stage and told her that he was the poet whom she was singing.
As a background singer she made a remarkable contribution. She has sung in some 70 films and almost every song has earned her applause. When she was asked to sing Qateel Shafai's ghazal
Ulfat ki naye manzil ko chala, tu banhein daal ke banhoon mein.
It became an instant hit.
Singing for films was an experience which she wanted. But ghazal, in her typical style and without confining it to time and space, she performed so overwhelmingly well that she became a class in herself. She made it sparkle with emotions, creating an aura of the finer sentiments and embellished every stanza with her subtle nuances. Her strenuous practice made her sonorous voice so magnificent that she would carve out a statue of brief glides, warbles and trills. This made the lyrics live to the heart of the listeners.
When she visited India under the Saarc programme, she received a warm welcome there and during all her performances people thronged to the venue to full capacity. She was presented with three awards, namely the Sarmani Award, Naushad Award and Natraj Award, besides getting an offer to become a citizen of India which she politely declined.
Iqbal did not belong to the school of vocalists who depend on composers. But this did not stop her from accepting good compositions. Among the composers with whom she enjoyed singing were Master Manzoor, Master Inayat Hussain, Safdar Hussain, Firoz Nizami, Khurshid Anwar, Mehdi Zaheer and Buland Iqbal. For her services she was been awarded the Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
In the field of ghazal singing she was one of the most popular vocalists. In the ghazal tradition that has been retained by Mukhtar Begum, Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hasan and Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano has earned a place for herself very few can boast of.
